2025 Berlinale: Linklater, Hadžihalilović, Sangsoo, Gabriel Mascaro, Michel Franco, Vivian Qu & Mary Bronstein in Comp

Date:

Nineteen features in competition, Artistic Director Tricia Tuttle loaded up on some mainstay auteurs with the likes of Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Hong Sangsoo, Radu Jude, Lucile Hadžihalilović and Golden Bear winner Vivian Qu (2014’s Black Coal, Thin Ice) measuring up against Léonor Serraille (Cannes Camera d’Or winning Montparnasse Bienvenue), Gabriel Mascaro (Venice Special Jury Prize winning Boi Neon), Mary Bronstein (who will premiere her sophomore feature in Sundance this week) and first-time filmmaker / Ida scribe Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The 75th edition of the Berlin Film Festival beings of February 13th.

Of the selections, here are titles we’ve been keeping close tabs on. After a pair of Cannes preemed titles, French filmmaker Léonor Serraille shores up with her third feature Arï which is toplined by Andranic Manet (appeared in Larrieu Bros.’ Jim’s Story). Richard Linklater will be dropping two films this year and Blue Moon was dated as a May theatrical release so this comes as no surprise. Starring Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley – this biopic item looks at the first project of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s creative partnership. After a no-show at Venice, Michel Franco premiering Dreams became a possibility. Jessica Chastain toplines for a second time out on a Franco film. Based on the novel of the same name by Deborah Levy, Rebecca Lenkiewicz nabbed Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps for Hot Milk. Lucile Hadžihalilović will have a huge premiere slot with La Tour de Glace which stars Marion Cotillard and surprise surprise her hubby Gaspar Noé. Brazil’s Gabriel Mascaro premieres The Blue Trail which premieres Denise Weinberg and Rodrigo Santoro. Mary Bronstein follows in A24’s Celine Song’s Past Lives strategy, with a non-competition showing in Park City followed by an international premiere — this is toplined by Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky and Conan O’Brien. And finally after about a decade since winning the Golden Bear, Vivian Qu is back with Girls on Wire. Here are the competition selections:

Arï by Léonor Serraille
with Andranic Manet, Pascal Rénéric, Théo Delezenne, Ryad Ferrad, Eva Lallier Juan
France / Belgium 2025 – World premiere
Ari, a young teacher, quits his job and is thrown out of the house by his father. Lost and alone, he reconnects with old friends, triggering a journey of self-discovery.

Blue Moon by Richard Linklater
with Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott
USA / Ireland 2025 – World premiere
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.

La cache (The Safe House) by Lionel Baier
with Dominique Reymond, Michel Blanc, William Lebghil, Aurélien Gabrielli, Liliane Rovère
Switzerland / Luxembourg / France 2025 – World premiere
An eccentric family portrait set during the May 1968 protests in Paris. A nine-year-old boy stays with his grandparents and uncles while his parents protest. When an illustrious guest seeks refuge in the apartment, the family’s dynamics change.

Dreams by Michel Franco
with Jessica Chastain, Isaac Hernández, Rupert Friend, Marshall Bell
Mexico 2025 – World premiere
Believing his lover will support him, a young Mexican ballet dancer crosses the border to pursue his dreams in San Francisco. But as ambition and love clash with harsh realities, he must face the true nature of their relationship.

Drømmer (Dreams) by Dag Johan Haugerud
with Ella Øverbye, Selome Emnetu, Ane Dahl Torp, Anne Marit Jacobsen
Norway 2024 – International premiere
Johanne’s intimate writings about her crush on her teacher ignite both tension and self-reflection within her family, as her mother and grandmother confront their own unfulfilled dreams and desires.

Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani (What Does that Nature Say to You) by Hong Sangsoo
with Ha Seongguk, Kwon Haehyo, Cho Yunhee, Kang Soyi, Park Miso
South Korea 2025 – World premiere
A young poet drops his girlfriend off at her parents’ house and is amazed by its size. He bumps into her father, meets her mother and sister, and they all end up spending a long day together; fueled by conversation, food and libations.

Hot Milk by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
with Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez
United Kingdom 2025 – World premiere | Debut film
Rose and her daughter Sofia journey to a Spanish seaside town to meet an enigmatic healer. As Sofia embraces an affair with an alluring stranger, tensions with her overbearing mother threaten their fragile bond.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You by Mary Bronstein
with Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Ivy Wolk
USA 2024 – International premiere
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.

Kontinental ’25 by Radu Jude
with Eszter Tompa, Gabriel Spahiu, Adonis Tanța, Oana Mardare, Șerban Pavlu
Romania 2025 – World premiere
Orsolya is a bailiff in Cluj, the main city in Transylvania. One day she has to evict a homeless man from a cellar, an action with tragic consequences that triggers a moral crisis which Orsolya must weather as best she can.

