As the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (12-22 February) and the accompanying European Film Market (EFM, 12-18 February) draw near, German international sales agent m-appeal is unveiling a strong and diverse slate of films anchored in intimate storytelling and emotionally charged human encounters. Spanning coming-of-age narratives, migrant experiences and fragile family bonds, the line-up continues the company’s focus on bold, character-driven cinema with international appeal.

Leading the slate is Truly Naked, the debut feature by Dutch-Belgian filmmaker Muriel d’Ansembourg, which will world-premiere in the Berlinale’s Perspectives section. Set against the unlikely backdrop of a small-scale pornography business, the film follows Alec, a soft-spoken, introverted teenager whose understanding of intimacy is radically challenged when he meets the fiercely independent Nina. As their relationship deepens, Truly Naked evolves into a tender and unexpectedly heartwarming exploration of desire, vulnerability and what it truly means to be seen.

The Berlin-based sales agent will also present The Garden We Dreamed, the new feature by Mexican filmmaker Joaquín del Paso (The Hole in the Fence [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), enjoying its world premiere in the Panorama section. The film follows Esther and Junior, a Haitian couple travelling north with their children in search of a better future, who settle in a remote forest region of central Mexico shaped by illegal logging. As the family attempts to build a fragile sense of home amid environmental and emotional instability, Esther becomes the emotional anchor holding them together. Shot by renowned Turkish cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki (Winter Sleep [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
scheda film], Once Upon a Time in Anatolia [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]), the movie weaves together themes of displacement and resilience.

Completing the Berlinale line-up is Gugu’s World, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Allan Deberton, which will world-premiere in Generation Kplus. The coming-of-age drama centres on nearly 12-year-old Gugu, a football-loving boy living with his warm and open-minded grandmother, Dilma, in a small Brazilian community near a fast-drying reservoir that reveals the remnants of a submerged town. As Dilma’s health begins to decline and pressure mounts from Gugu’s father and the surrounding community, the boy struggles to preserve the only safe space he has ever known.