28/01/2025 - Ina Weisse, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay and Andreas Prochaska push boundaries with bold narratives, while Isaac Julien’s sequel to Looking for Langston joins Ira Sachs’ reflection on art and life

UPDATE (28 January 2025): The new film by cult filmmaker and queer activist Rosa von Praunheim, The Satanic Sow, a dreamlike and factual hybrid film, both a swan song and a farce at the same time, rounds off the Panorama selection.

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The Panorama section of the Berlinale, running from 13-23 February, will feature 34 movies from 28 countries. An announcement has just been made to round off the list of titles in the section (see the news). This year’s edition embraces genre cinema, highlights German filmmaking and offers a powerful selection of queer cinema, promising a range of narratives that defy conventions and reflect diverse societal themes.

“The filmmakers in this year’s Panorama programme have developed diverse cinematic strategies to address the unspoken and capture the unimaginable or forgotten,” shared section head Michael Stütz. He emphasised that the selected films delve into societal fractures, precarious health systems, shaky democracies and social terror, while celebrating humanity and solidarity. Themes of desire, perversion and boundaries further underscore the section's ambitious scope.

Austrian director Andreas Prochaska (The Dark Valley [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) will set the tone with his psychological homeland horror Welcome Home Baby [+see also:
film review
film profile], a genre-infused critique of the urban-rural dichotomy, selected as the section's opening film. Other genre highlights include the satirical Norwegian body horror The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Emilie Blichfeldt and the Turkish political thriller Confidante [+see also:
film review
interview: Cağla Zencirci & Guillaume …
film profile] by Çağla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti (Sibel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Çağla Zencirci and Guillaum…
film profile]). Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, winner of the Best First Feature award in the festival's 2019 edition with Oray [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile], contributes Hysteria [+see also:
film review
interview: Devrim Lingnau
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile], a German conspiracy thriller interweaving political intrigue and a film-within-a-film motif, while Denmark's Jeanette Nordahl presents her follow-up to Wildland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jeanette Nordahl
film profile], divorce drama Beginnings [+see also:
film review
interview: Jeanette Nordahl
film profile], starring Trine Dyrholm. Amalia Ulman (El planeta [+see also:
film review
interview: Amalia Ulman
film profile]) is also presenting her new film, US-Argentinian sci-fi comedy Magic Farm, starring Chloë Sevigny and Simon Rex.

German cinema occupies a prominent place in the line-up, represented by six productions. Five female directors will be presenting their work: Nele Mueller-Stöfen and Sarah Miro Fischer present their debut features, Delicious [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nele Mueller-Stöfen
film profile] and The Good Sister [+see also:
film review
interview: Sarah Miro Fischer & Marie …
film profile], respectively, while Ina Weisse unveils her deeply personal Cicadas [+see also:
film review
interview: Ina Weisse
film profile], collaborating once again with Nina Hoss after The Audition [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ina Weisse
interview: Ina Weisse
film profile],. In the documentary section, Martina Priessner’s The Moelln Letters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martina Priessner
film profile] revisits the aftermath of the 1993 racist arson attacks in Mölln, while Luzia Schmid reflects on recent German history through the lens of the legendary Hildegard Knef in I Want It All [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

The international documentary selection broadens the Panorama's perspective. In Under the Flags, the Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Juanjo Pereira, archival footage revives the haunting presence of a fallen dictatorship. Bedrock by Kinga Michalska examines Holocaust memorials to explore the resilience of memory. From Poland, Arjun Talwar’s Letters from Wolf Street [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] portrays personal and political changes on Warsaw's Wilcza Street. Meanwhile, Areeb Zuaiter captures life in Gaza before the recent war in Yalla Parkour [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], following young freerunners navigating everyday challenges.

Queer cinema remains a strong focal point, with entries spanning artistic portraits, identity dramas and genre hybrids. Monk in Pieces by Billy Shebar explores the legacy of a queer artist, while Queerpanorama by Jun Li offers a sex-positive take on identity theft. Berlinale veterans Sir Isaac Julien and Ira Sachs bring prestige to the programme with their works: Julien presents his seminal Looking for Langston alongside its sequel, a medium-length film titled Once Again... (Statues Never Die), while Sachs reflects on life and friendship in Peter Hujar’s Day [+see also:
film review
film profile].

The section also encompasses the 39th Teddy Award, honouring queer cinema, with a highlight being a Lifetime Achievement Award for Todd Haynes, who serves as the Berlinale jury president this year (see the news). Additionally, audiences will participate in awarding the Panorama Audience Award for their favourite fiction and documentary features during the Berlinale’s closing weekend.

Here is the full list of titles:

Panorama

Welcome Home Baby [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Andreas Prochaska (Austria/Germany) (opening film)
Hysteria [+see also:
film review
interview: Devrim Lingnau
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] - Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay (Germany)
1001 Frames - Mehrnoush Alia (USA)
The Incredible Snow Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sébastien Betbeder
film profile] - Sébastien Betbeder (France)
The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Emilie Blichfeldt (Norway/Poland/Sweden/Denmark)
Silent Sparks - Ping Chu (Taiwan)
Paul - Denis Côté (Canada)
Olmo - Fernando Eimbcke (USA/Mexico)
Dreams in Nightmares - Shatara Michelle Ford (USA/Taiwan/UK)
The Longing - Toshizo Fujiwara (Japan)
Dreamers [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor (UK)
The Heart Is a Muscle - Imran Hamdulay (South Africa/Saudi Arabia)
Lesbian Space Princess - Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese (Australia)
Once Again... (Statues Never Die) - Isaac Julien (UK) (medium-length film)
Queerpanorama - Jun Li (USA/Hong Kong/China)
Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] - Eva Libertad (Spain)
Bedrock - Kinga Michalska (Canada)
The Good Sister [+see also:
film review
interview: Sarah Miro Fischer & Marie …
film profile] - Sarah Miro Fischer (Germany/Spain)
Delicious [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nele Mueller-Stöfen
film profile] - Nele Mueller-Stöfen (Germany)
Beginnings [+see also:
film review
interview: Jeanette Nordahl
film profile] - Jeanette Nordahl (Denmark/Sweden/Belgium)
Under the Flags, the Sun [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay/Argentina/USA/France/Germany)
Home Sweet Home [+see also:
film review
interview: Frelle Petersen
film profile] - Frelle Petersen (Denmark)
The Satanic Sow - Rosa von Praunheim (Germany)
The Moelln Letters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martina Priessner
film profile] - Martina Priessner (Germany)
Night Stage - Marcio Reolon, Filipe Matzembacher (Brazil)
Peter Hujar's Day [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Ira Sachs (USA/Germany)
Khartoum [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmad, Tim…
film profile] - Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox (Sudan/UK/Germany/Qatar)
I Want It All [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Luzia Schmid (Germany)
Other People's Money - Jan Schomburg, Dustin Loose, Kaspar Munk (Germany/Denmark/Austria) (series)
Monk in Pieces - Billy Shebar (USA)
Letters from Wolf Street [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Arjun Talwar (Poland/Germany)
Magic Farm - Amalia Ulman (USA/Argentina)
Cicadas [+see also:
film review
interview: Ina Weisse
film profile] - Ina Weisse (Germany/France)
Confidante [+see also:
film review
interview: Cağla Zencirci & Guillaume …
film profile] - Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti (Turkey/France/Luxembourg)
Yalla Parkour [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Areeb Zuaiter (Sweden/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Palestine)