Note: This post will be In Progress until festival full program becomes available at official site, which seems is scheduled to February 4, 2025. This year the festival will run from February 13 to February 23, 2025 and the Program Press Conference is scheduled to be held on January 21, 2025, at 11am at Haus der Kulturen der Welt. The Berlinale 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the Berlin International Film Festival and is also the first edition under the direction of Tricia Tuttle.
Tricia Tuttle will open the Press Conference and give an overview of the entire festival program. She will then present the films in the Competition and the new competitive section Perspectives together with the Co-Directors of Film Programming Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz.
European Film Market
Under the new direction of Tanja Meissner, the European Film Market (EFM) 2025 will again open its doors from February 13 to 19, welcoming international industry representatives including producers, global sales agents and distributors as well as cinema operators, high-tech companies, and investors from all over the world.
On February 12, 2025, the inaugural EFM Distributor Award will be presented for the first time as part of the European Film Market kick-off event. The Award aims to recognize the significance of European Arthouse distribution and its central contribution to cultural diversity.
This year, Spain and its vibrant film industry will take centre stage at the Berlinale’s EFM as Country in Focus. The diversity of Spain as a production location, the creative excellence and its tech-savvy pioneering role aligns perfectly with the EFM’s focus on innovation and industry trends.
The Poster
Berlin graphic designer Claudia Schramke created the key design for the 75th Berlinale. The design places the Berlinale at the centre of a glowing visual interpretation of the theme of “time”. A modern, lively remix of the historical cinema feeling and an emotional anniversary countdown form the beating heart of the upcoming Berlinale.
For the first time, an animated key visual is at the centre of the design alongside the classic poster. This reflects the media shift towards digital channels and the importance of moving graphics in communication.
From 2025, the Winners of Three Berlinale Awards Qualify for the Oscars
From current year, the winner of the Teddy Award – Best Documentary/Essay Film will also be entitled to enter the competition for an Oscar®. This is the third award presented at the Berlinale to qualify the winning film to be submitted for the Academy Award®/Oscar® longlist alongside the Golden Bear for Best Short Film and the Berlinale Documentary Award.
Homage
The 75th Berlin International Film Festival will award Scottish actor Tilda Swinton the Honorary Golden Bear for her lifetime achievement. The award will be presented at the Opening Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast on February 13, 2025.
“The range of Tilda Swinton’s work is breathtaking. To cinema she brings so much humanity, compassion, intelligence, humour and style, and she expands our ideas of the world through her work. Tilda is one of our modern filmmaking idols, and has also long been part of the Berlinale family. We are delighted to be able to present her with this Honorary Golden Bear,” says Festival Director Tricia Tuttle.
“The Berlinale is the first film festival I ever went to, in 1986 with Derek Jarman and the first film I made, his Caravaggio. It was my portal into the world in which I have made my life’s work - the world of international filmmaking - and I have never forgotten the debt I owe it. To be honoured in this way by this particular festival is deeply touching for me: it will be my privilege and pleasure to celebrate, once more next February, the seedbed that is this wide-eyed and reliably wonderful gathering,” says Tilda Swinton.
The Program
Competition
International Jury
President: Todd Haynes, director, screenwriter and producer, USA
Berlinale Special
Program include 21 films, but only 12 have been announced. It's one of the most diverse sections which includes Red Carpet Galas, late-night genre thrills and talking point films.
Berlilnale Special Gala
Opening Film: Das Licht (The Light), Tom Tyker, Germany, UK and France
Islands, Jan-Ole Gerster, Germany
Köln 75, Ido Fluk, Germany, Poland and Belgium
Mickey 17, Bong Jooh Ho, USA, UK and South Korea
The Thing with Feathers, Dylan Southern, UK
Berlinale Special
A melhor mãe do mundo (The Best Mother in the World), Anna Muylaert, Brazil and Argentina
Ancestral Visions of the Future, Lemohang Jeremiah Mossese, France, Lesotho, Germany and Saudi Arabia (documentary)
Honey Bunch, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, Canada
Je n’avais que le néant - "Shoah" par Lanzmann (All I Had Was Nothingness), Guillaume Ribat, France
Pa-gwa (The Old Woman with the Knife), Min Kyu-dong, South Korea
Shoah, Claude Lanzmann, France 1985
Special Series Gala
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Justin Kursel, Australia
Perspectives
Panorama
A total of 34 films from 28 countries in current edition. Genre cinema is mixing it up in the program, multi-faceted German filmmaking will be catching the eye, while queer cinema is once again making a strong showing well beyond the common clichés.
