The 76th version of the Berlin Film Festival opens on Thursday, that includes productions from over 80 international locations and with German movie legend Wim Wenders presiding over this 12 months’s jury.
AFP sat down with competition director Tricia Tuttle, who’s in her second 12 months on the helm, for a look-ahead at Europe’s first massive cinema competition of the 12 months.
Here are 5 issues to anticipate from this 12 months’s competition, which runs till February 22.
‘Reflecting worldwide cinema’
Of greater than 200 movies proven throughout the 10-day competition, 22 will compete for the coveted Golden Bear, which was gained final 12 months by the drama “Dreams” from Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud.
In assembling this 12 months’s numerous program, Tuttle mentioned that “the guiding principle was to reflect where international cinema is right now”.
She mentioned that she had observed “family and intimacy under pressure, questions of care, power, belonging, and the experience of living between worlds” as themes working by means of this 12 months’s choice.
“Many of the films look at how private lives are shaped by larger political and social forces.”
The competition will even honor Malaysian actor Michelle Yeoh — who gained one of the best actress Oscar in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — with a lifetime achievement award.
Spotlight on girls administrators
As in 2025, girls directed a lot of the movies being screened on the competition. Among these within the official competitors, 9 out of twenty-two have been directed by girls, the next proportion than on the Cannes or Venice festivals.
“One thing that is encouraging for me is the number of second and third time female film-makers who have made strong work,” Tuttle mentioned.
The opening movie, “No Good Men”, is itself the third feature-length movie from Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat.
“It’s about Afghan women’s experience, which you wouldn’t see if it wasn’t for Shahrbanoo’s work,” Tuttle mentioned.
Sadat fled her house nation following the Taliban takeover in 2021 and now lives in Hamburg.
American movies stay elusive
In distinction to Cannes or Venice, which frequently appeal to Oscar contenders, Berlin doesn’t function as many large-scale U.S. productions and the sprinkle of stardust that always accompanies them.
“Some of the biggest authored films of the year, those sort of commercial-arthouse crossover films, haven’t launched out of festivals this year,” Tuttle famous, maybe in a nod to titles equivalent to “One Battle After Another”, “Sinners” and “Marty Supreme”.
For such movies, which might simply value greater than $100 million to make, producers and distributors are more and more eager on controlling all elements of a movie’s launch.
“Festivals can be busy, noisy places where you might not get the cut-through that you want,” based on Tuttle — to not point out working the danger of destructive critiques from critics.
The period of co-productions
This 12 months’s competition will notably function European co-productions with financing from a number of international locations.
According to Tuttle, “there’s an opportunity right now for Europe, for European producers to work together” because the business extra broadly continues to fracture.
She cites the instance of Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value”, nominated for 9 Oscars, which is a co-production between Norway, Denmark, France and Germany.
“Sentimental Value is a film that is made by many countries in terms of investment, but it’s very much the work of an author and a really important filmmaker,” mentioned Tuttle.
Streaming platforms nearly absent
Unlike in Venice, the place three Netflix-produced movies entered the official competitors, the giants of the streaming world are comparatively marginal in Berlin.
“There’s real value to be had in theatrical exhibition, not just because there’s money to be made there … but also, for us as movie fans, it’s the best way to see a film,” mentioned Tuttle.
The solely Netflix movie at this 12 months’s Berlinale will function within the “Special Presentation” part — exterior of the official competitors.
“Un hijo proprio” (“A Child of My Own”) is a documentary-length function telling the story of a Mexican lady who invents a being pregnant in an try to flee strain from her household to have a baby.
© 2026 AFP