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Berlin International Film Festival · 2025

Berlin International Film Festival 2025

Panorama

Programme

37 films · 13 reviews

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1001 Frames

Review preview for 1001 Frames

A pretty empty and tiresome experience.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 2 out of 5
In the studio of a well-known director, female actors audition for the role of Scheherazade in A Thousand and One Nights. But the women gradually realise that the director has more in mind than just casting the leading role.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mehrnoush Alia; Writer: Mehrnoush Alia; Stars: Mohammad Aghebati, Shayesteh Sajadi)

Full review

Bedrock

Documentary about Polish people whose homes are on Holocaust sites.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2025; Director: Kinga Michalska)

Beginnings (Begyndelser)

Ane and Thomas are on the verge of being divorced, but they have not told their children yet. When one is hit by a life-changing incident, they must both face a new reality.

(Country: Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2025; Director: Jeanette Nordahl; Writer: Rasmus Birch, Jeanette Nordahl; Stars: Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik, Johanne Louise Schmidt, Steffen Lino, Mads Bjørn, Silja Ellemann Kiehne, Karina Anov Chapman, Luna Fuglsang Svelmøe, Bjørk Storm Engelshardt Kirkegaard)

Cicadas (Zikaden)

Review preview for Cicadas

The director drops her audience into the lives of these two women and lets the rhythm of their lives guide the narrative.

Paul Risker · 3.5 out of 5
A woman whose marriage is crumbling and is struggling to care for her ageing parents has an encounter with a single mother that leads to an unexpected bond.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Ina Weisse; Stars: Nina Hoss, Saskia Rosendahl, Vincent Macaigne)

Full review

Confidente

Sabiha works in a erotic call centre after an earthquake a teenager who rang shortly beforehand calls back saying his is buried under rubble and begging for help.

(Country: Luxembourg, France, Turkey; Year: 2025; Director: Guillaume Giovanetti, Çagla Zencirci; Stars: Saadet Aksoy, Elit Andaç Çam, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Ilber Uygar Kaboglu, Kivanç Kilinç, Muhammet Uzuner, Osman Alkas, Nilgün Türksever)

Deaf (Sorda)

The arrival of a baby to a Deaf woman and her hearing partner causes a crisis in their relationship.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2025; Director: Eva Libertad; Writer: Eva Libertad; Stars: Álvaro Cervantes, Elena Irureta, Miriam Garlo, Joaquín Notario)

Delicious

Review preview for Delicious

Manages to squeeze solid performances from actors and to infuse the run of the mill story with some dense and tense atmosphere set against the backdrop of the overall slickness of Frank Griebe’s cinematography

Marko Stojiljkovic · 2 out of 5
A family's apparently perfect façade starts to crumble when an accident leads them to hire a maid.

(Country: German; Year: 2025; Director: Nele Mueller-Stöfen; Writer: Nele Mueller-Stöfen; Stars: Fahri Yardim, Valerie Pachner, Carla Díaz, Naila Schuberth, Caspar Hoffmann, Julien De Saint Jean, Melodie Casta, Johann von Bülow, Sina Martens, Joep Paddenburg, Nina Zem, Miveck Packa)

Full review

Dreamers

A Nigerian migrant sent to a removal centre discovers a kindred spirit.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor; Writer: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor; Stars: Aiysha Hart, Kerry Howard, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Harriet Webb, Ann Akinjirin, Ronke Adekoluejo, Jamie Bacon, Lucy Ware, Damola Adelaja, Diana Yekinni, Laurence Saunders, Cain Aiden, Ola Labib, Kemi Adekoya, Dolapo Oni)

Dreams In Nightmares

Three friends go on a road trip looking for a fourth who has disappeared off the grid.

(Country: US, Taiwan, UK; Year: 2025; Director: Shatara Michelle Ford; Writer: Shatara Michelle Ford; Stars: Denée Benton, Mars Rucker, Dezi Bing, Sasha Compère, Charlie Barnett, Molly Bernard, Alfie Fuller, Malek Mouzon, Joss Barton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Regina Taylor, Robert Wisdom, Zoe Himmel, Lindsey Hailes, Zahalea Anderson)

The Good Sister (Schwesterherz)

A woman is called to testify against her older brother when he is accused of rape.

