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Berlin International Film Festival · 2026

Berlin International Film Festival 2026

Perspectives

Programme

3 films · 3 reviews

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The River Train (El Tren Fluvial)

Review preview for The River Train

The River Train lets language do what plot will not always do, it gives a child’s abstract longings a body.

Edin Custo · 4 out of 5
Nine-year-old Milo lives in a remote Argentinian village where he studies the Malambo, a folk dance full of bravura. He is an excellent dancer, but Milo’s only desire is to escape the countryside on a train for the Buenos Aires of his dreams.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2026; Director: Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A Vignale; Writer: Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A Vignale; Stars: Milo Barria, Rita Pauls, Mariano Barria, Lucrecia Pazos, Mailen Barria, Diego Puente, Pehuén Pedre, Fabián Casas)

Full review

Trial Of Hein

Review preview for Trial Of Hein

What gives Stänicke’s film the edge is the clever way he shifts the focus so that the narrative becomes less about the community than Hein himself.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A man returns to his island village after 14 years and finds himself facing a trial to decide if he is really who he claims to be.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Kai Stänicke; Writer: Kai Stänicke; Stars: Paul Boche, Stephanie Amarell, Philip Froissant, Emilia Schüle, Jeanette Hain, Zhenja Isaak, Aaron Hilmer, Andreas Nickl, Maju Margrit Sartorius, Philip Günsch, Emil Hauss, Frederick Lepthien, Emilia Packard, Irene Kleinschmidt, Lena Maria Eikenbusch)

Full review See: Kai Stänicke on construction, identity and memory in Trial Of Hein

Where To?

Review preview for Where To?

Where To? keeps mistaking centrist posture for moral courage.

Edin Custo · 2 out of 5
A middle-aged Palestinian Uber driver forms a bond with a young Israeli who becomes a regular passenger.

(Year: 2026; Director: Assaf Machnes; Writer: Assaf Machnes; Stars: Ehab Salami, Ido Tako, Milan Peschel, Rama Nasrallah, Raheeq Haj Yahia-Suleiman)

Full review