Indie films, new talents, and a festival darling:
Indian filmmakers shine bright on the 75th Berlinale
The red carpet has been rolled out, and a star-studded opening event saw Tilda Swinton receive an Honorary Golden Bear on a powdery, snow-carpeted Potsdamer Platz. Germany’s most momentous film festival got off with an illustrious start.
Over the next few days, it will bring renowned and new cinema talents from all over the world to the capital. In its time-honoured tradition of blending mainstream crowd pleasers with the work of fresh artistic talents, Berlinale, in its diamond jubilee 75th edition, will feature a mix of Hollywood stardust, European arthouse, experimental avantgarde and provocative queerness in its lineup.
In the action-packed seventy-five years of its existence, the festival has seen its share of history in a divided city. It has witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, has participated in multiple cinematic revolutions, and has brought forth talents like Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Gus Van Sant, George Clooney, Zhang Yimou, Tilda Swinton, Jasmila Žbanić, and numerous others, who went on to become commanding voices in the world of cinema.
This year’s international festival jury is helmed by Todd Haynes, whose hands will be full judging a broad variety of films from different genres. Among the opening screenings was the world premiere of the German film Das Licht (The Light) by Tom Twyker, whose previous productions include Run Lola Run, Perfume, A Hologram for the King and Cloud Atlas.
But there are also many films from new voices, alongside works of established auteurs. Among them are sweeping Broadway biopics like Blue Moon by Richard Linklater, captivating mother-daughter melodramas (Hot Milk by debut director Rebecca Lenkiewicz), a psychedelic story of Amazonian self-discovery in The Blue Trail (by Gabriel Mascaro), and existential tales that dissect home and belonging, such as Ameer Fakher Eldin’s film Yunan.
The sidebar sections Panorama, Perspectives, Forum, Generation and Short Films tell entertainingly fresh narratives. Many of them are made by Indian filmmakers.
Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox), by debut directors Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, features a domestic drama set in a Kolkata suburb. It follows a woman, played by Tillotama Shome, who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery. The film competes in the new Perspectives section.
Natesh Hegde’s Vaghachipani (Tiger’s Pond) in the Forum section is a crime drama set in rural Karnataka, exploring the precarious nature of social order in a rural environment ruled by nefarious politicians.
Rima Das’ Village Rockstars 2 is an entertaining sequel in which teenager Dhunu follows her dream to become a career musician. The movie has become somewhat of a festival darling, having toured multiple festivals already. It competes in the Generation 14plus section.
Over and above, there is the Indian-origin director Arjun Talwar’s Letters from Wolf Street (Listy z Wilczej), a Polish documentary in the Panorama section, which tells the story of an immigrant’s experience.
A visual installation by Kush Badhwar and Vyjayanthi Rao called Beneath the Placid Lake (English) talks about displacement in rural communities and is featured in the Forum Expanded section.
Rhea Shukla’s Ruse is a short film (Hindi, English) in the Generation K Plus.
In addition to the strong presence of independent films from the Indian community, eight exceptional young filmmakers from the Indian and South Asian Diaspora will participate in the Berlinale Talents programme. Film talent from India will benefit from the mentoring and networking opportunities available to them, as part of Berlinale Talents. Filmmakers like Payal Kapadia – who is a Berlinale Talent alumnus – have often gone on to reap major artistic successes in other film festivals, like Cannes.
“This is an amazing achievement,” says Meenakshi Shedde, South Asia Delegate to the Berlinale, referring to the Indian contribution to this year’s festival.
“Each film was selected from about 8,000 film submissions in 2025, and the talents from 3,836 submissions from 123 nations this year,” adds Shedde who is also an independent programmer to other film festivals worldwide.
According to Shedde, who has been with the festival for 27 years working in Indian and South Asia programming for the Berlinale, the festival has been a crucial A-list platform to discover and launch new South Asian talent. “With thousands of delegates, including film buyers at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, producers at the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and press people from all over the world, the festival offers incredible opportunities, especially for independent cinema,” she adds.
The support Berlinale offers, in providing independent filmmakers with a platform, has proven to be crucial to their discovery in other traditional and non-traditional film markets worldwide. As Shedde says, there is no other supportive ecosystem and launchpad for the production, distribution and exhibition of indie cinema like the one Berlinale offers.
The exciting collaboration between independent filmmakers and established producers to bring forth exciting new voices and narratives can only benefit the Indian movies at Berlinale this year. Baksho Bondi, Vaghachipani and Village Rockstars 2 have found a supportive platform at the Berlinale, enriching the festival’s program.
Over the next ten days, the Berlinale Film Festival will discover, nourish and honour many such talents.
