Two exciting premieres await you today! Which movie will be your new favorite?
INTERVIEWS:
Lloyd Wong, Unfinished
In the 1990s, Chinese-Canadian artist Lloyd Wong began a video work about his living with HIV. It remained unfinished. Thirty years after his death, filmmaker Lesley Loksi Chan discovers and edits the material.
Freshly released from prison, Pua plunges into the world of gangsters. His long-awaited reunion with his former cellmate Mi-ji falls short of his expectations. Both men will soon have to make some difficult choices.
In the 1990s, Chinese-Canadian artist Lloyd Wong began a video work about his living with HIV. It remained unfinished. Thirty years after his death, filmmaker Lesley Loksi Chan discovers and edits the material.
Freshly released from prison, Pua plunges into the world of gangsters. His long-awaited reunion with his former cellmate Mi-ji falls short of his expectations. Both men will soon have to make some difficult choices.
Today, six queer films will be shown for the first time at the 75th Berlinale! Soon, we also have a series of interviews for you that provide interesting background information on the making of the films.
INTERVIEWS:
Batim (Houses)
Sasha is non-binary and came to Israel from the Soviet Union as a child in the 1990s. Haunted by memories, they visit the houses they used to live in. A quiet meditation in black and white on what it means to feel at home in a house, a body, and in time.
To maximise economic productivity, the government orders the elderly to relocate to distant housing colonies. Tereza, 77, refuses – and instead embarks on a journey through the Amazon that will change her destiny forever.
Being LGBT is criminalised in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Trans man Faris and his punk band still travel the country playing gigs and protesting on the streets. A documentary portrait of courageous people, humorous friendship and the spirit of punk.
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.
Sasha is non-binary and came to Israel from the Soviet Union as a child in the 1990s. Haunted by memories, they visit the houses they used to live in. A quiet meditation in black and white on what it means to feel at home in a house, a body, and in time.
Directed by: Shatara Michelle Ford USA, Taiwan, Great Britain, 2024, 128′
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.
Directed by: Lucile Hadžihalilović Germany, France, 2025, 118′
Colder than ice, her kiss pierces the heart … The 1970s. Jeanne, a young runaway, falls under the spell of Cristina, the enigmatic star of The Snow Queen, a film which is being shot in the studio where Jeanne has taken refuge.
Directed by: Amalia Ulman USA, Argentina, 2025, 93′
An American film crew working for an edgy media company travels to Argentina to cover a musician who has the potential to go viral. When they realise they have landed in the wrong country, they decide to hire local people to fabricate a trend.
Directed by: Gabriel Mascaro Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Netherlands, 2025, 86′
To maximise economic productivity, the government orders the elderly to relocate to distant housing colonies. Tereza, 77, refuses – and instead embarks on a journey through the Amazon that will change her destiny forever.
Directed by: Yihwen Chen Indonesia, Malaysia, 2025, 88′
Being LGBT is criminalised in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Trans man Faris and his punk band still travel the country playing gigs and protesting on the streets. A documentary portrait of courageous people, humorous friendship and the spirit of punk.
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.
The third day of the Berlinale has arrived and brings with it a series of exciting TEDDY films. Seven films premiere today!
INTERVIEWS:
Le Rendez-vous de l’été (That Summer in Paris)
Paris, the 2024 Olympic Games. Blandine (30) arrives from Normandy to watch the swimming competitions. Disorientated by the hustle and bustle of the city where nothing seems to go her way, she navigates the chaos of Paris and an unexpected reunion.
A gay man impersonates men he has had sex with and brings this new persona with him to his next hook-up. Only by pretending to be someone else can he be truly himself.
Rosa von Praunheim is the satanic sow, incarnated by the wanton actor Armin Dallapiccola. A poetic compendium of life and death with pushy fans, the Good Lord, lovers and Rosa’s horrified mother.
Directed by: Léonor Serraille France, Belgium, 2025, 88′
Ari, a young teacher, quits his job and is thrown out of the house by his father. Lost and alone, he reconnects with old friends, triggering a journey of self-discovery.