Feature Film
Opening Film: Welcome Home Baby, Andreas Prochaska, Austria and Germany
1001 Frames, Mehrnoush Alia, USA (debut film)
愛作歹 Ai Zuo Dai (Silent Sparks), Ping Chu, Taiwan (debut film) (Teddy - Gay Interest)
Ato Noturno (Night Stage), Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher, Brazil (Teddy - Gay Interest)
Begyndelser (Beginnings), Jeanette Nordahl, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium
Confidente (Confidant), Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti, Turkey, France, and Luxembourg
Delicious, Nele Mueller-Stöfen, Germany (debut film)
Den stygge stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister), Emilie Blichfeldt, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Denmark (debut film)
Dreamers, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, UK (debut film) (Teddy - Lesbian Interest)
Dreams in Nightmares, Shatara Michelle Ford, USA, Taiwan and UK (Teddy - Lesbian Interest)
Hjem kaere hjem (Home Sweet Home), Frelle Petersen, Denmark
Hysteria, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, Germany
L'incroyable femme des neiges (The Incredible Snow Woman), Sébastien Betbeder, France
Lesbian Space Princess,Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, Australia (debut film ) (Animation) (Teddy - Lesbian Interest)
Looking for Langston, Isaac Julien, UK 1989 (Teddy - Gay Interest)
Magic Farm, Amalia Ulman, Argentina
Mikusu Modan (The Longing), Toshizo Fujiwara, Japan
Olmo, Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico
Once Again... [Statues Never Die], Isaac Julien, UK (Teddy)
Peter Hujar's Day, Ira Sachs, USA and Germany (Teddy - Gay Interest)
Queerpanorama, Jun Li, USA, Hong Kong and China (Teddy - Gay Interest)
Schwesterherz (The Good Sister), Sarah Miro Fischer, Germany and Spain (debut film)
Sorda (Deaf), Eva Libertad, Spain
The Heart is a Muscle, Imran Harmdulay, South Africa and Saudi Arabia (debut film)
Zikaden (Cicadas), Ina Weisse, Germany and France
Panorama Dokumente
Bajo las Banderas, el Sol (Under the Flags, the Sun), Juanjo Pereiro, Paraguay, Argentina, USA, France, and Germany (debut film) (documentary)
Bedrock, Kinga Michalska, Canada (debut film) (documentary)
Die Möllner Briefe (The Moelin Letters), Martina Priessner, Germany (documentary)
Ich will alles. Hildegard Knef (I Want It All), Luzia Schmid, Germany (documentary)
Khartoum, Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Brahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, and Phil Cox, Sudan, UK, Germany and Qatar (documentary)
Listy z Wilczej (Letters from Wolf Street), Arjun Talwar, Poland and Germany (documentary)
Monk in Pieces, Billy Shebar, USA, Germany and France (documentary) (Teddy - Lesbian Interest)
Paul, Denis Côté, Canada (documentary)
Yalla Parkour,Areeb Zuaiter, Sweden, Qater, Saudi Arabia and Palestine (debut film) (documentary)
TV Series
Other People's Money, Jan Schomburg (Showrunner, Creator), Dustin Loose (Director), Kaspar Munk (Director), Germany, Denmark and Austria (4 episodes)
Forum
Forum Main Program
The 55th Forum main programme comprises 30 films from five continents – including seven feature debuts – and encounters a world and its people that are not in good shape, wounded souls.
