Berlin Festival Unveils Generation Full Lineup

Berlin Festival Unveils Generation Full Lineup

The Berlin International Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its 2025 Generation section, which highlights children and youth films.

The Generation 14plus 2025 competition will open with Christy, directed by Brendan Canty. The film portrays a teenage boy from Cork, Ireland, navigating the shadows of his family’s past while seeking a place in the world. In the Generation Kplus section, the opening film The Nature of Invisible Things explores a community’s support for two girls as they grapple with moments of farewell and new beginnings.

The competition lineup features Seaside Serendipity by Satoko Yokohama, an episodic film set on a nameless Japanese island, which blends magical realism with everyday life, questioning the intersection of art and life. Also highlighted is Wrong Husband by Zacharias Kunuk, which transports viewers to a mystical world in the Canadian Arctic, where human and spirit realms collide in a fairy tale about young love. The emotionally evocative Sunshine, directed by Antoinette Jadaone, follows a young girl on an important journey of self-discovery, and in Paternal Leave, Alissa Jung delves into a teenager’s quest to uncover her unknown father, a journey that ultimately leads to personal revelations.

Three documentaries bring unique perspectives on the present. Circusboy, directed by Anna Koch and Julia Lemke, offers a glimpse into the circus world through the eyes of a young boy and his great-grandfather’s stories. Playtime by Lucia Murat presents a bold narrative that intertwines violence, racism and misogyny as experienced by mostly Black youth in Rio de Janeiro schools, while Robin Petré’s Only on Earth explores humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, featuring stunning visuals of horses threatened by forest fires.

The Generation 2025 program also includes several animated features. French fantasist Michel Gondry (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) will bring his latest animated film, Maya, Give Me a Title, described by Gondry as a “stop-motion love letter to his daughter Maya,” to Berlin. The omnibus feature Tales from the Magic Garden, another stop-motion production, explores three children using the power of imagination to deal with grief; and the Chinese feature A Story about Fire, from director Li Wenyu, re-tells the legend of Ran Bi Wa, a monkey raised by humans, who sets off to the Holy Mountain to steal fire for humankind. In a special screening, Underage, directed by Caru Alves de Souza, explores youth and conflict with state authorities through an anti-naturalistic lens, reflecting on justice and systemic injustice.

The full list of 2025 Generation titles is below.

Generation 14plus

Beneath Which Rivers Flow by Ali Yahya
Iraq 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

Christy by Brendan Canty
United Kingdom / Ireland 2025, World premiere, Debut film

Daye: The Tale of Daye’s Family by Karim El Shenawy
Egypt / Saudi Arabia 2024, European premiere

Fantas by Halima Elkhatabi
Canada 2024, International premiere

Hora do recreio by Lucia Murat
Brazil 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

Our Wildest Days by Vasilis Kekatos
Greece / France 2025, World premiere, Debut film

Paternal Leave by Alissa Jung
Germany / Italy 2025, World premiere, Debut film

Sandbag Dam by Čejen Černić Čanak
Croatia / Lithuania / Slovenia 2025, World premiere

Sunshine by Antoinette Jadaone
Philippines 2024, European premiere

Sunset over America by Matías Rojas Valencia
Brazil / Chile / Colombia 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

Têtes Brûlées by Maja Ajmia Yde Zellama
Belgium 2025, World premiere, Debut film

Underage by Caru Alves de Souza
Brazil 2025, World premiere, Series

Village Rockstars 2 by Rima Das
India / Singapore 2024, European premiere

Wrong Husband by Zacharias Kunuk
Canada 2025, World premiere

Generation Kplus

A Story About Fire by Li Wenyu
People’s Republic of China 2025, World premiere, Debut film, Animation

Circusboy by Julia Lemke, Anna Koch
Germany 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

Little Rebels Cinema Club by Khozy Rizal
Indonesia 2024, International premiere

Maya, Give Me a Title by Michel Gondry
France 2024, International premiere, Animation

On a Sunday at Eleven by Alicia K. Harris
Canada 2024, International premiere

Only on Earth by Robin Petré
Denmark / Spain 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

Seaside Serendipity by Satoko Yokohama
Japan 2025, World premiere

Space Cadet by Eric San
Canada 2025, World premiere, Debut film, Animation

Tales From the Magic Garden by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, Jean-Claude Rozec
Czechia / Slovakia / Slovenia / France 2025, World premiere, Animation

The Leap by Roberto Tarazona
Cuba 2025, World premiere, Documentary form

The Nature of Invisible Things by Rafaela Camelo
Brazil / Chile 2025, World premiere, Debut film

White Ochre by Marlikka Perdrisat
Australia 2025, International premiere, Documentary form