09/01/2025 - A total of 35 projects, including those by Andrea Štaka, Ayşe Polat, Radu Muntean, Stephan Komandarev and Narges Kalhor, will be presented; the Gen Z Audience Award will also be introduced

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is due to hold its 22nd edition from 15-19 February. This year, the market features an impressive line-up of 35 feature-film projects from 27 countries, selected from among a record-breaking 351 submissions. Hosted primarily at its new venue, the Octogon in Leipziger Platz, the event aims to foster the realisation of these projects as international co-productions. With a focus on diversity, emerging talent and fresh initiatives, such as the newly introduced Gen Z Audience Award, the market stands by its dedication to supporting innovative storytelling.

This year’s selection showcases a remarkable degree of diversity, with women directing 19 of the 35 chosen projects. Martina Bleis, head of the Berlinale Co-Production Market, emphasises the thematic richness of this year’s line-up: “The right of every person to self-determination and their own identity is a central theme that many filmmakers deal with in very different ways. Dysfunctional families and families of choice, sometimes viewed seriously but in some projects also with a lot of humour, have a strong presence. Grandmother burnout, conspiracy theories, the difficulties of virtual relationships, degenerating capitalism, cannibalism and, of course, above all, people's dreams and the desire to belong – these are some of the themes that we will see in the cinema in the coming years when these outstanding projects are fully realised.”

Among the official selection are 19 features already in financing, with budgets ranging from €800,000 to €5 million. These projects include works by renowned directors such as Ayşe Polat (In the Blind Spot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ayşe Polat
film profile]), Wissam Charaf (Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wissam Charaf
film profile]), Radu Muntean (Alice T. [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Muntean
film profile]), Ainhoa Rodríguez (Mighty Flash [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ainhoa Rodríguez
film profile]), Andrea Štaka (Cure – The Life of Another [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Staka
film profile]), Miia Tervo (Aurora [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miia Tervo
film profile]) and Maksym Nakonechnyi (Butterfly Vision [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maksym Nakonechnyi
film profile]).

The Berlinale Directors section will feature three new projects still in early financing stages, helmed by directors familiar to Berlinale audiences. Narges Kalhor (Shahid [+see also:
film review
film profile]), honoured in the Berlinale Forum last year, is among them. Other returning filmmakers include Valeria Hofmann from Chile, who presented Oasis as part of the MAFI Collective in the 2024 Forum, and Stephan Komandarev, whose career began at the Berlinale with his debut film, Dogs' Home.

One project from Cameroon, Cyrielle Raingou’s I'm Coming For You, which is being developed in cooperation with the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, highlights a self-reliant woman who provides for her family through unconventional means, navigating traditional rural structures and the threat of terrorism. The Rotterdam-Berlinale Express programme features two projects: Meat, a historical horror debut by Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair from Ireland; and Four Seasons in Java, a drama by Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini, whose previous works have earned accolades such as the Generation Kplus Grand Prix and a Silver Bear.

Meanwhile, the Talent Project Market will present ten up-and-coming producers at the dawn of their international careers, selected from among 203 submissions. Notable participants include Carl Joseph E Papa from the Philippines, whose animated feature The Missing was the country's submission for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award, and Rohena Gera from India, whose movie Sir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] premiered in the Critics’ Week at Cannes.

This year also introduces the Gen Z Audience Award, sponsored by the Franco-German Youth Office (DFJW/OFAJ). A jury of Franco-German film students aged between 20 and 28 will award €5,000 to the project most resonant with young audiences. Tanja Meissner, director of Berlinale Pro*, underscores the prize’s importance: “The industry currently talks a lot about audience development and how to reconnect with the younger generations. To me, the logical next step is to involve not only (co-)producers, but also representatives of the target audience in the creative process of film conception. Intergenerational exchange is crucial in order to validate our events through fresh perspectives and to keep the future of our co-production market vibrant and culturally relevant.”

Other significant prizes include the €20,000 Eurimages Co-production Development Award, the €10,000 VFF Talent Highlight Award for newcomers, the €6,000 ArteKino International Award, and the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award, which provides advice tailored to specific target audiences.