Feature Film
After Dreaming, Christine Haroutounian, USA, Armenia and Mexico (debut film)
Batim (Houses), Veronica Nicole Tetelbaum, Israel and Germany (debut film)
Bombam (Spring Night), Kang Mi-ja, South Korea
Cadet, Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Kazakhstan
Der Kuss des Grashüpfers (The Kiss of the Grasshopper), Elmar Imanov, Germany, Luxembourg and Italy
Fwends, Sophie Somerville, Australia (debut film)
Janine zieht aufs Land (Janine Moves to the Country), Jan Eilhardt, Germany
Minimals in a Titanic World, Philbert Aimé Mbabazi Sharangabo, Rwanda, Germany and Cameroon (debut film)
Punku, Juan Daniel Fernández Molero, Peru and Spain
Restitucija, ili, San i java stare garde (Eighty Plus), Želimir Žilnik, Serbia and Slovenia
Sirens Call,Miriam Gossing and Lina Sieckmann, Germany and Netherlands (debut film)
The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov, Yuri Semashko, Lithuania (debut film)
The Trio Hall, Su Hui-yu, Taiwan
Vaghachipani (Tiger's Pond), Natesh Hegde, India and Singapore
Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst (If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile), Marie Luise Lehner, Austria (debut film)
What's next, Cao Yiwen, Hong Kong and China (debut film)
Documentary
2024 [2023], Stefan Hayn, Germany (documentary)
Canone effimero, Gianluca De Serio and Massimiliano De Serio, Italy (documentary)
Chas pidlotu (Time to the Target), Vitaly Mansky, Latvia, Czechia and Ukraine (documentary)
Colosal (Colossal), Nayibe Tavares-Abel, Dominican Republic (debut film) (documentary
Evidence, Lee Anne Schmitt, USA (documentary)
Holding Liat, Brandon Kramer, USA (documentary)
La Memoria de las Mariposas (The Memory of Butterflies), Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski, Peru and Portugal (debut film) (documentary)
little boy, James Benning, USA (documentary)
Palliativstation (Palliative Care Unit), Philipp Döring, Germany (debut film) (documentary)
Queer as Punk, Yihwen Chen, Malaysia and Indonesia (documentary)
The Sense of Violence, Kim Mooyoung, South Korea (documentary)
Underground, Kaori Oda, Japan (documentary)
Unsere Zeit wird kommen (Our Time Will Come), Ivette Löcker, Austira (documentary)
When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea,Eva Neymann, Germany and Ukraine (documentary)
Forum Special
The 2025 Forum Special is entitled "Open Wounds, Open Words" and forms a logical continuation of these programming ideas, turning its attention this time around to the positions of the younger generation: growing up, youthful awakenings, becoming an adult and part of society – in contexts marked by cultural norms, social inequality and political injustice.
Feature Films
Das falsche Wort (The Lie), Katrin Seybold, Germany, 1987 (documentary) (digital restoration)
Iracema, uma transa amazônica (Iracema), Jorge Bodanzky and Orlando Senna, Brazil and Germany, 1975 (digital restoration)
Mes fantômes arméniens (My Armenian Phantoms), Tamara Stepanyan, France, Armenia and Qatar (documentary)
Scars of a Putsch, Nathalie Borgers, Austria and Belgium (documentary)
The Long road to The Director's Chair, Vibeke Løkkeberg, Norway (documentary)
Short Films
Guochang (Fruit Farm), Nana Xu, China (documentary)
Nagota (Nudity), Sabina Bakaeva, Uzbekistan and France (documentry)
Shinagani gazapkhulebis q'vaviloba (Inner Blooming Springs), Tiku Kobiashvili, Georgia (documentary)
Forum Expanded
In its 20th edition, Forum Expanded brings together 24 works from 21 countries. Employing practices that span installation, film, video and sculpture, the selected artists and filmmakers employ translucence as a means of engaging with the cataclysmic realities of the present.
