Berlin Film Festival: Michel Gondry & Ira Sachs Among Names Set For Competition Sidebars

Zac Ntim
·11-min read

Michel Gondry and Ira Sachs are among the headline filmmakers set to debut new feature works within the sidebar competitions at next year’s Berlin Film Festival.

The German festival announced the pair this afternoon as part of its first crop of confirmed titles.

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Gondry will screen Maya, Give Me a Title (Maya, donne-moi un titre) in Berlin’s Generation sidebar. The festival’s website describes the film as Gondry’s “stop-motion love letter to his daughter Maya brings to life a poetic and amusing journey that invites you to dream and laugh.”

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Also set for the Generation competition is Our Wildest Days (I Agries Meres Mas) by Greek filmmaker Vasilis Kekatos who is best known for his 2019 short film The Distance Between Us and the Sky, which won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. He also created the popular Greek series Milky Way.

RELATED: Todd Haynes To Head 2025 Berlinale Competition Jury

Ira Sachs returns to the Berlinale’s Panorama competition with Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall. The film is described as a “1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz.” The festival description says the film “provides a glimpse into the New York downtown art scene of the time and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.” Sachs was last at the Berlinale with the cult favorite Passages, also starring Wishaw.

Elsewhere, in the Berlinale Specials program, German director Jan-Ole Gerster debuts Islands, a neo-noir thriller starring Sam Riley and Stacy Martin. Director-duo Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli will debut Honey Bunch. Both films are presented as Latenight Specials.

Scroll down for the full list of titles. The Berlin Film Festival runs February 13-23.

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The festival will mark festival head Tricia Tuttle’s first edition at the helm. Tuttle replaced the festival’s former dual-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek. Tuttle was last head of the BFI’s London Film Festival.

Berlinale Special

Honey Bunch
by Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli | with Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Kate Dickie, Jason Isaacs, India Brown
Canada 2025; world premiere
Diana’s husband is taking her to an experimental trauma facility deep in the wilderness, but she can’t remember why… As her memories begin to creep back in so do some unwelcome sinister truths about her marriage

Islands
by Jan-Ole Gerster | with Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing
Germany 2025; world premiere
Tom, a tennis coach at a luxury hotel, has his life changed when a new family arrives. Matters take a dark turn when the husband disappears and both Tom and the wife become suspects.

Köln 75
by Ido Fluk | with Mala Emde, John Magaro, Michael Chernus, Alexander Scheer
Germany/Poland/Belgium 2025; world premiere
The true story of Vera Brandes, teenage patron saint of the 1970s Cologne music scene, who risked everything to organise the greatest solo concert in music history: Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert.

Panorama

Ato noturno (Night Stage)
by Marcio Reolon, Filipe Matzembacher | with Gabriel Faryas, Cirillo Luna, Henrique Barreira, Ivo Müller, Kaya Rodrigues
Brazil 2025; world premiere
An actor and a politician start a secret affair and together discover their fetish for having sex in public places. The closer they get to their dream of fame, the more they feel the urge to put themselves at risk.

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Den stygge stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister)
by Emilie Blichfeldt | with Lea Myren, Thea Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli Norway / Poland/Sweden/Denmark 2025; European premiere
Debut film
Elvira will go to any lengths to compete with her insanely beautiful stepsister. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, she uses blood, sweat and tears to catch the Prince’s eye. A twisted take on the classic Cinderella story.

Dreams in Nightmares
by Shatara Michelle Ford | with Denée Benton, Mars Storm Rucker, Dezi Bing, Sasha Compere, Charlie Barnett
USA/Taiwan/United Kingdom 2024; international premiere
Three Black queer femmes in their mid-thirties take a road trip across the American Midwest in search of their friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid.

Hjem kaere hjem (Home Sweet Home)
by Frelle Petersen | with Jette Søndergaard, Karen Tygesen, Mimi Bræmer Dueholm, Hanne Knudsen, Finn Nissen
Denmark 2025; world premiere
Sofie begins her new work as a carer making home visits to old people. She is quickly confronted with the harsh realities of this challenging job. A precise, authentic representation of a profession that remains largely invisible to the public eye.

