Only Rebels Win by Danielle Arbid, starring Hiam Abbass, is opening the 2026 Berlinale Panorama in which a total of 37 films from 36 countries will be screened. They include new works by Hong Sangsoo, Joaquín del Paso, André Novais Oliveira, Elle Sofe Sara, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Tobias Nölle, Alisa Kovalenko, Marcelo Martinessi, Mahnaz Mohammadi and Aidan Zamiri. Among the other stars appearing on screen are Charli xcx, Alexander Skarsgård, Jannis Niewöhner, Sophie Okonedo, Mercedes Cabral, Valerie Pachner, Fiona Shaw, Siri Hustvedt and Douglas Gordon.
“This year’s programme is full of contrast. It is not only visually diverse but also comprises films that, with their emotional depth, texture and strong sense of composition, can shape our perception of the world beyond the cinema,” observes section head Michael Stütz. “The medium of film becomes a mediator of transgression, of storytelling, and an expression of desire and self-determination.”
Several films revolve around a great love serve as key indicators of our immediate social environment as well as societal norms. From Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s Lali and Ian de la Rosa’s Iván & Hadoum to Anna Roller’s adaptation of Leif Randt’s Allegro Pastell, love stories act as a diagnosis of our present times. Meanwhile, André Novais Oliveira’s Se eu fosse vivo… vivia tells what is perhaps the ultimate, undying love between two people.
Migration, struggle for survival and corrupt antagonists are at the heart of both Joaquín del Paso’s El jardín que soñamos and Dominik Locher and Honeylyn Joy Alipio’s Enjoy Your Stay. These are gripping, urgent and formally innovative works that impress not least with their performances. Whereas, in his latest Berlinale entry Geunyeoga doraon nal, master director Hong Sangsoo offers a subtle reflection on the acting profession itself.
Strong feminist perspectives are showcased by Sámi choreographer Elle Sofe Sara in her extraordinary film debut Árru; by Iranian activist and filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi in her stirring drama Roya; and by Olive Nwosu in her ambitious debut Lady. Pop superstar Charli xcx enthralls in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment which is simultaneously a mockumentary, a feminist act of self-empowerment and an ironic meta-commentary on the music business.
A particularly strong documentary presence in the Panorama this year finds poetic images for pressing issues. The films offer varying answers to questions about what stories are being told and how they are being presented on screen. Yulia Lokshina’s Im Umkreis des Paradieses and Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot’s Tristan Forever examine utopias in self-imposed exile: Paraguay and the island of Tristan da Cunha are the setting for these profoundly different realities, poised between longingfor isolation and total control.
In their films, Tawfik Sabouni (The Other Side of the Sun), and Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk (Traces), create spaces for contemplation in which their protagonists can talk about their traumas and the architecture of war, violence and abuse that is present around the globe.
The programme also includes two documentary portraits of influential contemporary artists: Siri Hustvedt – Dance Around the Self and Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon – two works that could not be more distinct.
Queer cinema is once again taking its rightful place in the programme. Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest by Viv Li and La Face cachée de la Terre by Arnaud Alain delight with their documentary insights into queer conceptions of our time. The Education of Jane Cumming by Sophie Heldman and Narciso by Marcelo Martinessi both look back at lived queer realities of the past and add to queer historiography.
The Berlinale is looking forward to a strong edition for the queer film to mark the 40th anniversary of the TEDDY AWARD. The celebration will be taking place traditionally at the Volksbühne Berlin on February 20, 2026. Further details about the TEDDY 40 (press release January 9) complementary programme, WILD AT HEART, will follow.
Last but not least, the 28th Panorama Audience Award is presented in cooperation with radioeins and rbb television on February 22 at the Zoo Palast to the feature film and documentary that have most impressed the audiences.
The films in the 2026 Panorama (film list is also available as PDF)
Press Office
January 14, 2026