(Country: Germany, Spain; Year: 2025; Director: Sarah Miro Fischer; Writer: Sarah Miro Fischer, Agnes Maagaard Petersen; Stars: Marie Bloching, Anton Weil, Proschat Madani, Jane Chirwa, Laura Balzer, Aram Tafreshian)

See: 'I wanted her to have the space to not know what's right and wrong all the time'

The Heart Is A Muscle

When a man's son briefly goes missing his reaction triggers a sequence of events that unearths past secrets.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2025; Director: Imran Hamdulay; Writer: Imran Hamdulay; Stars: Keenan Arrison, Loren Loubser, Danny Ross, Ayden Croy, Melissa de Vries, Abduragman Adams, Robyn Rossouw, Dean Marais, Ridaa Adams, Luna Louw, Eb Inglis, Danielle Rhoda, Lincoln Van Wyk, Troy Paulse)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Brandon Kramer; Writer: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz, Carol Dysinger, Gordon Quinn; Stars: Aviv Atzili, Aya Atzili, Liat Beinin Atzili, Netta Atzili, Ofri Atzili, Chaya Beinin, Joel Beinin, Tal Beinin, Yehuda Beinin)

Full review

Home Sweet Home (Hjem kaere hjem)

As a woman begins a job as a carer she is quickly confronted by the challenges of the job.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2025; Director: Frelle Petersen; Stars: Jette Søndergaard, Mette Munk Plum, Karen Tygesen, Thomas Clausen, Miriam Niemann, Mimi Bræmer Dueholm, Christa Paulsen, Ina Radik Mamsen, Lasse Lorenzen, Finn Nissen, Søren Tuxen, Nanette Romero Mijares, Esther Muthoni Njogu, Henry Sørensen, Kirsten Hansen)

Hysteria

Review preview for Hysteria

Islamoglu has to play a complex character in a unique position, which she does in a fierce, naturalistic manner

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3 out of 5
A film shoot turns dark when the burning of the Quran throws the crew into turmoil.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; Writer: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; Stars: Devrim Lingnau, Mehdi Meskar, Serkan Kaya, Nicolette Krebitz, Aziz Çapkurt, Nazmi Kirik, Tony Attaallah, Lola Klamroth, Zeynel Abidin Cal, Moaid Forani, Ferhat Keskin, Helin Sezen Korkmaz, Zejhun Demirov, Aykut Jançat Sahin, Till Bortloff)

Full review

The Incredible Snow Woman (L'Incroyable femme des neiges)

Review preview for The Incredible Snow Woman

Without Blanche Gardin, who carries the whole film, The Incredible Snow Woman would be a mix of generic dramedy and equally generic comedy that simply tries too hard to send quirky and “subversive” vibes.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3 out of 5
A woman for whom an Arctic expedition holds no fear finds her personal life spiralling out of control.

(Country: France, Greenland; Year: 2025; Director: Sébastien Betbeder; Writer: Sébastien Betbeder; Stars: Blanche Gardin, Philippe Katerine, Bastien Bouillon, Laurent Papot, Ole Eliassen, Martin Jensen, Clémentine Baert, Ferdinand Redouloux, Aymeric Lompret)

Full review

I Want It All (Ich will alles. Hildegard Knef)

Portrait of Ich will alles. Hildegard Knef.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Luzia Schmid)

Khartoum

Review preview for Khartoum

Throughout you can see the ways in which the filmmakers are going the extra mile to empower their subjects.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum - a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors - reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war.