Three Filipino siblings, all domestic workers in Italy, meet in the villa that one of the sisters has inherited. Shared memories and buried grievances come to the surface and put their fragile relationship to the test.
Paris, the 2024 Olympic Games. Blandine (30) arrives from Normandy to watch the swimming competitions. Disorientated by the hustle and bustle of the city where nothing seems to go her way, she navigates the chaos of Paris and an unexpected reunion.
Directed by: Jun Li USA, Hong Kong, China, 2025, 87′
A gay man impersonates men he has had sex with and brings this new persona with him to his next hook-up. Only by pretending to be someone else can he be truly himself.
Directed by: Rosa von Praunheim Germany, 2025, 85′
Rosa von Praunheim is the satanic sow, incarnated by the wanton actor Armin Dallapiccola. A poetic compendium of life and death with pushy fans, the Good Lord, lovers and Rosa’s horrified mother.
This spectacularly eccentric satire by Su Hui-yu draws on 1970s Taiwanese TV culture and has a roller-skating Hitler dance with Stalin and Mao do the same with Chiang Kai-shek. A revue show of dictators in cahoots with the entertainment industry.
Directed by: Antonio Giménez-Rico Spain, 1983, 99′
Documentary form about six trans women and their lives in 1980s Madrid. They speak frankly about their experiences as performers and prostitutes, facing marginalisation and the repressive laws that endured even after the end of the Franco era.
Welcome back to the second day of the 75th Berlinale and its queer program! Today you can expect numerous premieres of fascinating queer films as well as the TEDDY Jury Reception. You can find more information about the event here.
INTERVIEWS:
Ato noturno (Night Stage)
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.
After a bloody gang war, Rashida, the youngest daughter of the Yorks, rises to become the leader of the Berlin underworld. Shakespeare’s “Richard III” is retold in the here and now as the story of an Arab gangster queen.
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.
In this feature-length debut, nomadic siren Una journeys through postmodern reality, navigating survival, identity and belonging. A dive into the merfolk subculture between self-care and political activism, a hybrid of science fiction and documentary.
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.
Directed by: Marcio Reolon, Filipe Matzembacher Brazil, 2025, 119′
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.
Directed by: Ulli Lommel Federal Republic of Germany, 1973, 82′
Ulli Lommel’s film about a serial killer in the early post-war era echoes the real story of “wolf man” murderer Fritz Haarmann. A mix of Fritz Lang’s M and Hitchcock’s Psycho that follows in the tradition of Weimar cinema.
Directed by: Stéphanie Lagarde France, Netherlands, 2025, 21′
A polyphonic narrator – filmmaker, parent, forest, insects, fungi, childcare worker – declares their absolute refusal of labor exploitation, and their necessity to join collective bodies in resistance.
Directed by: Rebecca Lenkiewicz Great Britain, 2025, 92′
Rose and her daughter Sofia journey to a Spanish seaside town to meet an enigmatic healer. As Sofia embraces an affair with an alluring stranger, tensions with her overbearing mother threaten their fragile bond.
During a weekend of rehearsals with the school choir at a convent, an introverted teenager begins to view the world from a new perspective. New desires, beliefs and values emerge, and this awakening threatens to disrupt her friendships and the choir.
Directed by: Burhan Qurbani Germany, Poland, France, 2025, 142′
After a bloody gang war, Rashida, the youngest daughter of the Yorks, rises to become the leader of the Berlin underworld. Shakespeare’s “Richard III” is retold in the here and now as the story of an Arab gangster queen.
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.
Directed by: Alisa Berger France, Germany, 2025, 37′
A diptych about the exiled Ukrainian vogue dancer Marko and his abandoned apartment in Donbas, Ukraine. Marko embarks on a VR experiment, visiting his inaccessible home, recreated through 3D scans and original photographs from the occupied area.
In this feature-length debut, nomadic siren “Una” journeys through postmodern reality, navigating survival, identity and belonging. A dive into the merfolk subculture between self-care and political activism, a hybrid of science fiction and documentary.
