75th Berlin International Film Festival


The 75th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 13 and 23 February 2025 in Berlin, Germany. American filmmaker Todd Haynes was named the Jury President for the main competition. It marked the first edition of Tricia Tuttle as the festival's artistic director after Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek stepped down after the 2024 edition.
Dreams (Sex Love) directed by Dag Johan Haugerud won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize was awarded to The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro. While the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance was awarded to Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.
The festival opened with German drama film The Light by Tom Tykwer. During the opening ceremony, British actress Tilda Swinton was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear.
WWW berlinale.de

Juries

Main Competition

Perspectives Jury (GWFF Best First Feature Award)

Short Film Competition

  • Dascha Dauenhauer, German composer
  • Jing Haase, Danish producer
  • Phạm Ngọc Lân, Vietnamese filmmaker and producer

Generation Jury

Berlinale Documentary Award Jury

Official Sections

Main Competition

The following films were selected for the main competition for the Golden Bear on 21 January 2025:

Berlinale Special

The following films are selected for the Berlinale Special screening:

Perspectives

14 films will be competing for the Best First Feature Award. The following films were selected for the first edition of the Perspectives section:

Berlinale Short Film Competition

The following films are selected for the Berlinale's Short Film Golden Bear Competition section:

Panorama

The following films were selected for the Panorama section:

Forum

The following films were selected for the Forum section:

Generation

The following films were selected for the Generation sections:

Berlinale Classics

The following films were selected for the Berlinale Classics section:

Retrospective

The following films were selected for the Retrospective section:

Berlinale EFM

The following films were selected for the out of competition EFM section:100 Liters of Gold, directed by Teemu Nikki Abode of Down, directed by Kristina Shtubert About Woman, directed by Maurice Trouwborst Forbidden City, directed by Gabriele Mainetti Loss of Balance, directed by Korek Bojanowski Luisa, directed by Julia Roesler The Last Beautiful Thing, directed by Luca Luongo Muganga, directed by Marie-Hélène Roux Mr. Burton, directed by Marc Evans Silent Storms, directed by Dania Reymond-Boughenou That Summer in Paris, directed by Valentine Cadic The Art Whisperer, directed by Flemming Fynsk The Perfect Gamble, directed by Danny Abeckaser The Things You Kill, directed by Alireza Khatami The Rule of Jenny Pen, directed by James Ashcroft Vena, directed by Chiara Fleischhacker Vindicta, directed by Dominik Sedlar

Official Awards

Main Competition

[Honorary Golden Bear]

Berlinale Camera

  • Rainer Rother

GWFF Best First Feature Award

The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) by Ernesto Martínez Bucio
  • * Special Mention: We Believe You by Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte Devillers

Berlinale Documentary Award

Holding Liat by Brandon Kramer
  • * Special Mention:
  • ** The Memory of Butterflies by Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski
  • ** Canone effimero by Gianluca De Serio, Massimiliano De Serio

Berlinale Short Films Competition

Generation

Generation Kplus – Children's Jury

Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Maya, Give Me a Title by Michel Gondry

Generation 14plus – Youth Jury Awards

Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Sunshine by Antoinette Jadaone

Generation Kplus – International Jury

Grand Prix for the Best Film in Generation Kplus: The Botanist by Jing Yi
  • * Special Mention: Seaside Serendipity by Satoko YokohamaSpecial Prize for the Best Short Film in Generation Kplus: Autokar by Sylwia Szkiłądź
  • * Special Mention: Akababuru: Expression of Astonishment by Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí

Generation 14plus – International Jury

Grand Prix for the Best Film in Generation 14plus: Christy by Brendan Canty
  • * Special Mention: Têtes Brûlées by Maja-Ajmia Yde ZellamaSpecial Prize for the Best Short Film in Generation 14plus: Don’t Wake the Sleeping Child by Kevin Aubert
  • * Special Mention: Beneath Which Rivers Flow by Ali Yahya

Independent Awards

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro The Heart Is a Muscle by Imran Hamdulay Holding Liat by Brandon Kramer

FIPRESCI Prizes

Dreams (Sex Love) by Dag Johan Haugerud Little Trouble Girls by Urška Djukić Under the Flags, the Sun by Juanjo Pereira The Memory of Butterflies by Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski

Panorama Audience Award

Deaf by Eva Libertad2nd Place: Lesbian Space Princess by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese3rd Place: Home Sweet Home by Frelle Petersen

Panorama Audience Award – Documentary

The Moelln Letters by Martina Priessner2nd Place: Yalla Parkour by Areeb Zuaiter3rd Place: Khartoum by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed and Phil Cox

[Teddy Award]

Best Feature Film: Lesbian Space Princess by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela VargheseBest Documentary: Satanic Sow by Rosa von PraunheimBest Short Film: Lloyd Wong, Unfinished by Lesley Loksi ChanJury Award: If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile by Marie Luise Lehner Special Award: Todd Haynes

Prize of the Guild of German Arthouse cinemas

Dreams (Sex Love) by Dag Johan Haugerud

C.I.C.A.E. Art Cinema Award

Deaf by Eva Libertad If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile by Marie Luise Lehner

Label Europa Cinemas

Hysteria by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay

Caligari Film Prize

Fwends by Sophie Somerville

Peace Film Prize

  • Khartoum by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed and Phil Cox
  • * Special Mention: Queer as Punk by Yihwen Chen

Amnesty International Film Award

The Moelln Letters by Martina Priessner

Heiner Carow Prize

Palliative Care Unit by Philipp Döring

Prize AG Kino – Gilde – Cinema Vision 14plus

Paternal Leave by Alissa Jung
  • * Special Mention: Têtes brûlées by Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama

Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award

The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro

Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury Award

The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov by Yuri Semashko