Additionally, five production companies will participate in the Company Matching programme, facilitating networking on a structural level. All in all, the event anticipates over 1,500 one-on-one meetings, connecting participants with international co-producers, sales agents, broadcasters and financiers.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a Berlinale Pro* initiative, supported by MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme and the FFA – German Federal Film Board. The Berlin House of Representatives also serves as a cooperation partner and main venue.

Here is the complete selection of the 2025 Berlinale Co-Production Market:

Official Feature Project Selection

Keep Her Quiet - Franz Böhm, Suli Kurban (Germany)
Producer: Schubert

Holiday - Wissam Charaf (France)
Producer: Aurora Films

Konbini - Pedro Collantes (Spain)
Producer: Aquí y Allí Films

Galerna - Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)
Producer: Pimienta Films

Suffering Is Optional - Zarrar Kahn (Canada)
Producers: CityLights Media, LBG Films

The Funeral - Carolina Markowicz (Brazil)
Producer: Biônica Filmes

Dreamgirl - Kaan Müjdeci (Turkey)
Producers: Tato Film, Asteros Film

The Magic Hour - Radu Muntean (Romania)
Producer: Tangaj Production

The Earth Is Flat – I Flew Around and Saw It - Maksym Nakonechnyi (Ukraine)
Producer: Tabor

Lende - Katy Lena Ndiaye (France)
Producer: Tact Production

A Few Miles South - Ben Pearce (Ireland/Poland)
Producers: Stop Gap Films, New Europe Productions

A Place in the World - Ayşe Polat (Germany)
Producer: NiKo Film

Girl, Don't Play - Ainhoa Rodríguez (France/Spain)
Producers: Les films du Worso, Tentación Cabiria

30 Days of Summer - Anastasiia Solonevych (Ukraine)
Producer: Bosonfilm

Ibicaba - Visions of Paradise - Andrea Štaka (Switzerland)
Producers: Cinédokké, Okofilm Productions

Crocodile Rock - Kirsten Tan (Singapore/USA)
Producers: Momo Film Co, 10minuteslater Films

You Crazy Thing - Miia Tervo (Finland)
Producer: Yellow Film & TV

Happy Days - Floor van der Meulen (Netherlands)
Producer: Keplerfilm

Men and Days - Arnau Vilaró (Spain)
Producer: Nanouk Films

Berlinale Directors Projects

Daemon - Valeria Hofmann (Chile)
Producer: Máquina

The Inverted Well - Narges Kalhor (Germany)
Producer: Michael Kalb Filmproduktion

The Block Universe - Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria/Germany)
Producers: Argo Film, 42Film

World Cinema Market Project

I'm Coming For You - Cyrielle Raingou (Cameroon/Germany)
Producers: Je Capture Ma Réalité, Seera Films

Rotterdam-Berlinale Express

Four Seasons in Java - Kamila Andini (Indonesia)
Producer: Forka Films

Meat - Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair (Ireland)
Producer: Fantastic Films

Talent Project Market

Death in Torrevieja - Adriana Arratia (Spain)
Producers: Araceli Isaac Delso (Nakamura Films), Maqueta Films

Sentimental Fail Club - Jasmin Baumgartner (Austria)
Producer: Dominic Spitaler (Ostblok)

Hum - Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (USA/Philippines)
Producer: Hannah Schierbeek (Prima Materia Pictures)

All That We Could Be - Rohena Gera (France)
Producer: Alice Bloch (Marianne Productions)

March 14th - Alberto Gross Molo (Spain)
Producer: Laura Egidos Plaja (Contraria Media)

The Serpent - Diogo Hayashi (Brazil)
Producer: Julia Alves (Quarta-feira Filmes)

A Certain Type - Christoffer Lossius (Norway)
Producer: Louise Beyer (Skala)

Sentinel - Carl Joseph E Papa (Philippines)
Producer: Geo Lomuntad (Project 8 Projects)

The Illusions - Ingrid Pokropek (Argentina)
Producer: Ivan Moscovich (36 Caballos)

The Sun Sees Everything - Wissam Tanios (Lebanon)
Producer: Christian Eid (Abbout Productions)

Company Matching Programme

Cinema Inutile (USA/Japan)
Fünferfilm (Germany)
KawanKawan Media (Indonesia)
Lava Films (Poland)
Yetu (Un)limited (Senegal/Nigeria/Kenya/Ghana)