(Country: Germany, UK, Sudan, Qatar; Year: 2025; Director: Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Rawia Alhag, Phil Cox, Philip Cox, Anas Saeed; Writer: Phil Cox)

Full review See: Interview with Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed and Phil Cox about Khartoum

Lesbian Space Princess

Review preview for Lesbian Space Princess

There’s an anarchic silliness about it which suits the science fiction setting, an openness to having fun and delivering a story unselfconsciously, on its own terms.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An introverted space princess is forced to leave her planet to rescue her ex.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2025; Director: Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese; Writer: Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese; Stars: Shabana Azeez, Richard Roxburgh, Madeleine Sami, Mark Samual Bonanno, Gemma Chua-Tran, Jordan Raskopoulos, Aunty Donna, Bernie Van Tiel, Demi Lardner, Kween Kong, Reuben Kaye)

Full review See: Interview with Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs about Lesbian Space Princess

Letters From Wolf Street (Listy z Wilczej)

A street in Warsaw offers a portrait of the city captured by an Indian migrant.

(Country: Poland, Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Arjun Talwar)

The Longing (Mikusu Modan)

Drama set in a restaurant where a couple hire young people released from juvenile detention.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Toshizo Fujiwara; Stars: Toshizo Fujiwara, Tomoko Fujita, Daiki Ido, Sasha, Rino Tsuneishi)

Looking For Langston

a lyrical exploration – and recreation – of the private world of the poet, novelist, playwright, columnist and social activist Langston Hughes.

(Country: UK; Year: 1989; Director: Isaac Julien; Writer: Isaac Julien; Stars: Ben Ellison, Matthew Baidoo, Akim Mogaji, John Wilson, Dencil Williams, Guy Burgess, James Dublin, Harry Donaldson, Jimmy Somerville, Stuart Hall, Langston Hughes)

Magic Farm

A film crew working for an edgy media company travels to Argentina to profile a local musician, but their ineptitude leads them into the wrong country. As the crew collaborates with locals to fabricate a trend, unexpected connections blossom while a pervasive health crisis looms unacknowledged in the background.

(Country: US, Argentina; Year: 2025; Director: Amalia Ulman; Writer: Amalia Ulman; Stars: Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Simon Rex, Joe Apollonio, Amalia Ulman, Valeria Lois, Camila del Campo, Guillermo Jacubowicz)

The Moelln Letters (Die Möllner Briefe)

Thirty years after a racist arson attack in Mölln shattered the lives of İbrahim Arslan and his family, Ibrahim finds hundreds of letters of solidarity.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Martina Priessner; Stars: Havva Arslan, Ibrahim Arslan, Namik Arslan, Yeliz Burhan)

Monk In Pieces

Documentary about composer and performer Meredith Monk.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: David C Roberts, Billy Shebar; Writer: Billy Shebar, David C Roberts, Melissa Hacker, Trish Dalton; Stars: Björk, David Byrne, Meredith Monk)

Night Stage (Ato Noturno)

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.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2025; Director: Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon; Writer: Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon; Stars: Henrique Barreira, Gabriel Faryas, Cirillo Luna, Ivo Müller, Kaya Rodrigues, Larissa Sanguiné)

Full review

Olmo

When a teenage carer gets invited to a party, he will do anything he can to get out of his duties.

(Country: US, Mexico; Year: 2025; Director: Fernando Eimbcke; Writer: Fernando Eimbcke, Vanesa Garnica; Stars: Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Valentin Mexico, Melanie Frometa, Humberto Castro, Aivan Uttapa, Andrea Suarez Paz, Denielle Fisher Johnson, Rosa Armendariz, Justin Peach, Marc A. Moffett)

Once Again... (Statues Never Die)

Examining cultural critic Alain Locke's contribution to the arts.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Isaac Julien; Stars: Danny Huston, André Holland, Devon Terrell, Sharlene Whyte, Alex Part)

Other People's Money (Die Affäre Cum-Ex)

TV series about a global fraud.