Feature Film
Cartas do Absurdo (Letters from Absurd), Gabraz Sanna, Brazil
Extra Life (and Decay), Stéphanie Lagarde, Netherlands and France
Miraculous Accident, Assaf Gruber, Germany and Austria
Mirage: Eigenstate, Riar Rizoldi, Indonesia, UK and Portugal
ภูเขาคำราม Mountain Roars,Chonchanok Thanatteepwong and Pobwarat Maprasob, Thailand
Pidikwe (Rumble), Caroline Monnet, Canada
Portales (Portals), Elena Duque, Spain (animation)
Stars, Stars Collective, UK and Germany (animation) (Teddy - queer interest)
When the Sun is Eaten (Chi'bal K'iin), Jerome Everson, USA
Documentary
Akher Youm(The Last Day), Mahmoud Ibrahim, Egypt (documentary)
Al Basateen(The Orchards), Antoine Chapon, France (documentary)
Mikuba (Cobalt), Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, Congo and USA (documentary)
Mua besoj më shpëtoj portreti (I Beleive the Portrait Saved Me), Alban Muja, Kosovo and Netherlands (documentary)
Photosynthesizing Dead in Warehouse,Jeamin Cha, South Korea (documentary)
Spetsialna Operatsiia (Special Operation), Oleksiy Radynski, Ukraine and lithuania (documentary)
Tin City, Feargal Ward, Ireland (documentary)
Zizi (ou oração da jaca fabulosa)(Zizi (or Praying to a Fabulous Tree)), Felipe M. Bragança, Brazil (documentary)
Installations
Alternatives Denkmal für Deutschland (ADfD)(Alternative Monument for Germany) (reality installation)
Beneath the Placid Lake, Kush Badhwar and Vyjayanthi Rao, India and Finland (video installation)
Chang Gyeong, Jongwook Lee, South Korea (video installation)
J-N-N, Ginan Seidl, Germany (video installation)
Rapture, Alisa Berger, France and Germany (VR installation)
Sinking Suns,Neda Saeedi, Austria and Germany (reality and video installation)
Wilfred Buck's Star Stories, Lisa Jackson and The Macronauts, Canada (360-degree dome projection)
Generation
Generation Kplus
Feature Film
A natureza das coisas invisíveis (The Nature of Invisible things), Rafaela Camelo, Brazil and Chile
Anngeerdardardor (The Thief), Christoffer Rizvanovic Stenbakken, Denmark and Groenland
Autokar, Sylwia Szkiłądź, Belgium and France (animation)
Generation 14plus
Feature Film
Daye: Seret Ahl El Daye (The Tale of Daye's Family), Karim El Shenawy, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
I Agries Meres Mas (Our Wildest Days), Vasilis Kekatos, Greece and France (debut film)
Maya, donne-moi un titre (Maya, Give Me a Title), Michel Gondry), France (animation)
Space Cadet, Eric San, Canada (debut film) (animation)
Têtes Brûlées, Maja Ajmia Yde Zellama, Belgium (debut film)
Village Rockstars 2, Rima Das, India and Singapore
Zečji nasip (Sandbag Dam), Čejen Černić Čanak, Croatia, Lithuania and Slovenia
Short Film
Beneath Which Rivers Flow, Ali Yahya, Iraq (documentary)
Fantas, Halima Elkhatabi, Canada
Ne réveillez pas l'enfant qui dort (Don't Woke the Sleeping Child), Kevin Aubert, Senegal, France and Morocco
On a Sunday at Eleven, Alicia K. Harris, Canada
Ornmol (White Ochre), Marlikka Perdrisat, Australia (documentary)
Berlinale Shorts
20 films from a total of 18 production countries are celebrating their premieres at the 2025 Berlinale Shorts, of which 15 are world premieres. The program combines classic storytelling with surreal works, features various styles of animation and presents experimental documentary forms.
