The 2025 Berlin Film Festival, also known as Berlinale, has been an exciting showcase of international high-profile productions. Not only have celebrated filmmakers returned, but the festival has also featured films boasting large, star-studded casts. After a series of intense premieres, press conferences, and interviews, the festival announced its big winners—with a jury led by Todd Haynes. While much of the spotlight was on the films taking home major awards, there are many other projects we need to keep on our radar.
Here are 10 unmissable films from the Berlin Festival that we will be following closely:
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho is back after giving the world one of the best films in recent years, Parasite—the first non–English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Now he brings Mickey 17, an adaptation of the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. In this science-fiction adventure, Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey, an unassuming man assigned to a mission led by a questionable public official aimed at colonizing a distant world.
What Mickey doesn’t know is that he joined the project as an expendable asset: his body is cloned and his memories archived so that he can die repeatedly in high-risk tests. But what happens when one clone encounters the next version of himself? Mickey 17 premiered at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival and also features Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo. The film is set for release on March 6, 2025.
The Narrow Road to Deep North
Australian director Justin Kurzel—known for films such as Snowtown, Macbeth, and Assassin’s Creed—returned to the festival circuit in 2024 with The Order at the Venice Festival. Now he presents The Narrow Road to Deep North, an adaptation of the novel by Richard Flanagan, which premiered at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival. Featuring a cast led by Jacob Elordi, Ciarán Hinds, Odessa Young, Olivia DeJonge, and Simon Baker, the film chronicles the life of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor and prisoner of war. Evans struggles to reconcile his harrowing experiences in a Japanese POW camp—including forced labor—with the love and personal sacrifices that helped him survive. The story spans several decades, tracing his transformation from a beleaguered prisoner to a celebrated war hero and accomplished surgeon.
Hot Milk
Screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz—who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Ida with Paweł Pawlikowski and is also known for Disobedience, Colette, Servants, and She Said—returns in 2025 not only as a screenwriter but also as a debuting director with Hot Milk. Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival, the film stars Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, Vicky Krieps, Vincent Perez, and Patsy Ferran. It follows the journey of Rose, a mother, and her daughter as they travel to Spain one summer in search of a healer to treat Rose’s illness.
Dreams
Mexican director Michel Franco continues to push boundaries. After the premiere of Memory in various international festivals in 2023—with Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard—he returns with another ambitious project titled Dreams, which premiered at the 2025 Berlin Festival. Centering on Fernando, a professional ballet dancer who aspires to become a dance legend, the film follows his journey as he leaves everything behind and moves to the United States in pursuit of his dream. The cast also includes Isaac Hernández, Rupert Friend, Marshall Bell, and Eligio Meléndez.
Peter Hujar’s Day
Ira Sachs, renowned for his original and passionate filmmaking—reflected in his insightful portrayals of human relationships—presents his latest film, Peter Hujar’s Day. Following his 2023 film Passages, which featured Ben Whishaw, Sachs reunites with Whishaw and teams up with Rebecca Hall for this new project. Peter Hujar’s Day is a loose adaptation based on a book that documents an actual conversation between writer Linda Rosenkrantz and photographer Peter Hujar during an afternoon in 1974.
Magic Farm
New cinematic voice Amalia Ulman, who burst onto the scene with her directorial debut The Planet in 2021, continues to impress. In 2025 she premieres Magic Farm, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival before arriving at Berlin. The film features a cast that includes Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Joe Apollonio, Camila del Campo, and Simon Rex. Although reviews have been mixed, the film’s strong ensemble cast is already generating buzz.
The Ice Tower
Frequent collaborator Lucile Hadžihalilić—known for her work alongside Gaspar Noé and as a co-founder of the Les Cinémas de la Zone production house—returns with The Ice Tower, which premiered at the Berlin Festival. Set against a fantastical 1970s backdrop, the film follows Jeanne, a 16-year-old girl who escapes from a children’s home to take refuge in a film studio in the city.
Maya, Give Me a Title
Michel Gondry is back with an animated, stop-motion short film titled Maya, Give Me a Title, which premiered at the Berlin Festival. Dedicated to his daughter, Maya Gondry—who co-voices the film’s main character alongside actor Pierre Niney—this project was born out of the physical distance that once separated them. Over six years, they exchanged stories and adventures through phone calls and letters, ultimately inspiring this heartfelt project.
Blue Moon
Richard Linklater holds a special place in the hearts of romantic cinephiles thanks to his Before trilogy—Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight—which revived the art of dialogue-driven storytelling. Having premiered several of his films at Berlin in the past, Linklater returns this year with Blue Moon. The film reunites him with Ethan Hawke and features Margaret Qualley, one of the most acclaimed faces of recent years, alongside Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott.
Islands
German director Jan-Ole Gerster, known for his work in English-language productions, presents Islands, which premiered at the Berlin Festival. The film features an intriguing cast including Sam Riley, Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing, and Dylan Torrell. Islands might even evoke comparisons to Woody Allen’s Match Point—its protagonist, Tom, works as a tennis coach at a luxurious hotel in the Canary Islands. As Tom’s relationship with Anna (an acquaintance from his past) begins to deepen, events take a dramatic turn when the mysterious disappearance of Dave sets off a chain of escalating conflicts and hints at hidden romantic entanglements.