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The 75th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place between 13 and 23 February 2025. It was the first edition of the highly political festival in which the artistic director was Tricia Tuttle, American film journalist, festival programmer, and curator. Both the general festival program and its Asian part offered diversity this year – from documentaries, such as “The Sense of Violence” by Kim Mooyoung, independent movies such as “A Story about Fire” by Li Wenyu, to an action thriller such as “The Old Woman with the Knife” by Min Kyu-dong. However, despite the high-quality selection of Asian films, none of them turned out to be a masterpiece.

Among the most important awards films from the region netted, it is worth mentioning that the International Jury chaired by Todd Haynes awarded Huo Meng with the Silver Bear for Best Director for “Living the Land”. What’s more, “Seaside Serendipity” by Satoko Yokohama was awarded...

Animation in Asia is associated primarily with Japan, but it is not the only country on the continent producing animated pictures worth watching. One of the examples is the internationally recognized “The Missing” (2023) directed by Carl Joseph Papa or the less known “The Guardian” (2017) directed by Busifan. In China, which is currently one of the largest film markets, a critical role in the context of animation plays the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which has produced around 500 movies since its establishment in 1957. The studio’s latest picture, “A Story about Fire”, written and directed by Li Wenyu, had its world premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. His shorts were screened at numerous festivals, with “Go to City Ele” (2015) being awarded at the 31st Warsaw International Film Festival.

A Story About Fire is sceening at Berlin International Film Festival

Loosely based on the legend of Qiang, a minority living in southwest China,...

Chinese sales agent Parallax Films has added Qiu Sheng’s My Father’s Son and Yasutomo Chikuma’s The Deepest Space In Us to its bumper EFM line-up, which includes three features selected for this year’s Berlinale.

My Father’s Son is a China-France co-production set in the past, present and future, following a young man who recalls his relationship with his brutal and secretive father, later developing an AI boxer to help people learn how to fight.

Producers are Zhang Yuxuan, Jia Ruocheng and Charles Gillibert, with Jelly Effect Films, Chongqing Mi Xiao Mi Culture Media, CG Cinéma...

The 75th Berlin International Film Festival will take place from 13 to 23 February. This year, the festival held in the capital of Germany since 1951 will present more than 200 films, of which 60 are produced or co-produced by Asian countries.

1001 Frames (2025) by Mehrnoush Alia (World Premiere)

Iran, USA, 87′

In the studio of a well-known director, female actors audition for the role of Scheherazade in “A Thousand and One Nights”. However, they gradually realise that the director has more in mind than just casting the leading role.

A Letter to David (2025) by Tom Shoval (World Premiere)

Israel, USA, 74′

In 2013, David Cunio starred in Tom Shoval’s debut feature “Youth”, which revolved around two brothers kidnapping a schoolmate. In 2023, Cunio was abducted and since then, he has been held hostage in Gaza. With this documentary, Shoval sends him a cinematic letter.

A Story about Fire (2025) by Li Wenyu (World Premiere)

China, 85′

The legend of Ran...

The Berlin International Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its 2025 Generation section, which highlights children and youth films.

The Generation 14plus 2025 competition will open with Christy, directed by Brendan Canty. The film portrays a teenage boy from Cork, Ireland, navigating the shadows of his family’s past while seeking a place in the world. In the Generation Kplus section, the opening film The Nature of Invisible Things explores a community’s support for two girls as they grapple with moments of farewell and new beginnings.

The competition lineup features Seaside Serendipity by Satoko Yokohama, an episodic film set on a nameless Japanese island, which blends magical realism with everyday life, questioning the intersection of art and life. Also highlighted is Wrong Husband by Zacharias Kunuk, which transports viewers to a mystical world in the Canadian Arctic, where human and spirit realms collide in a fairy tale about young love.