The Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear -challenger 2025: Who will win?


This year Berlin Film FestivalUnder the new artistic director Tricia Tuttle, moves closer to popular flavors than no doubt during the Stead of Carlo Chatrian. He left the festival last year while leaving an inheritance of programming a more arthouse-minded slate. Italian Cinease Chatrian came from Locarno as well as more niche Festivals throughout Europe; Tuttle is an American with a story of film Journalism and programming here in the states and at BFI London.

Bong Joon Ho “Mickey 17“(Warner Bros., March 7) and Berlin Premiere of “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) brought stars such as Robert Pattinson and Timothée Chalamet (along with his girlfriend Kylie Jenner) to the festival for viral moments that have added an energizing, social media -friendly limelight at the European exhibition here in the US. 17 “All the help it can get, which sci-fi comedy has been re -dated several times And in David Zaslav-driven World of Warner Bros. Discovery, feels like it doesn’t get a hefty marketing (certainly less a plum theater date) from its studio. It was a good goat for the renewed Berlinale, under Tuttle and her programs for programming, Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz.

But these are not competition titles that are eligible for festival prices. In the main competition this year, movies including Richard Linklater’s Ethan Hawke-Stars “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics), Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s ”Warm milk“(IFC) with Fiona Shaw, Michel Francos”Dreams“With Jessica Chastain (looking for a buyer) and Mary Bronsteins Sundance Sensation “If I had legs I would kick you” (A24) with Rose Byrne, among less star -driven vehicles that instead reflect Europe’s art film scene. Most are unlikely to switch to the United States, but that doesn’t mean they still can’t have any impact abroad.

2025 Berlinale Jury jury is led up by Todd Haynes, whose narrative debut “Poison” won a teddy bear for queer filmmaking there in 1991. He has been united by lawyers Nabil Ayouch (Morocco/France), costume designer Bina Daigeler (Germany), actor Fan Bingbing (China), Director Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina), Los Angeles Times Critic Amy Nicholson (USA) and author/director/actor Maria Schrader (Germany).

Everyone participated in a sparkling German TV tape on an opening evening in 1,600 places Berlinale Palast, which hosted the presenter Désirée Nosbusch, where Haynes suggested at a “Love Fest” which is going on among the lawyers who already from day one. The opening night movie, Tom Tykwers “The Light”, made sense as a German movie to open the festival and reflect the national identity of the party, but the 160 -minute white debt Odyssey (also in Berlin) Received care reviews And did not put a big tone forward. But the festival only recovered with a number of acclaimed films afterwards.

Together, the jury is watching 19 films to choose winners of Golden Bear and other awards, including the new film, “Continental ’25,” from Radu Jude. The Romanian director won the Golden Bear 2021 for “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn”, which opened Stateside from Magnolia Pictures later that year and repped his country on Oscars 2022.

Berlin, Germany - February 17: Rose Byrne participates in "If I had legs I would kick you" Premiere during the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin in Berlinale Palast on February 17, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Rose Byrne at the Berlin Film Festival premiere of “If I had legs I would kick you”Getty Images

Watching Screen international gridwhich is on average ranking from nine European critics, competitivestandouts so far are Franco’s bruises immigration romance “Dreams”, 2014 Silver Bear -Winner Linklater’s Lorenz Hart Chamber Tragicomedy “Blue moon“The Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaros concerning the Septuagenar sci-fi” The Blue Trail “, Frédéric Hambalek’s German Telepaticomedi” What Marielle Knows “and” If I had legs I would kick you. “Also loved by critics early at the party was huo ment”To live the country“A Chinese story of age from the 1990s. Ditto French writer/director Lucile Hadžihalilović’s ”The istorn“A Lynchian Fairy story with Marion Cotillard as a chilly screen actress in the 1970s; Yellow Veil Pictures bought it during the party for a later North American edition.

I would expect Australian “if I had legs” star Byrne would take the silver bear for lead performance (the festival shifted to gender -neutral actors for the 2021 edition). It is about the same way as last year’s leading winner, Sebastian Stan, took for “another man”, also an A24 edition and also from Sundance. (And look, he is now an Oscar nominee, albeit for its second movie, “The Apprentice.”) A victory for Byrne, which gives an upsetting performance in constant anxiety as a discovered mother and therapist, would increase the film’s price profile during the year. It doesn’t feel like an Oscar image, but Stranger Things has happened (like Demi Moore and “The Substance” who get all the nods they did).

Last year’s Berlin winner range Was full of surprises and some films that did not dive in North America, although Golden Bear-winning documentary “Dahomey” received an edition from Mubi Stateside and represented Senegal on Oscars Shortlist (Mati Diop’s Portrait of Repatried African Artifacts did not make the last five documents ). Last year, tireless Korean filmmakers won Hong Sang-soo, who posts a function or two every year, the Grand Jury Prize for “A traveler’s needs. “He often wins on Berlin, as Silver Bear for best director 2020 for” The Woman Run. ” He is back at the festival this year with “What does that nature say to you”, another liquor and conversational portrait of an artist and his romantic confusion. Don’t expect to win a prize again this year. The movie screens Thursday 20 February.

“Blue Moon”, can also expect to win something after scary receptions at the press show and the premiere at Berlinale Palast. Sony Classics releases the period film, where Ethan Hawke donates a bald hat and takes on a much shorter statur to play the 5 foot long songwriter Hart, later this spring. The idea could have been that “Blue Moon” was not enough by Cannes to premiere there, and thus Berlin, but Linklater has another movie this year, “Nouvelle Vague” about making Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless,” It feels Founded for the Croiset as an arc outside the competition. The same goes for Jude, whose iPhone-shot social satire “continental ’25” Set him up for another potential Berlin win, but he also has a Dracula movie that will come out later this year, possibly on Cannes as well. However, his films tend to play festivals like Locarno or Karlovy vary.

Ukraine wartime portraits “Timestamp”, which is the only documentary in the competition this year, has also received strong reviews, while still to the screen is Swiss director Lionel Baier’s 1968-upset-inspired “The Safe House.” Prices reveal on Saturday, February 22.



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