Berlin 2025: Screen’s guide to the Perspectives titles

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (US)

Dir. Kahlil Joseph
Joseph’s sprawling project was reinstated to last month’s Sundance line-up at the 11th hour when financier Rich Spirit stepped up to buy out former backer Participant, after the latter had pulled the film claiming Joseph had submitted an unauthorised cut. BLKNWS is now expected to receive its international premiere in Berlin. The feature stems from Joseph’s long-­running cultural and historical BLKNWS media project, and blends archival footage, animation and performance to explore the notion of self-determination and the Black and African American experience.
Contact: CAA Media Finance 

The Devil Smokes (And Saves The Burnt Matches In The Same Box) (Mex)

Dir. Ernesto Martinez Bucio
Plying his trade for years as a shorts filmmaker with work such as the Cannes 2016 selection The Reasons In The World, Bucio arrives with his first feature, a comedy drama about five children abandoned by their parents who live with their schizo­phrenic grandmother as the line blurs between real and imaginary. The Devil Smokes filmed in Mexico City and received support from the Mexican Film Institute, Los Cabos International Film Festival and the states of Jalisco and Guanajuato. Mandarina Cine produced.
Contact: Bendita Film Sales

Eel (Taiwan)

Dir. Chu Chun-Teng
Set on a remote island near Taipei, this feature debut follows a mysterious woman who chances upon a lost man. Together they explore hidden stories and unravel mysteries of longing, belonging and transformation. The cast comprises emerging talent Devin Pan and singer/songwriter Misi Ke, with Susan Huang as producer. Director Chu has an MFA in fine art from Goldsmiths, University of London, and his work has been showcased at festivals and art institutions.
Contact: Parallax Films

Growing Down (Hun)

Dir. Balint Daniel Sos
Hungarian director Sos makes his debut with a story about a father forced to lie about an accident to protect his 12-year-old son from going to juvenile detention. It is produced by Zoltan Martonffy and Adam Farkas through Cinesuper and is supported by the incubator programme of Hungary’s National Film Institute. Sos co-wrote the script with Gergo V Nagy, and the cast includes Szabolcs Hajdu, Agoston Safrany and Anna Hay.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas 

How To Be Normal And The Oddness Of The Other World (Austria)

Dir. Florian Pochlatko
Austrian director Pochlatko makes his feature debut with the story of a young woman fresh out of a psychiatric hospital who moves in with her parents to get her life together, only to emerge into a world where everything seems out of control. Billed as a mix of drama, satire and supernatural action movie, How To Be Normal stars Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Elke Winkens and Cornelius Obonya. It is produced by Vienna-­based Golden Girls Filmproduktion.
Contact: Golden Girls Filmproduktion 

Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia-It-Cro-Ser)

Dir. Urska Djukic
During a choir retreat at a convent, 16-year-old Catholic schoolgirl Lucia’s faith and friendships are challenged by her attraction to a restoration worker. Co-written with Marina Gumzi, the debut feature of Slovenian director Djukic is produced by Jozko Rutar and Miha Cernec for the country’s SPOK Films, which has credits including Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s 2021 Camera d’Or-winner Murina. Djukic developed the project at the 2019 Cannes Cinefondation residency, and won best work-in-­progress project at Les Arcs in 2023. Her most recent short, Granny’s Sexual Life, scooped numerous awards including best short film at the 2022 European Film Awards.
Contact: Heretic

Mad Bills To Pay (Or Destiny, Dile Que No Soy Malo) (US)

Dir. Joel Alfonso Vargas
Director Vargas heads to Berlin after premiering his feature debut in Sundance’s Next strand. Inspired by Vargas’s Dominican American community, it follows youngster Rico whose carefree days partying on Orchard Beach in the Bronx come to an end when his teenage girlfriend stays at the family home. The project features street-cast actors, with Juan Collado in the lead role. Vargas’s short Que Te Vaya Bonito, Rico won a prize at Locarno last year.
Contact: Cinetic Media

Punching The World (Ger)

