"I’m writing about my own death anxiety"

Almost two decades after his last feature Ballast, Lance Hammer returns to screen in the spotlight of the Berlinale Competition. There the US-American director turns his contemplative gaze at dementia and the devastating toll it takes, both on the elderly character suffering from the illness and her deeply conflicted relatives. Set against the fragile social and familiar worlds of its characters, Queen at Sea turns its realist lens on mental collapse, systemic neglect, and corroding relationships. On site at the Berlinale, speaks about the long development of the story, the extensive research that went into portraying dementia with authenticity rather than sentimentality, and the primal fears his film aims to address.

"As children we can see things we can’t see as adults.”

With her first cinematic feature, renowned Brazilian theater actor, director, and writer Grace Passô announces herself as a compelling new voice, attuned to the delicate emotional undertones beneath everyday life. Premiering at the 76th Berlinale’s Perspectives section, Our Secret explores the weight of what goes unsaid in a family after a devastating loss and listens for the ghosts that linger in a house shared by generations. In conversation with Lidanoir, Passô talks about the personal and creative origins of the project, the challenges of moving her play from stage to the screen, and the special role of the location for her story.

“I’ve certainly seen some ghosts”

Following the neuropsychological dread of Relic and the occult paranoia of Apartment 7A, Natalie Erika James’ latest feature continues her exploration of the emotional fallout of social pressure and painful family histories. Brutal beauty standards and toxic diet culture literally threaten to consume the young protagonist of Saccharine which premiered in Sundance’s Midnight section before running at Berlinale’s Special section. On site in the busy Berlinale Palace, the Japanese-Australian filmmaker talks about the personal origins of the story, the devastating social impact of rigid physical standards, and the elaborate special effects langue shaping the symbolic scares.

“Mich interessieren Charaktere außerhalb der Gesellschaft.”

Seine Dokumentarfilme laufen regelmäßig auf internationalen Film Festivals und brachten Tobias Nölle zahlreiche Preise, darunter in Locarno einen Goldenen Leoparden für seinen Kurzfilm René. Nun kehrt der Schweizer Regisseur zurück zur Berlinale, wo sein jüngstes Werk im Panorama Weltpremiere feiert. Tristan Forever balanciert auf der Grenze zwischen Dokumentation, Fiktion, Erinnerung und Traum in seiner Erkundung der jahrzehntelangen Beziehung des Pariser Arztes Loran Bonnardot zur abgelegensten, dauerhaft bewohnten Insel der Welt. Dreißig Jahre lang zieht es Bonnardot immer wieder auf Tristan da Cunha im Südatlantik. Sein Entschluss, dort überzusiedeln, eröffnet Fragen nach Zugehörigkeit, Gemeinschaft, Ideal und Illusion. Im Gespräch mit Lidanoir auf der Berlinale berichtet Nölle von der Faszination von Menschen und Orten außerhalb der assimilierten Gesellschaft, den Dreharbeiten auf Tristan und der Grenze zwischen Realität und Fiktion.

“I hope this creates empathy and changes what we think is importantly in this world.”

Right after premiering her intimate feature film debut at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Commpetition, Liz Sargent presents Take Me Home at the Berlinale. Fictional, but very close to life, the story follows Anna and her aging parents as they navigate increasing challenges in their delicate balance of caregiving. On site at the festival, she reflects in conversation with Lidanoir on the personal nature of the story, centered on her own sister Anna Sargent, and discusses the commplexe challenges she faced during production and the emotional journeys that shaped the final cut.

“Many people known this feeling of loneliness”

For A Family, which looks at divorce through the eyes of a sister and her younger brother, putting their individual perspectives beside and opposite one another, director Mees Peijnenburg drew on his own experience of divorce as a kid. At the Berlinale, where his personal family drama debuts in the Generation section, the director and lead actress Carice van Houten open up about their collaboration, the universality they both see in this specific story, and the other chapters that didn't make it onto the screen.

“As queer people we’re tolerated but not accepted.”

Rising filmmaker Ryan Machado keeps his cinematic lens on challenging subjects. After exploring queerness through a bittersweet nostalgic lens in his previous feature film, Huling Palabas, which premiered in 2023 in Berlinale’s Generation section, the Philippine director returns to the festival with a visceral, tonally dark drama. Set in the 90s on a provincial Philippine island, Raging touches upon the taboo subject of sexual assault experienced by young men. Just before the festival closes, Machado takes time to talk with Lidanoir about the true events that fueled Raging, its creative risks, and why he believes audiences are ready for stories that confront raw, uncomfortable, but necessary subjects.

Von der Berlinale 2026

Mit Liebhaberinnen schaffen Regisseurin Koxi und Schauspielerin Johanna Wokalek ein zeitgenössisches Update Elfriede Jelineks gleichnamigen Romans um Sehnsucht nach Stabilität und Abhängigkeit, von gesellschaftlichen Zwängen, Selbstbestimmung und Selbstdarstellung. Auf der 76. Berlinale, wo ihre gesellschaftskritische Groteske im Forum Premiere feiert, sprechen die Regisseurin und ihre Hauptdarstellerin mit Lidanoir über die Zusammenarbeit, die Notwendigkeit authentischer Frauenfiguren auf der Leinwand sowie den Kontakt zu Jelinek und die Aktualität ihres Werks.

“Fear - of Covid, of war, of anything - is always good for those in power because this is a way to control society.”

His previous feature Blaga's Lesson won Stephan Komandarev a Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary as well as being selected as Bulgaria's entry for the Oscars, the third time the filmmaker received this recognition. His new drama draws on a real-life case to expose the human toll of inhumane working conditions and a ruthless globalized production market. Made in EU follows an exploited Bulgarian factory worker who becomes the target of public outrage and systematic scapegoating after being labeled "patient zero" during the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the theater opening of his film, Komandarev spoke with Lidanoir about the story's true foundations, shooting where the actual events took place, and making cinema with a social conscience.

“People need to be willing to see African stories from the inside”

Right after Sundance, where Olive Nwosu's gripping feature film debut premiered in World Cinema Dramatic Competition, the British-Nigerian filmmaker bring Lady to the Berlinale. Combining personal drama and social panorama with crime thriller elements, the plot follows a female taxi driver and her childhood friend through the nightly streets of Lagos, where painful memories and danger lurk. Amidst the festival bustle at Berlinale, Nwosu tells about Lady's realistic background, the challenges in bringing the story to the screen, authentic Nigerian cinema, and working with lead actress Jessica Gabriel's Ujah and the cast, who were recognized with the Special Jury Award for Acting at Sundance but not granted US visas.