The 75th Berlin International Film Festival is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent memory, with a lineup that promises fresh perspectives and bold storytelling. As the festival kicks off under the direction of Tricia Tuttle, the competition will be brimming with works from some of cinema’s most innovative voices, including Richard Linklater, Lucile Hadžihalilović, Radu Jude, and Hong Sang-soo.
Linklater, making his return to the Berlinale after Boyhood in 2014, brings Blue Moon, a film that explores the final days of celebrated songwriter Lorenz Hart, starring Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott. Hadžihalilović, known for her hypnotic and cerebral style, presents The Ice Tower, a French fantasy drama featuring Marion Cotillard as a film star who ensnares a young runaway on a production of The Snow Queen. This marks a follow-up to her acclaimed works Evolution and Earwig.
Radu Jude, whose Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn earned him the Golden Bear in 2021, returns with Kontinental ’25, a darkly comic exploration of the housing crisis and the rise of nationalism. And there’s more—Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, starring Rose Byrne, will compete, alongside Dag Johan Haugerud’s Dreams (Sex Love), the third installment of his trilogy.
In a standout moment for female directors, eight of the 19 films in competition are led or co-led by women, a continued indication of the Berlinale’s commitment to gender representation—a contrast to festivals like Cannes and Venice.
One notable debut feature in the competition is Hot Milk by UK director Rebecca Lenkiewicz, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s novel about the complexities of motherhood. Additionally, Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai, who won Berlin’s Crystal Bear in 2021 for Stop-Zemlia, brings Timestamp, a poignant documentary about educators in wartime.
This year also sees a remarkable French presence, with five titles from France or co-productions vying for the Golden Bear: Ari by Léonor Serraille, The Safe House by Lionel Baier, Reflection In A Dead Diamond by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Timestamp by Gornostai, and The Ice Tower by Hadžihalilović.
Hong Sang-soo, a festival staple, is back with What Does That Nature Say To You, his eighth film in the competition. The South Korean director has consistently made his mark at Berlinale, winning four Silver Bears in the last five years.
Berlinale 2025 promises a thrilling array of diverse, dynamic films, marking a momentous occasion in both international cinema and festival history. From bold debuts to seasoned masters, this year’s competition is one to watch closely.
Here’s the full list of films competing for the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2025:
Competition
- Ari (Fr-Bel) – Léonor Serraille
- Blue Moon (US-Ire) – Richard Linklater
- The Safe House (Switz-Luxe-Fr) – Lionel Baier
- Dreams (Mex) – Michel Franco
- Dreams (Sex Love) (Nor) – Dag Johan Haugerud
- What Does That Nature Say to You (S Kor) – Hong Sangsoo
- Hot Milk (UK) – Rebecca Lenkiewicz
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (US) – Mary Bronstein
- Kontinental ’25 (Rom) – Radu Jude
- The Message (Arg-Sp) – Iván Fund
- Mother’s Baby (Austria-Switz-Ger) – Johanna Moder
- The Blue Trail (Bra-Mex-Chile-Neth) – Gabriel Mascaro
- Reflection In A Dead Diamond (Bel-Lux-It-Fr) – Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
- Living The Land (China) – Huo Meng
- Timestamp (Ukr-Lux-Neth-Fr) – Kateryna Gornostai
- The Ice Tower (Fr-Ger) – Lucile Hadžihalilović
- What Marielle Knows (Ger) – Frédéric Hambalek
- Girls On Wire (China) – Vivian Qu
- Yunan (Ger-Can-It-Palestine-Qat-Jor-Saudi) – Ameer Fakher Eldin
Perspectives
(Highlighting first fiction features)
- The Settlement (Egy-Fr-Ger-Saudi-Qat) – Mohamed Rashad
- Shadowbox (India-France-USA-Spain) – Tanushree Das, Saumyananda Sahi
- BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (US) – Kahlil Joseph
- Where the Night Stands Still (It-Phil) – Liryc Dela Cruz
- The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) (Mex) – Ernesto Martinez Bucio
- Two Times João Liberada (Port) – Paula Tomás Marques
- Eel (Tai) – Chu Chun-Teng
- How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World (Austria) – Florian Pochlatko
- Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia-It-Cro-Ser) – Urška Đukić
- Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (US) – Joel Alfonso Vargas
- Growing Down (Hun) – Bálint Dániel Sós
- Punching The World (Ger) – Constanze Klaue
- We Believe You (Bel) – Arnaud Dufeys, Charlotte Devillers
- That Summer In Paris (Fra) – Valentine Cadic
Berlinale Special Gala
- The Light (Ger) – Tom Tykwer (Opening Film)
- Mickey 17 (US-S Kor-UK) – Bong Joon Ho
- The Thing With Feathers (UK) – Dylan Southern
- After This Death (US) – Lucio Castro
- A Complete Unknown (US) – James Mangold
- Late Shift (Switz-Ger) – Petra Volpe
- Islands (Ger) – Jan-Ole Gerster
- Köln 75 (Ger-Pol-Bel) – Ido Fluk
- Lurker (US-It) – Alex Russell
Berlinale Special Series Gala
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Australia) – Justin Kurzel
Berlinale Special
- Ancestral Visions of the Future (Fr-Lesotho-Ger-Saudi) – Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
- Das Deutsche Volk (Ger) – Marcin Wierzchowski
- Honey Bunch (Can) – Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
- All I Had Was Nothingness (Fr) – Guillaume Ribot
- No Beast. So Fierce. (Ger-Pol-Fr) – Burhan Qurbani
- Leibniz – Chronicle of a Lost Painting (Ger) – Edgar Reitz, Anatol Schuster
- The Best Mother in the World (Bra-Arg) – Anna Muylaert
- A Letter To David (Isr-US) – Tom Shoval
- My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow (US) – Julia Loktev
- The Old Woman With The Knife (S Kor) – Min Kyu-dong
- Shoah (Fr) – Claude Lanzmann
Berlinale Special – Honorary Golden Bear
- Friendship’s Death (UK) – Peter Wollen
Berlinale 2025 promises a thrilling array of diverse, dynamic films, marking a momentous occasion in both international cinema and festival history. From bold debuts to seasoned masters, this year’s competition is one to watch closely.
Stay tuned for more coverage as we dive deeper into this year’s selections. The festival runs from February 13-23, and with such a lineup, it’s clear that the competition for the Golden Bear will be fierce.