(Country: Germany, Denmark; Year: 2025; Director: Dustin Loose; Writer: Jan Schomburg; Stars: David Dencik, Justus von Dohnányi, Karen-Lise Mynster, Nils Strunk, Lisa Wagner, Fabian Hinrichs, David Masterson, Susi Ramberger, Michel Komzak, David Gojkovic)

Paul

Review preview for Paul

In what is probably Côté's most straightforwardly observational film to date, the fictions come baked in.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Subject to depression and social anxiety, Paul has found refuge in serving women who invite him to clean their homes. By sharing his gently eccentric routines on social media, he combats loneliness and takes it one day at a time.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2025; Director: Denis Côté)

Full review See: Director Denis Côté on entering the world of a 'simp' and his dominatrices for Paul

Peter Hujar's Day

Review preview for Peter Hujar's Day

Wishaw is an absolute wonder, delivering the conversational, sometimes stream-of-consciousness dialogue with a constantly engaging, almost hypnotic cadence.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.

(Country: US, Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Ira Sachs; Writer: Ira Sachs; Stars: Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall)

Full review

Queerpanorama

A gay man impersonates men he has sex with and brings his new persona to his next hook up.

(Country: Hong Kong, China, US; Year: 2025; Director: Jun Li; Writer: Jun Li; Stars: Arm Anatphikorn, Jayden Cheung, Zenni Corbin, Sebastian Mahito, Erfan Shekarriz, Phillip Smith, Ko-Yuan Wang)

Satanic Sow (Satanische Sau)

Rosa von Praunheim is the satanic sow, incarnated by the wanton actor Armin Dallapiccola. A poetic compendium of life and death with pushy fans, the Good Lord, lovers and Rosa's horrified mother. Rosa von Praunheim shot this low-budget-movie within six days.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Rosa von Praunheim; Writer: Rosa von Praunheim; Stars: Emilio De Marchi, Katy Karrenbauer, Nico Ehrenteit, Armin Dallapiccola, Edie Samland, Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg, Justus Hermann)

Silent Sparks

A man and his former cellmate face difficult choices after leaving jail.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2024; Director: Ping Chu; Writer: Ping Chu; Stars: Huang Guan-Zhi, Shih Ming-Shuai , Cheng Chih-Wei, Ray Fan, Hu Wei-Jie)

The Ugly Stepsister (Den Stygge Stesøsteren)

Review preview for The Ugly Stepsister

There’s a good deal of depth and nuance to these relationships as Blichfeldt uses them to illustrate how a society which makes women dependent on men magnifies every petty disagreement and sets them at odds with one another.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira battles to compete with her incredibly beautiful stepsister, and she will go to any length to catch the prince’s eye.

(Country: Norway, Denmark, Romania, Poland; Year: 2025; Director: Emilie Blichfeldt; Writer: Emilie Blichfeldt; Stars: Lea Myren, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger, Ralph Carlsson, Isac Aspberg, Albin Weidenbladh, Oksana Czerkasyna, Katarzyna Herman, Adam Lundgren, Willy Ramnek Petri, Cecilia Forss, Kyrre Hellum, Richard Forsgren, Agnieszka Zulewska)

Full review See: Interview with Anne Catherine Sauerberg and Thomas Foldberg about The Ugly Stepsister , Interview with Emilie Blichfeldt about The Ugly Stepsister

Under The Flags, The Sun (Bajo las banderas, el sol)

Consideration of Alfredo Stroessner’s regime in Paraguay.

(Country: Paraguay, Argentina, Germany, United States, France; Year: 2025; Director: Juanjo Pereira)

Welcome Home Baby

A doctor has inherited a house which she did not even know existed from the family that gave her away as a child. Her quest to solve the mystery surrounding her background turns into a nightmarish journey.

(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2025; Director: Andreas Prochaska; Stars: Julia Franz Richter, Reinout Scholten van Aschat, Maria Hofstätter, Gerhard Liebmann, Gerti Drassl)

Yalla Parkour

Review preview for Yalla Parkour

A thoughtful consideration of not just physical prowess but the emotional agility and resilience demonstrated by those growing up in Gaza.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A documentarian revisits Gaza where she encounters a young athlete leading her to embark on a journey through Gaza's devastated landscape.

(Country: Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Palestine; Year: 2025; Director: Areeb Zuaiter; Writer: Areeb Zuaiter, Phil Jandaly, Johan Simonsson, Nino Kirtadze, Salwa Nakkara, Alex Szalat; Stars: Areeb Zuaiter, Ahmad Matar)

Full review