After Colossus, Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, Italy, Indonesia and Netherlands
Amba dio, Luiza Calagian and Rosa Caldeira, Cuba, Brazil and Haiti
Because of [U], Tohé Commaret, France 12'
Casa Chica, Lau Charles, Mexico 25'
Casi Septiembre (Close to September), Lucia G. Romero, Spain (Teddy Lesbian Interest)
Children's Day, Giselle Lin, Singapore
Comment ça va? (How Are You?), Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France (animation)
Dar band (Citizen-Inmate), Hesam Eslami, Iran (documentary)
Élő kövek (Living Stones), Jakob Ladányi Jancsó, Hungary 19'
Futsu no seikatsu (Ordinary LIfe), Yoriko Mizushiri, France and Japan (animation)
Kámen Osudu (Stone of Destiny), Julie Černá, Czechia (animation)
课外活动 Ke wai huo dong (Extracurricular Activity), De'an Wei and Xu Yidan, China
Koki, Ciao, Quenton Miller, Netherlands (documentary)
Lloyd Wong, Unfinished,Lesley Loksi Chan, Canada (documentary) 13'
Mother's Child, Naomi Noir, Netherlands (animation) 9'
Prekid vatre (Ceasefire), Jakob Krese, Germany, Italy and Slovenia (documentary)
Rückblickend Betrachtet (In Retrospect), Daniel Asadi Faezi and Mila Zhluktenko, Germany (documentary)
Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts, Rein Maychaelson, Indonesia
Their Eyes, Nicolas Gourault, France
Through Your Eyes, Nelson Yeo, Singapore
Berlinale Shorts Special Program
Happy Doom, Billy Roisz, Austria 4' 2023
Paranmanjang (Night Fishing), Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong, South Korea 30' 2011
Tant qu'il nous reste des fusils à pompe (As long as shotguns remain), Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France 30' 2014
Three Stones for Jean Genet, Frieder Schlaich, Germany (documentary) 7' 2014
Vilaine fille mauvais garçon (Two Ships), Justine Triet, France 30' 2012
Vita Lakamaya, Akihito Izuhara, Japan 8' 2016
Berlinale Co-Production Market
35 film projects from 27 countries from 351 submissions. Female directors in 19 of the 35 projects.
Official Feature Project Section 2025
30 Days of Summer, Anastasiia Solonevych, Ukraine
A Few Miles South, Ben Pearce, Poland
A Place in the World, Ayşe Polat, Germany
Crocodile Rock, Kirsten Tan, USA
Dreamgirl, Kaan Müjdeci, Turkey
Galerna, Tatiana Huezo, Mexico
Girl, Don't Play, Ainhoa Rodríguez, Spain
Happy Days, Floor van der Meulen, Netherlands
Holiday, Wissam Charaf, France
Ibicaba - Visions of Paradise, Andrea Štaka, Switzerland
Keep Her Quiet, Franz Böhm and Suli Kurban, Germany
Konbini, Pedro Collantes, Spain
Lende, Katy Lena Ndiaye, France
Men and Days, Arnau Vilaró, Spain
Suffering Is Optional, Zarrar Kahn, Canada
The Earth Is Flat – I Flew Around and Saw It, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Ukraine
The Funeral, Carolina Markowicz, Brazil
The Magic Hour, Radu Muntean, Romania
You Crazy Thing, Miia Tervo, Finland
Berlinale Directors projects
Daemon, Valeria Hofmann, Chile
The Block Universe, Stephan Komandarev, Germany
The Inverted Well, Narges Kalhor, Germany
World Cinema Market project
I'm Coming For You, Cyrielle Raingou, Germany
Rotterdam-Berlinale Express
Four Seasons In Java, Kamila Andini, Indonesia
Meat, Rioghnach Ni Ghrioghair, Ireland
Talent Project Market
A Certain Type, Christoffer Lossius, Norway
All That We Could Be, Rohena Gera, France
Death in Torrevieja, Adriana Arratia, Spain
Hum, Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, USA and Philippines
March 14th, Alberto Gross Molo, Spain
Sentimental Fail Club, Jasmin Baumgartner, Austria
Sentinel, Carl Joseph E. Papa, Philippines
The Illusions, Ingrid Pokropek, Argentina
The Serpent, Diogo Hayashi, Brazil
The Sun Sees Everything, Wissam Tanios, Lebanon
To check projects at official site go here.