Lesbian Space Princess
by Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese | with Shabana Azeez, Gemma Chua Tran, Richard Roxburgh, Bernie Van Tiel, Mark Bonanno
Australia 2025; world premiere
Debut film | Animation
The introverted space princess Saira is forced to leave her home planet of Clitopolis on an inter-gay-lactic mission to save her ex- girlfriend who has been kidnapped and is being held ransom by the Straight White Maliens.

Peter Hujar’s Day
by Ira Sachs | with Ben Wishaw, Rebecca Hall
USA/Germany 2025; international premiere
A 1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz provides a glimpse into the New York downtown art scene of the time and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.

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Sorda (Deaf)
by Eva Libertad | with Miriam Garlo, Álvaro Cervantes, Elena Irureta, Joaquín Notario
Spain 2025; world premiere
Ángela, a deaf woman, is expecting a child with her hearing partner, Héctor. The baby’s arrival causes a crisis in their relationship, forcing Ángela to face the challenges of raising her daughter in a world which is not made for her.

Welcome Home Baby
by Andreas Prochaska | with Julia Franz Richter, Reinout Scholten van Aschat, Gerti Drassl, Maria Hofstätter, Gerhard Liebmann
Austria/Germany 2025; world premiere
Judith works as an emergency doctor in Berlin. When she inherits a house in Austria from the family who gave her away as a child, her quest to solve the mystery of her origins turns into a nightmarish journey into the past and the dark places of her soul.

Panorama Dokumente

Bajo las banderas, el sol (Under the Flags, the Sun)
by Juanjo Pereira
Paraguay/Argentina/USA/France/Germany 2025; world premiere
Debut film
This fully archival journey through the 35 years of Alfredo Stroessner’s regime in Paraguay reveals unseen footage and explores one of the longest-running dictatorships in history, whose effects still resonate today.

Die Möllner Briefe (The Moelln Letters)
by Martina Priessner | with Hava Arslan, İbrahim Arslan, Namık Arslan, Yeliz Burhan Germany 2025; world premiere
Thirty years after the racist attacks in Mölln, survivor İbrahim Arslan discovers hundreds of forgotten letters of solidarity. The film follows him and his family in their struggle to foster a new, victim-centred culture of remembrance.

Khartoum
by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox | with Khadmallah, Majdi, Jawad, Lokain, Wilson
Sudan/United Kingdom/Germany/Qatar 2025; European premiere
Five lives, one city, the fate of a nation. A civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer and two street boys are forced to flee when civil war breaks out in Sudan. An emotional and lyrical portrait of five people from Khartoum.

Paul
by Denis Côté | with Cleaning Simp Paul
Canada 2025; world premiere
Struggling with depression and social anxiety, Paul has found refuge in serving women who invite him to clean their homes. By sharing his gently eccentric routines on social media, he combats loneliness and takes it one day at a time.

Generation

A natureza das coisas invisíveis (The Nature of Invisible Things | Die Natur der unsichtbaren Dinge)
by Rafaela Camelo | with Laura Brandão, Serena, Larissa Mauro, Camila Márdila, Aline Marta Maia
Brazil/Chile 2025
Generation Kplus; world premiere (Kplus)
Debut film
During the summer holidays, the paths of two ten-year-old girls cross in a hospital and they form an unexpected bond. Their connection leads them on a bittersweet journey of loss, farewells and quiet discoveries about life.

Anngeerdardardor (The Thief)
by Christoffer Rizvanovic Stenbakken | with Kamillo Ignatiussen, Mikkel Paalu P. Bianco, Simujook Ikila
Denmark/Greenland 2025; World premiere
Short Film
Kaali embarks on an intense search through the town of Tasiilaq in East Greenland, determined to find his missing sled dog. After an encounter with a group of young bullies, he recovers the dog but risks losing his only friend.

Autokar
by Sylwia Szkiłądź | with Natalia Wolska, Henryk Niebudek, Elżbieta Gaertner, Marcin Pempuś, Lidia Sadowa
Belgium/France 2025; world premiere (Kplus)
Animation | Short Film
In the 1990s, 8-year-old Agata leaves her home in Poland and travels by herself to Belgium. Her perceptions transform the reality of migration into an imaginative experience of initiation.

Beneath Which Rivers Flow by Ali Yahya | with Ibrahim Halim
Iraq 2025; world premiere (14plus)
Documentary form | Short Film
In the marshlands of southern Iraq, Ibrahim feels like a stranger in the world. His sole companion is his faithful buffalo. But a looming environmental catastrophe threatens the only life he knows and the one living being he truly understands.

