The Berlin International Film Festival has begun unveiling the first titles set to form part of the programme of its 76th edition, with the initial announcement covering the Panorama and Generation sections. In total, twelve feature films have been confirmed for Panorama—ten of them world premieres—along with a further twelve titles for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions, aimed at children and young audiences, comprising five feature films and seven short films.

The Panorama section will showcase new works by established and emerging filmmakers such as Danielle Arbid, Patric Chiha, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, Anna Roller, Faraz Shariat, Ian de la Rosa and Sebastian Brameshuber. Five of the selected films are documentaries, reinforcing the author-driven and politically engaged profile that has historically defined this strand of the festival.

Among the world premieres is Allegro Pastell by German director Anna Roller, a story about a novelist and a web designer who maintain a seemingly perfect long-distance relationship. The film marks Roller’s second feature, following her debut Dead Girls, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was later acquired by streaming platform Mubi.

Panorama will also screen Mouse, a coming-of-age comedy drama directed by Americans Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, the filmmaking duo behind Ghostlight, one of Sundance’s most acclaimed titles. German filmmaker Faraz Shariat, meanwhile, returns to the Berlinale after winning the Teddy Award in 2020 for No Hard Feelings. His new film, Prosecution, tells the story of a state prosecutor who survives a racist attack and decides to take her own case to court.

Lebanese-French director Danielle Arbid will world premiere Only Rebels Win, a Beirut-set love story starring Hiam Abbass. Arbid’s previous films have screened at festivals such as San Sebastián and Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. From Austria, Patric Chiha will take part in Panorama for the fourth consecutive time with A Russian Winter, a documentary set between Paris and Istanbul in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The film follows a group of friends forced into exile for refusing to align with the Russian regime.

Spanish cinema will be represented by Iván & Hadoum, the debut feature by Ian de la Rosa, which will also have its world premiere in Berlin. Set in a greenhouse in southern Spain, the film explores the relationship between Iván and Hadoum, two co-workers whose bond is threatened by Iván’s long-awaited promotion, forcing him to reconsider his priorities and the kind of person he wants to be. De la Rosa won the Cinéfondation Award at Cannes in 2015 for his short film Victor XX.

In the documentary field, Enough Is Enough by Elisé Sawasawa stands out, described as a plunge into the chaos of the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shaped by more than three decades of armed conflict.

Panorama

• Allegro Pastell (Ger), dir. Anna Roller (World premiere)
• Bucks Harbor (US), dir. Pete Muller (World premiere, documentary)
• Iván & Hadoum (Sp-Ger-Bel), dir. Ian de la Rosa (World premiere)
• Jaripeo (Mex-US-Fr) dir. Efraín Mojica, Rebecca Zweig (International premiere, documentary)
• London (Austria) dir. Sebastian Brameshuber (World premiere)
• Mouse (US) dir. Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson (World premiere)
• Only Rebels Win (Fr-Leb-Qatar), dir. Danielle Arbid (World premiere) 
• Numb (Japan), dir. Takuya Uchiyama (International premiere)
• Prosecution (Ger), dir. Faraz Shariat (World premiere)
• Enough is Enough (Fr-DR Congo), dir. Elisé Sawasawa (World premiere, documentary)
• Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest (Ger-Neth), dir. Viv Li (World premiere, documentary)
• A Russian Winter (Fr), dir. Patric Chiha (World premiere, documentary)

Generation Kplus

• The Fabulous Time Machine (Braz), dir. Eliza Capai (World premiere, documentary)
• Ghost School (Pak-Ger-Saudi), dir. Seemab Guul (European premiere)
• Papaya (Braz), dir. Priscilla Kellen (International premiere, animation)
• Sorry Everyone’s Sorry Nowadays (Bel-Neth-Ger), dir. Frederike Migom (World premiere)

Generation 14plus

• Black Burns Fast (S. Africa), dir. Sanduela Asanda – (International premiere)