The festival typically showcases many French-language films made in Africa, this year including the World Premiere of The Soul of Africa, director Gabriel Souleyka's documentary about African Spirituality.
Claude Chabrol, the celebrated co-founder of the French New Wave, stated, 'Because men are living, and women are surviving. Cinema is about surviving.' This profound insight influenced Petzold's approach to storytelling.
But rather than walk away from his creative calling, Driven said he pivoted - teaching himself videography and landing his first paid job through a Craigslist post filming Caribbean DJ, and DJ Mad Out. "That opportunity introduced him to New York's Caribbean music scene, where he went on to work with artists such as Shaggy, Ding Dong and Kranium," she said. "Those early experiences sharpened Hillmedo's eye for authenticity, capturing Caribbean culture not as spectacle, but as lived reality," she added.
The invention of the Cinématographe was ready right away. The process of the invention was longer, and there were a lot of inventors before Lumière.
Unusually for a political period drama that is not in the English language, runs nearly three hours and peppers its authentic portrayal of a military dictatorship with sight gags and gory shootouts, The Secret Agent has transpired to be quite the awards magnet. Best picture and best actor, for its star Wagner Moura (who recently won a Golden Globe), are two of the four categories in which it will compete at next month's Oscars.
What begins as a fairy-tale romance set in the beautiful Mediterranean town of Agde gets more complicated when Stann's family ties prove more durable, and dangerous, than he expects. Stann, the hub of a sprawling, criminally inclined clan, finds himself torn between Gloria, a vibrant Black American woman who offers him a glimpse at a life beyond the one he knows, and his inescapable family obligations.
The event draws both locals and migrants returning from the U.S., celebrating the traditional Michoacán cowboy and creating an atmosphere of nostalgia-while serving as a grand reminder of "what it means to be a man" in rural Mexican society. Beneath the rodeo's spectacle lies its subconscious pulse: fleeting touches, knowing glances and secretive hookups in the woods behind the arena.
Artist and filmmaker Viv Li was born and raised in Beijing, but has lived abroad for 15 years-a fact that has inspired several of her films, in which she navigates identity politics and belonging. An alumna of the Sundance Institute and Berlinale Talents, her latest film 'Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest' is having its world premiere at the 2026 Berlinale, featured in the Panorama Dokumente section.