Dir. Constanze Klaue
German writer/director Klaue’s feature debut is adapted from Lukas Rietzschel’s novel and centres on two brothers growing up in provincial Saxony amid a disintegrating family and lack of prospects. The situation escalates years later when a refugee home is to be built: one brother withdraws, but the other finds an outlet for his anger. Produced through Germany’s Flare Film and Chromosom Film, Punching The World is set for a German release in April by distributor Across Nations.
Contact: Steven Bestwick, The Yellow Affair 

The Settlement (Egy-Fr-Ger-Saudi-Qat)

Dir. Mohamed Rashad
Inspired by real events, this social thriller follows two brothers who are offered jobs in the local factory where their father died and begin to suspect it was not an accident. The film marks the narrative feature debut of director Rashad, following his 2016 documentary Little Eagles exploring 1970s left-wing activism in Egypt. Led by a cast of firsttime actors and real factory workers, the lead producer is Hala Lotfy of Cairo-based Hassala Films. The Berlinale World Cinema Fund was among the film’s backers.
Contact: MAD Solutions

Shadowbox (India-Fr-US-Sp)

Dirs. Tanushree Das, Saumyananda Sahi
When a woman in Kolkata discovers her husband is the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she and her teenage son take drastic measures to protect their family. Titled locally as Baksho Bondi, the cast is led by Tillotama Shome of Cannes 2018 Critics’ Week title Sir. Co-­director Sahi, who also wrote the script, has previously been the cinematographer on acclaimed features such as documentary All That Breathes, which was Oscar-­nominated after playing Sundance and Cannes in 2022, and Shivamma, winner of best film at Busan that same year. Sahi also produces alongside Naren Chandavarkar of Moonweave Films and Shaunak Sen and Aman Mann of Kiterabbit Films.
Contact: Moonweave Films 

That Summer In Paris (Fr)

Dir. Valentine Cadic
This debut feature, filmed in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games, is about a woman from Normandy who travels to the capital to watch the swimming competitions and reconnect with her half sister, but nothing goes her way as she navigates the hustle and bustle of the city. Newcomer Blandine Madec stars with India Hair in this comedy drama, which is produced by Masa Sawada and Antoine Jouve of Comme des Cinémas with Arnaud Bruttin’s Cinq De Trefle Productions.
Contact: Urban Sales

Two Times Joao Liberada (Port)

Dir. Paula Tomas Marques
After five short films — including 2023 documentary Dildotectónica, which received the jury special mention for hybrid story­telling at AFI Fest in 2023 — Marques makes her feature debut with this interrogation of gender. When the director of a biopic about the gender-­nonconforming Liberada — who was persecuted by the Inquisition — is struck with paralysis, the lead actor takes the film into their own hands. Marques co-wrote the feature with June Joao, who also stars. Producers are Marques and Cristiana Cruz Forte, in co-production with Fúria de Boi.
Contact: Portugal Film 

We Believe You (Belg)

Dirs. Arnaud Dufeys, Charlotte Devillers
A court hearing unfolds as a mother fights for custody to protect her children from their abusive father, in this French-language feature debut. Dufeys is returning to Berlin after screening his short film Invincible Summer last year. He produces We Believe You via his Makintosh Films banner, and the cast includes Belgium television star Natali Broods, César Award-­nominated actor Laurent Capelluto and Myriem Akheddiou (whose credits include Palme d’Or winner Titane).
Contact: The Party Film Sales 

Where The Night Stands Still (It-Phil)

Dir. Liryc Dela Cruz
This black-and-white drama centres on three Filipino siblings, all domestic workers in Italy, who meet in the villa that one of the sisters has inherited as shared memories and buried grievances put their relationship to the test. Philippines-born director Dela Cruz is based in Rome and took part in the Berlinale Talents development programme in 2020. Where The Night Stands Still is produced by Pelircula, Ozono and Il Mio Filippino Collective, in co-­production with Reckless Natarajan Pictures.
Contact: Alpha Violet

Profiles by: Flore Boitel, Ellie Calnan, Ben Dalton, Tim Dams, Elaine Guerini, Jeremy Kay, Rebecca Leffler, Orlando Parfitt, Michael Rosser, Matt Schley, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong

• Read profiles for the other Berlin 2025 titles here