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Festival coverage

Berlin International Film Festival

13 February – 23 February 2025

The festival returns for its 75th edition from February 13 to 23, its first under the artistic direction of Tricia Tuttle. It will open with Tom Tykwer's The Light.

Other years (15)

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Latest reviews

  • Köln 75
    Review preview for Köln 75

    Emde is a force to be reckoned with. The film could not have been made any other way.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    The true story of Vera Brandes, teenage patron saint of the 1970s Cologne music scene, who risked everything to organise the greatest solo jazz concert in music history: Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert.
  • Night Stage
    Review preview for Night Stage

    The film is shot in gorgeous shades of noir by Luciana Baseggio, and has a deliciously dark, sultry score.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    An actor and a politician start an affair and discover a fetish for having sex in public places. The closer they get to their dreams, the more risk taking they become.
  • Mother's Baby
    Review preview for Mother's Baby

    The filmmaker who previously made her name with romantic comedy-dramas, proves to be a bonafide genre auteur, although it is her first attempt

    Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
    The family dream becomes a nightmare as 40-year-old Julia struggles to bond with her newborn child.
  • Reflection In A Dead Diamond
    Review preview for Reflection In A Dead Diamond

    For something so lovely, it is hard-edged, and it sparkles with visual wit.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    When the mysterious woman in the room next door disappears, a debonair 70-year-old ex-spy living in a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur is confronted by the demons and darlings of a lurid past in which moviemaking, memories and madness collide.
  • The Ice Tower
    Review preview for The Ice Tower

    Cotillard is at her very best as a character we see only from the sidelines – earthy and opinionated in flashes, yet frozen by her art.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Colder than ice, her kiss pierces the heart ... The 1970s. Jeanne, a young runaway, falls under the spell of Cristina, the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film which is being shot in the studio where Jeanne has taken refuge.
  • Holding Liat
    Review preview for Holding Liat

    Her experience is, of course, only that of an individual, and cannot represent what happened to all of the other hostages, but it still has significance.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    On October 7th, during a raid by Hamas on her kibbutz, Israeli-American Liat Atzili was kidnapped, prompting an urgent and heart-wrenching fight for her release by her family. Through a deeply intimate lens, parents Yehuda and Chaya cope with fear and uncertainty as they are thrust into a global conflict unfolding in real time.
  • Islands
    Review preview for Islands

    The actors...own their characters with considerable skill which helps to paper over any deficiencies in the script

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    Tom, a tennis coach at a luxury hotel, has his life changed when a new family arrives. Matters take a dark turn when the husband disappears and both Tom and the wife become suspects.
  • Christy
    Review preview for Christy

    Touching, compelling and full of humanity.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Two estranged brothers with chequered childhoods in the care system suddenly find themselves living under the same roof.
  • Tales From The Magic Garden
    Review preview for Tales From The Magic Garden

    Serves as a teaching tool of sorts that bridges the gap between the generations and opens up a communication regarding some unpleasant topics that are very present in everyday life.

    Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
    Three children spend the night with their grandfather after losing their grandmother and discover the power of imagination.
  • Hot Milk
    Review preview for Hot Milk

    Mackey is a simmering, sullen, potent lead, keeping viewers on edge even as she lounges in the sun.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Rose and her daughter Sofia journey to a Spanish seaside town to meet an enigmatic healer. As Sofia embraces an affair with an alluring stranger, tensions with her overbearing mother threaten their fragile bond.

A–Z of Berlin International Film Festival 2025 reviews

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