Brazil is the country with the fourth biggest participation @Berlinale 2025
by Luciana Dolabella
“O Ultimo Azul”, Picture: Guillerno Gaza/Desvia // “A melhor mae do mundo”, Picture: Aline Arruda
“A natureza das coisas incríveis”, Picture: Flavio Oliveira // “Hora do recreio”, Picture: press picture
The Berlinale starts on February 13th as one of the most important film festivals in the world. It is a very important place for film lovers and as a window for these few selected films and stories to reach dozens of other countries, cinemas and TVs in the following months and years.
With 13 films in 6 sections of the festival,
Brazil stands only behind Germany, USA and France.
Gabriel Mascaro, Picture: ©Guillermo Gaza // Anna Mulaerte, Picture: ©Paulino Gleeson // Jorge Bodanzky, Picture: ©Renato Hojda // Petra Costa, Picture: ©Julia Rodrigues
The competition to be at Berlinale is huge: of the 8.084 works submitted for selection, 199 were selected by the various committees. Only 2.46% of the films received will be shown in Berlin. When including the classics and jubilee programs the festival will showcase a total of 243 films from 79 countries. Cinema is a way of getting to know other countries, realities, perspectives and stories. In 2025 Brazil stands only behind Germany, France and the USA, being this year ahead of countries with historically strong cinema industries such as the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Canada, China and South Korea. The country has a film on the main competition, one on the glamorous section “Special Gala”, an important program of films for families (Generations) and of experimental films (Forum Expanded) as well as a film at the section Panorama and at Berlinale Shorts.
Beyond the films, participation highlights are also with director Petra Costa, being on the official Berlinale Documentary Jury and actor star Rodrigo Santoro who will come to Berlin with the film in main competition “The Blue Trail”.
The films from Brazil will show be a big variety of topics, formats and target audiences: fiction, documentaries, series, short films and experimental films will show different perspectives in even different languages: Portuguese, Tupi, Spanish, Haitian and Creolo. The topics will go from stories set on the Amazon Forest, through the reality of street garbage pickers, the LGBTQI+ community, the justice system, classrooms, fantasy stories. The participants in the Berlinale come from different regions of the country, such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul. Check the full list of films and directors above.
Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher, Picture: ©Avante Filmes // A LuizaCalagian, Picture: ©Luiza Calagian // Rosa Caldeira, Picture: ©Luiza Calagian
Huge Collective Effort
These outstanding results at Berlinale 2025 show not only the creativity and competence of Brazilian professionals and companies but the good current functioning of institutions, the investment of many and the hard work from government and private agents all over Brazil over the last decade. Institutions such as ANCINE, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, APEX, State Governments of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Ceará, Projeto Paradiso, Rio Filme, SP Cine, Investe SP as well as Brazilian Film Festivals and international audiovisual markets in Brazil organized by many different private agents. At Berlinale 2025 Brazil is reaping great results of a huge collective effort of many.
The excellent results not only demonstrate the creativity and competence of Brazilian professionals and companies, but are also the result of a collective effort by various governmental institutions and private agents and initiatives throughout Brazil for years.
“De Menor”, Picture: Leonardo Feliciano // “Iracema”, Picture: press picture
Film Highlights on the program
Two highlights of the program will be “The blue Trail”, by Gabriel Mascaro, on the main competition. The film deals with questions of the Amazon Forest and the director is specially known for the amazing photography of his films. The film “The best mother of the world” by director Anna Muylaerte, at “Berlinale Special Gala” is also much awaited. Specially known for her excellent scripts and soundtracks the director comes back to Berlin after winning the audience award of the festival in 2015.
Awarded director Jorge Bodansky comes with the restored copy of the hybrid documentary-fiction film “Iracema, uma transa Amazonica” (1975) also set in the Amazon forest. At Panorama Section the film “Ato Noturno” from directors Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher, will dialogue especially with LGBTQI+ groups and among the four compilations of short films “Anda Dlo”, by Luiza Calagian and Rosa Caldeira, will be at “Berlinale Shorts 2”
Highlights for families – Section “Generations”
Brazil will 3 long films and 2 short films on this section of the festival dedicated to families. The documentary “Playtime” by awarded director Lucia Murat and the fiction series “Underaged”, by director Caru Alves de Souza are highlights for teenagers. For children over 8 years old the fiction film “The nature of invisible things” by director Rafaela Camela is also very promising. The short films will be ”Barbed Wire” by Gustavo de Carvalho and “Sunset of America”, coproduced by Brazil, by the Chilean director Matías Rojas Valencia.
Lucia Murat, Picture: press picture // Rafaela Camelo, Picture: ©Emanuel Lavor // Caru Alves de Souza, Picture: ©Arthur Gama // Gustavo de Carvalho, Picture: ©Renato Hojda // Matías Rojas Valencia, Picture: ©No Credits
Experimental Films @Forum Expanded
Forum Expanded is the section that explores the often unusual ways of cinematic forms, such as video and film installations and experimental formats. 2025 Brazil will participate with 3 films on this section. “Cartas do Absurdo” Is based on indigenous letters on the 17th century. Tupi is the language of the film. Two hibrid documentary-fiction films will also be showed: ” Zizi”, from director Felipe Braganca as new film and “Muito Romantico”, from 2016, by Melissa Dullius and Gustavo Jahn on the anniversary program of the section.
Felipe Braganca, Picture: ©Duas Mariola Filmes // Gabraz Sanna, Picture: ©Eu morri em 1999 // Melissa Dullius, Picture: ©No Credits // Gustavo Jahn, Picture: ©No credits
Events for Film Professionals: the Berlinale Pro*
Brazil has a special outstanding participation on the events and congress dedicated for films and series. For the sections dedicated to selections for future films and series that look for international financial partners Brazil has 5 projects and companies that have been selected, where most of the countries have only with one project selected. On the section “Berlinale Series Market” from the 17 selected series projects, three of them are Brazilian series. It is the only country after Spain and France to do so this year. For the sessions for long length films Brazil has 2 future projects selected under a very high competition: one project was selected for the Berlinale Coproduction Market and other one at Talents Project Market.
@Berlinale 2025
Feature-length films:
The Blue Trail | dir. Gabriel Mascaro | fiction, Competition
The best mother in the world | dir. Anna Muylaerte. | fiction, Berlinale Special Gala
Iracema | dir. Jorge Bodansky | fiction-documentary, 1975, Forum
Playtime | dir. Lucia Murat | documentary, Section Generation 14 plus
The Nature of Invisible Things | dir. Renata Camela | fiction, Generation K plus (8)
Underage | dir. Caru Alves de Souza | series, fiction, Generation 14 plus
Night Stage | dir. Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher | fiction, Panorama
Experimental films
Zizi | dir. Felipe Bragança | fiction-documentary
Letters from Absurd | dir. Gabriel Sana | fiction-documentary
Muito Romântico | dir. Melissa Dulius e Gustavo Jahn, 2016 | fiction-documentary
Short films
Barbed Wire | dir. Gustavo de Carvalho | fiction, Generation 14 plus
Sunset over America | dir. Matías Rojas Valencia | fiction, Generation 14 plus
Anba dlo | dir. Luiza Calagian e Rosa Caldeira | Berlinale Shorts 2