Meanwhile, snow continues to fall on the Berlinale Palast, as film professionals rub shoulders with the general public, who are able to attend world premiere screenings with the movie stars who act in them. This unique opportunity, owing to the fact that Berlinale is a public festival, is as much part of the festival’s DNA, as its talent programme, and its tumultuous history. Seventy-five years on, Berlinale is not content just looking back—it is setting the stage for what’s next.
The Goethe-Institut brings you exclusive interviews, reviews and snapshots from the 75th Berlinale. Follow along on Instagram.
Over the next few days, it will bring renowned and new cinema talents from all over the world to the capital. In its time-honoured tradition of blending mainstream crowd pleasers with the work of fresh artistic talents, Berlinale, in its diamond jubilee 75th edition, will feature a mix of Hollywood stardust, European arthouse, experimental avantgarde and provocative queerness in its lineup.
In the action-packed seventy-five years of its existence, the festival has seen its share of history in a divided city. It has witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, has participated in multiple cinematic revolutions, and has brought forth talents like Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Gus Van Sant, George Clooney, Zhang Yimou, Tilda Swinton, Jasmila Žbanić, and numerous others, who went on to become commanding voices in the world of cinema.
This year’s international festival jury is helmed by Todd Haynes, whose hands will be full judging a broad variety of films from different genres. Among the opening screenings was the world premiere of the German film Das Licht (The Light) by Tom Twyker, whose previous productions include Run Lola Run, Perfume, A Hologram for the King and Cloud Atlas.
But there are also many films from new voices, alongside works of established auteurs. Among them are sweeping Broadway biopics like Blue Moon by Richard Linklater, captivating mother-daughter melodramas (Hot Milk by debut director Rebecca Lenkiewicz), a psychedelic story of Amazonian self-discovery in The Blue Trail (by Gabriel Mascaro), and existential tales that dissect home and belonging, such as Ameer Fakher Eldin’s film Yunan.
The sidebar sections Panorama, Perspectives, Forum, Generation and Short Films tell entertainingly fresh narratives. Many of them are made by Indian filmmakers.
Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox), by debut directors Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, features a domestic drama set in a Kolkata suburb. It follows a woman, played by Tillotama Shome, who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery. The film competes in the new Perspectives section.
Natesh Hegde’s Vaghachipani (Tiger’s Pond) in the Forum section is a crime drama set in rural Karnataka, exploring the precarious nature of social order in a rural environment ruled by nefarious politicians.
Rima Das’ Village Rockstars 2 is an entertaining sequel in which teenager Dhunu follows her dream to become a career musician. The movie has become somewhat of a festival darling, having toured multiple festivals already. It competes in the Generation 14plus section.
Over and above, there is the Indian-origin director Arjun Talwar’s Letters from Wolf Street (Listy z Wilczej), a Polish documentary in the Panorama section, which tells the story of an immigrant’s experience.
A visual installation by Kush Badhwar and Vyjayanthi Rao called Beneath the Placid Lake (English) talks about displacement in rural communities and is featured in the Forum Expanded section.
Rhea Shukla’s Ruse is a short film (Hindi, English) in the Generation K Plus.
“This is an amazing achievement,” says Meenakshi Shedde, South Asia Delegate to the Berlinale, referring to the Indian contribution to this year’s festival.
“Each film was selected from about 8,000 film submissions in 2025, and the talents from 3,836 submissions from 123 nations this year,” adds Shedde who is also an independent programmer to other film festivals worldwide.
According to Shedde, who has been with the festival for 27 years working in Indian and South Asia programming for the Berlinale, the festival has been a crucial A-list platform to discover and launch new South Asian talent. “With thousands of delegates, including film buyers at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, producers at the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and press people from all over the world, the festival offers incredible opportunities, especially for independent cinema,” she adds.
The support Berlinale offers, in providing independent filmmakers with a platform, has proven to be crucial to their discovery in other traditional and non-traditional film markets worldwide. As Shedde says, there is no other supportive ecosystem and launchpad for the production, distribution and exhibition of indie cinema like the one Berlinale offers.
The exciting collaboration between independent filmmakers and established producers to bring forth exciting new voices and narratives can only benefit the Indian movies at Berlinale this year. Baksho Bondi, Vaghachipani and Village Rockstars 2 have found a supportive platform at the Berlinale, enriching the festival’s program.
Over the next ten days, the Berlinale Film Festival will discover, nourish and honour many such talents.
Meanwhile, snow continues to fall on the Berlinale Palast, as film professionals rub shoulders with the general public, who are able to attend world premiere screenings with the movie stars who act in them. This unique opportunity, owing to the fact that Berlinale is a public festival, is as much part of the festival’s DNA, as its talent programme, and its tumultuous history. Seventy-five years on, Berlinale is not content just looking back—it is setting the stage for what’s next.
The Goethe-Institut brings you exclusive interviews, reviews and snapshots from the 75th Berlinale. Follow along on Instagram.