Image Courtesy of Niko Nikolopoulos / MUBI.
Hot Milk – Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Adapted from Deborah Levy’s novel of the same name, the story follows Rose and her daughter Sofia as they travel to the sun-soaked Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the enigmatic Dr. Gómez about Rose’s mysterious illness. In this setting, Sofia, who has long been confined by her mother’s condition, begins to explore her own desires and independence. As Sofia embraces newfound freedoms, tensions rise with her overbearing mother, threatening to unravel their fragile bond.
Image Courtesy of Cat People, 2024.
Honey Bunch – Madeleine Sims-Fewer & Dusty Mancinelli
After an accident, Diana wakes from a coma to a blank slate—her memories erased. Her husband remains at her side, promising recovery at a clinic in the woods. But as fragments of her past resurface, she feels unfamiliar to herself. Shadowed visions creep in and dark truths about their marriage. As the pieces fall into place, Diana must confront the unsettling reality that healing means uncovering what was meant to stay buried.
Image Courtesy of 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Mickey 17 – Bong Joon Ho
Based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey 7, Mickey 17 unfolds on Niflheim, a frozen, hostile world where survival is a temporary state. The colony relies on “expendables”—workers sent into fatal conditions, only to be replaced by their own clones upon death. Mickey is one of them. When Mickey17 is presumed dead, Mickey18 is born to take his place. But Mickey17 isn’t gone. Now, two versions of himself exist at once, disrupting the system and defying the cycle. As tensions rise and survival becomes a question of identity, Mickey17 is left to navigate a world where death is routine—but staying alive is the real anomaly.
Image Courtesy of BFI Distribution.
Friendship’s Death – Peter Wollen
This year at Berlinale, Tilda Swinton receives the Honorary Golden Bear—a tribute to a career built on transformation. Among her early works, Friendship’s Death (1987) stands out. Swinton plays Friendship, an android sent to Earth on a peace mission, only to find herself caught in the chaos of the Black September civil war. Rescued by journalist Sullivan, the two take refuge in a hotel, where war rages outside and philosophy unfolds within. As their conversations deepen, so does the film’s central question: Is humanity worth saving? A quiet, cerebral meditation on conflict, technology, and the blurred line between man and machine.
Image Courtesy of Logan White / A24.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Mary Bronstein
Linda’s world is caving in—literally. A hole in the ceiling, a child’s illness, a husband nowhere to be found. As a working mother, she juggles the weight of care, the demands of survival, and the quiet unraveling of her own life. Forced into a motel while repairs take place, Linda and her daughter find themselves in yet another limbo, where every fix is temporary, and every crisis reveals something deeper. If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You is a raw, unflinching look at motherhood, exhaustion, and the quiet chaos of keeping it all together.
Image Courtesy of Frederic Batier / X Verleih AG.
The Light – Tom Tyler
Berlinale’s opening film steps into a Berlin apartment, where a family drifts through life side by side but never truly together. Tim and Milena, busy with their own routines, raise their twins in a space more defined by silence than connection. Then comes Farrah—the new housekeeper. Her presence shifts the air, drawing out what has long been buried. As unspoken tensions surface, the family’s carefully constructed world begins to crack, forcing them to confront the fractures that were always there.
Image Courtesy of Marcel Zyskind.
Den Stygge Stesøsteren – Emilie Blichfeldt
Described as a cynical twist on the cinderella story, Elvira is the step-sister—overshadowed by the radiant Agnes in a kingdom where beauty is power. After Agnes’ father dies, Elvira and her mother are left penniless. To get the attention of the prince and to secure wealth, Elvira turns to Dr. Esthétique—a surgeon who reshapes faces like clay, indifferent to the pain left behind. What unfolds is a brutal transformation, a pursuit of beauty that cuts deeper than the skin.
Image Courtesy of Avanti Films, Vulcana Cinema.
Ato Noturno – Marcio Reolon
The 23-year old actor Matias has lost a spot for an audition to his flatmate, frustrated he finds himself drawn to a 35-year old mysterious man who turns out to be a closeted politician. Together, they discover their fetish to have sex in public spaces. As both their careers are on the rise, their meetings push further, seeking risk and craving exposure. Ato Noturno moves through the shadows of ambition and obsession, where pleasure is tangled with power, and the thrill of secrecy becomes impossible to resist.
Image Courtesy of Sabrina Lantos / Sony Pictures Classic.
Blue Moon – Richard Linklater
New York, 1943. A bar, a night, a songwriter fading into his own lyrics. Lorenz Hart, the man behind the music, lingers in Sardi’s as the war rages outside. In the blur of whiskey and conversation, he confronts love, loss, and a world that no longer belongs to him. Blue Moon is not a biopic, but a portrait—a last drink before the curtain falls.
Image Courtesy of Teorema.
Dreams – Michel Franco
Arriving in San Francisco, a young Mexican ballet dancer crosses the border with dreams as grand as the city itself. By his side, his lover, a wealthy socialite, offers him a glimpse into a world of privilege and possibility. But as their lives intertwine, so do their contradictions. The pursuit of art demands sacrifice, and as reality closes in, ambition and identity collide in a story of longing, love, and the cost of chasing a dream.