Daye: Seret Ahl El Daye (The Tale of Daye’s Family)
by Karim El Shenawy | with Aseel Omran, Islam Mobarak, Haneen Saeed, Badr Mohamed Egypt 2024; European premiere (14plus)
Daye, a 14-year-old Nubian albino with a golden voice, is used to having to stick up for himself. Inspired by his idol Mohamed Mounir, he and his family journey to Cairo so he can audition for The Voice.

Fantas
by Halima Elkhatabi | with Tania Doumbe Fines, Juan Mateo Barrera Gonzales, Bourriquet, Adam Hilali, Ryan Hilali
Canada 2024; International premiere (14plus)
Short Film
Tania decides to take her horse Fantas to the city and introduce it to some friends in the working-class neighbourhood where she and her family live. Two worlds that have never crossed paths before collide in this little urban tale.

I Agries Meres Mas (Our Wildest Days)
by Vasilis Kekatos | with Daphne Patakia, Nikolakis Zeginoglou, Stavros Tsoumanis, Eva Samioti, Natalia Swift
Greece/France; world premiere (14plus)
Debut film
Chloe leaves her family behind and joins a group of teenagers crossing Greece. On her journey, she helps poor people in unconventional ways and starts to wonder if tenderness is the ultimate act of rebellion.

Maya, donne-moi un titre (Maya, Give Me a Title) by Michel Gondry | with Maya Gondry, Pierre Niney
France; International premiere (Kplus)
Animation
Michel Gondry’s stop-motion love letter to his daughter Maya brings to life a poetic and amusing journey that invites you to dream and laugh.

Ne réveillez pas l’enfant qui dort (Don’t Wake the Sleeping Child)
by Kevin Aubert | with Khadia Ndiaye Fall, Mame Binta Sane, Samba Ly, Adji Mareme Hanne
Senegal/France/Morocco 2025; World premiere
Short Film
Fifteen-year-old Diamant from Dakar dreams of making films, but her family has other plans for her. To Diamant, however, these are out of the question. She falls into a deep sleep from which no one can wake her.

On a Sunday at Eleven
by Alicia K. Harris | with Zoe Peak, Amia Ogieva, Samaya Hodge, Jasmine Best, Malea Yarde Canada 2024; International premiere (Kplus)
Short Film
A young Black ballerina carries out her Sunday rituals while facing the pressure to perform whiteness. The film is an unapologetic celebration of the powerful, ancestral bond embedded in Black women.

Ornmol (White Ochre) by Marlikka Perdrisat
Australia 2025; world premiere (Kplus)
Documentary form
Short Film
Kupungarri in northwestern Australia is one of the most natural places left in the world. The small community strengthens its young people through a close connection with Country. Excitement grows as they prepare for the biggest event of the year, the Mowanjum Festival.

Space Cadet
by Eric (aka Kid Koala) San
Canada 2025; world premiere (Kplus)
Debut film | Animation
When the astronaut Celeste blasts off into space on her first solo mission, the guardian robot that has accompanied her throughout her childhood is left alone to wonder: What now? A tomorrow-days lullaby about finding your place in the universe.

Têtes Brûlées
by Maja Ajmia Yde Zellama | with Safa Gharbaoui
Belgium 2025; world premiere (14plus)
Debut film
Twelve-year-old Eya has to face the sudden death of her beloved older brother Younès. In an intense grieving process, she draws on her creativity, resilience and the support of Younès’ friends to come to terms with her loss.

Village Rockstars 2
by Rima Das | with Bhanita Das, Basanti Das, Junumoni Boro, Manabendra Das, Boloram Das
India/Singapore 2024; European premiere (14plus)
In a small and charming village, a teenage girl passionately pursues her musical dream. But the harsh realities of life get in the way. Defying the challenges, she embarks on a journey to rediscover the profound harmonies between music and life.

Zečji nasip (Sandbag Dam)
by Čejen Černić Čanak | with Lav Novosel, Andrija Žunac, Leon Grgić, Petra Mikolaci, Tanja Smoje
Croatia/Lithuania/Slovenia 2024; world premiere (14plus)
In a village on the brink of flooding, Marko’s life is turned upside down when Slaven returns for his father’s funeral and rekindles their forbidden romance. Marko must confront his family and make a difficult choice.

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