18/06/2025 - The German gathering’s line-up features 164 films and 141 premieres across multiple competition sections, including one in which the €100,000 CineCoPro Award will be given out

The 42nd Munich International Film Festival, running from 27 June-6 July, will showcase 164 films from 54 countries, including 141 premieres. With screenings across 12 venues, the festival features competition sections such as CineCoPro, CineMasters, CineVision, CineRebels and CineKindl, alongside New German Cinema and New German Television Productions. All movies will be screened in Germany for the first time, with 49 world, four international and eight European premieres taking place in Munich.

Artistic directors Christoph Gröner and Julia Weigl commented: “From grand dramas to momentous documentaries, from indie gems to experimental art films, and from comedies to thrillers, the 42nd Munich International Film Festival offers a rich variety for movie connoisseurs of all ages and tastes. We look forward to ten days of cinema for the whole city and throughout the city, celebrating film in all its diversity, with plenty of surprises, guests and discussions.”

Eleven international co-productions will compete for this year’s CineCoPro Award, endowed with a €100,000 cash prize sponsored by FFF Bayern with the support of the Bavarian State Chancellery. Five films will have their world premieres in Munich: Comandante Fritz by Pavel Giroud (Germany/Spain/Greece), Germaine Acogny – The Essence of Dance by Greta-Marie Becker (Germany/France/Senegal), Leonora in the Morning Light by Thor Klein and Lena Vurma (Germany/Romania/Mexico/UK), I’m Not Stiller by Stefan Haupt (Germany/ Switzerland), and A Land Within by Michael Kofler (Germany/Italy/Austria). Other competition titles include American Sweatshop [+see also:
film review
interview: Uta Briesewitz
film profile] by Uta Briesewitz, Bonjour Tristesse [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Durga Chew-Bose, The Freshly Cut Grass by Celina Murga, The Last One for the Road [+see also:
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interview: Francesco Sossai
film profile] by Francesco Sossai, Sentimental Value [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] by Joachim Trier and A Poet [+see also:
film review
interview: Simón Mesa Soto
film profile] by Simón Mesa Soto. The three-member jury comprises Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy; Jochen Laube, producer at Sommerhaus Filmproduktion; and Anne Carey, head of the Film and Television Department at Purple Pebble Pictures.

The CineMasters Competition presents 14 titles showcasing acclaimed international auteur cinema, and the selection includes the world premiere of The Exposure by Thomas Imbach (Switzerland/UK) along with New Wave [+see also:
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film profile] by Richard Linklater, Sirât [+see also:
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interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] by Óliver Laxe, Yes [+see also:
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film profile] by Nadav Lapid, Magellan [+see also:
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film profile] by Lav Diaz and When Fall Is Coming [+see also:
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film profile] by François Ozon. The line-up also features Aïcha [+see also:
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film profile] by Mehdi M Barsaoui, Sound of Falling [+see also:
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film profile] by Mascha Schilinski, Kika [+see also:
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interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] by Alexe Poukine, Militantropos [+see also:
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interview: Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gor…
film profile] by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova and Simon Mozgovyi, Perla [+see also:
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interview: Alexandra Makarová
film profile] by Alexandra Makarová, Promised Sky [+see also:
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interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile] by Erige Sehiri, The Baltimorons by Jay Duplass and Hard Truths [+see also:
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film profile] by Mike Leigh. The CineMasters Award, worth €15,000, will be decided upon by a jury composed of actress-director Emma Bading, director Eva Trobisch, and director, actress and screenwriter Maria Schrader.

In the CineVision Competition, which highlights fresh and compelling perspectives in international cinema, 14 titles are locking horns. Among them are To the West, in Zapata by David Bim, Brides [+see also:
film review
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interview: Nadia Fall
film profile] by Nadia Fall, Bunnylovr by Katarina Zhu, Sleepless City [+see also:
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interview: Guillermo Galoe
film profile] by Guillermo Galoe, Don’t Cry, Butterfly by Linh Dương Diệu (see the review), Natural Phenomena by Marcos Díaz Sosa and Hani by Dasheng Hou. Other entries are My Uncle Jens [+see also:
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interview: Brwa Vahabpour, Peiman Aziz…
film profile] by Brwa Vahabpour, Leave One Day [+see also:
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film profile] by Amélie Bonnin, Outerlands by Elena Oxman, Pinch by Uttera Singh, Urchin [+see also:
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film profile] by Harris Dickinson, Wind, Talk to Me [+see also:
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film profile] by Stefan Djordjević and Winter in Sokcho [+see also:
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interview: Koya Kamura
film profile] by Koya Kamura. The award worth €10,000 will be bestowed upon the best director by producer Viola Fügen, screenwriter Moritz Binder and writer-director Leo Leigh.

As for the CineRebels Competition, dedicated to bold and innovative cinema, it features 14 titles, with two of them having their world premieres: Show Me the Pain of the World by Tjaša Kosar and Marc Steck (Germany/Slovenia), and A Whale Can Be Torn Like a Samba School by Marina Meliande and Felipe M Bragança (Brazil). This year’s line-up includes Cyclone by Flávia Castro, Mistress Dispeller by Elizabeth Lo, Morlaix [+see also:
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interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile] by Jaime Rosales, I Only Rest in the Storm [+see also:
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interview: Pedro Pinho
film profile] by Pedro Pinho, OBEX by Albert Birney, Okamoto by Soujiro Sanada and Pavements by Alex Ross Perry as well as Phantosmia by Lav Diaz, The Vanishing Point [+see also:
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film profile] by Bani Khoshnoudi, Un gran casino by Daniel Hoesl, Vittoria [+see also:
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interview: Alessandro Cassigoli and Ca…
film profile] by Casey Kauffman and Alessandro Cassigoli, and Zafari [+see also:
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film profile] by Mariana Rondón. The winning director of this section and the €15,000 award will be decided upon by writer-director Anna Hints, film composer Dascha Dauenhauer and actor Clemens Schick.

US actress Gillian Anderson will be honoured with the CineMerit Award for her outstanding contributions to the art of film. The prize will be presented during a gala evening at the Deutsches Theater, which will also host the German premiere of her latest feature, The Salt Path by Marianne Elliott. Also among the guests in Munich are Stellan Skarsgård, François Ozon and Jay Duplass.