UK cinema makes a strong showing at the 75th Berlinale, with eleven UK-related films featured across multiple sections. Let’s find out how the Germany’s selection committee has framed them within this year’s lineup.
This year’s Berlinale revives two seminal British films, both of which remain strikingly relevant today. The most anticipated is Friendship’s Death (1987) by Peter Wollen, starring Tilda Swinton – one of the industry’s heavyweights and this year’s recipient of the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. The 1987 Sci-fi film featuring a relationship between a British war correspondent and a female extraterrestrial robot has remained relatively under the radar over the years. However, now, it’s a perfect time to revisit it in the age of AI.
Meanwhile, Looking for Langston (1989) by Isaac Julien will screen in the Panorama section. This British black-and-white film won the Teddy Award for Best Short Film at the 1989 Berlin International Film Festival. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was selected to be shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016. Also, this year, it will be paired with Julien’s latest short film, Once Again… (Statues Never Die), which continues his exploration of queer subculture of the Harlem Renaissance, running a double feature during the festival.
Beyond the classics retrospective, the festival’s newcomers also explore diverse themes, with most being directorial debuts.
Among them is The Thing With Feathers with Benedict Cumberbatch. A grieving young father struggles to process his wife’s sudden death. As he withdraws into his grief, an ominous presence begins to haunt the apartment he shares with his two sons. This supernatural drama by British filmmaker Dylan Southern premiered at the American Sundance Film Festival on 25 January 2025, and received an impressive IMDb rating of 8.3/10, despite being Southern’s debut feature-length fiction film.
Selected for the Berlinale Special Gala, the film is already generating significant buzz, particularly for its lead performance by Benedict Cumberbatch – an actor with a well-established and dedicated fan base in China. Known for his iconic roles in Sherlock, Doctor Strange, and The Imitation Game, Cumberbatch has consistently been a box office draw in the Chinese market, with his Marvel films grossing hundreds of millions in China alone.
In addition to Isaac Julien’s two short films, three more UK films will screen in the Panorama section: Dreamers by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, an undocumented migrant story about freedom and love; Dreams in Nightmares by Shatara Michelle Ford, a US-UK-Taiwan co-produced road film; and Khartoum by Anas Saeed, a documentary portrait of five people from Khartoum at a key moment in African history.
In the Forum Expanded section, STARS by STARS Collective and Mirage: Eigenstate by Riar Rizaldi bring an untold perspective to the reality and the universe by blending mythology, science, and cosmology.
Christy, directed by Brendan Canty – the Irish filmmaker who gained international recognition with his music video for “Take Me to Church” – follows a 17-year-old boy navigating adolescence, family struggles and brotherhood. This film will be screening in the Generation 14plus section.
Finally, the UK’s contender in the Competition section for the Golden Bear is Hot Milk – a queer coming-of-age drama by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Starring Emma Mackey as a teenage daughter navigating a burgeoning queer romance while trapped in a complex, fragile bond with her controlling mother (Fiona Shaw).
British films are well presented at Berlinale this year, tackling themes of technology, family, queerness, identity, and immigration. With such a diverse selection, British cinema at Berlinale 2025 is poised to make a strong impact. While films like Hot Milk and Dreamers bring fresh perspectives on identity and relationships, The Thing With Feathers, backed by Cumberbatch’s star power, is shaping up to be the festival’s breakout British film. Considering their commercial appeal worldwide – especially in the Chinese market – The Thing With Feathers stands out as the top contender.