El mensaje (The Message | Die Nachricht) by Iván Fund
with Mara Bestelli, Marcelo Subiotto, Anika Bootz, Betania Cappato
Argentina / Spain 2025 – World premiere
In the Argentinian countryside, a child’s special gift gives her opportunistic guardians the idea of offering consultations with an animal medium in order to earn a living.

Mother’s Baby by Johanna Moder
with Marie Leuenberger, Hans Löw, Claes Bang, Julia Franz Richter
Austria / Switzerland / Germany 2025 – World premiere
The family dream becomes a nightmare as 40-year-old Julia struggles to bond with her newborn child.

O último azul (The Blue Trail) by Gabriel Mascaro
with Denise Weinberg, Rodrigo Santoro, Miriam Socorrás, Adanilo
Brazil / Mexico / Chile / Netherlands 2025
Competition | World premiere
In the near future, the elderly must relocate to remote retirement colonies so that the younger generations can go about their work undisturbed. The 77-year-old Tereza refuses and instead embarks on a life-changing journey through the Amazon.

Reflet dans un diamant mort (Reflection in a Dead Diamond)
by Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
with Fabio Testi, Yannick Renier, Koen De Bouw, Maria de Medeiros, Thi Mai Nguyen
Belgium / Luxembourg / Italy / France 2025 – World premiere
When the mysterious woman in the room next door disappears, a debonair 70-year-old ex-spy living in a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur is confronted by the demons and darlings of a lurid past in which moviemaking, memories and madness collide.

Sheng xi zhi di (Living the Land) by Huo Meng
with Wang Shang, Zhang Chuwen, Zhang Yanrong, Zhang Caixia, Cao Lingzhi
People’s Republic of China 2025 – World premiere
With both parents working far away, ten-year-old Chuang is being raised by extended family in his home village, where thousands of years of rural tradition collide with the socio-economic changes of China in the early 1990s.

Strichka chasu (Timestamp) (doc) by Kateryna Gornostai
with Olha Bryhynets, Borys Khovriak, Mykola Kolomiiets, Valeriia Hukova, Mykola Shpak
Ukraine / Luxembourg / Netherlands / France 2025 – Competition
Despite the war, school life continues in Ukraine, with pupils and teachers striving to continue learning even under constant threat. The film is a mosaic of the everyday lives of teachers and students from different corners of Ukraine.

La Tour de Glace (The Ice Tower) by Lucile Hadžihalilović
with Marion Cotillard, Clara Pacini, August Diehl, Gaspar Noé
France / Germany 2025 – World premiere
Colder than ice, her kiss pierces the heart … The 1970s. Jeanne, a young runaway, falls under the spell of Cristina, the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film which is being shot in the studio where Jeanne has taken refuge.

Was Marielle weiß (What Marielle Knows) by Frédéric Hambalek
with Julia Jentsch, Felix Kramer, Laeni Geiseler, Mehmet Ateşçi, Moritz Treuenfels
Germany 2025 – World premiere
Julia and Tobias discover that their daughter Marielle has suddenly developed telepathic abilities and can see and hear everything they do. This leads to situations ranging from the awkward to the absurd as uncomfortable truths are revealed.

Xiang fei de nv hai (Girls on Wire) by Vivian Qu
with Liu Haocun, Wen Qi, Zhang Youhao, Zhou You, Peng Jing
People’s Republic of China 2025 – World premiere
Tian Tian, the single mother of a five-year-old daughter, kills a drug dealer and is then pursued for vengeance. The only person she can turn to for help is her female cousin, Fang Di.

Yunan by Ameer Fakher Eldin
with Georges Khabbaz, Hanna Schygulla, Ali Suliman, Sibel Kekilli, Tom Wlaschiha
Germany / Canada / Italy / Palestine / Qatar / Jordan / Saudi Arabia 2025 – World premiere
On a remote island, Munir seeks solitude to contemplate a final act, only to find unexpected solace in the quiet presence of Valeska (Hanna Schygulla), whose compassion reignites his fading will to live.

Arï, Léonor Serraille, Blue Moon, Richard Linklater, La cache, Lionel Baier, Dreams, Michel Franco, Drømmer, Dag Johan Haugerud, What Does that Nature Say to You, Hong Sangsoo, Hot Milk, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein, Kontinental ’25, Radu Jude, El mensaje, Iván Fund, Mother’s Baby, Johanna Moder, O último azul, Gabriel Mascaro, Reflet dans un diamant mort, Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Living the Land, Huo Meng, Timestamp, Kateryna Gornostai, La Tour de Glace, Lucile Hadžihalilović, What Marielle Knows, Frédéric Hambalek, Girls on Wire, Vivian Qu, Yunan, Ameer Fakher Eldin

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

Share post: