AFRIKAMERA Film Festival 2025
AFRIKAMERA Film Festival 2025 is carving out a vital space for African filmmaking in the heart of Europe. Run by toucouleur e.V., a collective of German and African cultural workers, the festival celebrates its role as a bridge between continents and cultures, between stories often overlooked and those who need to hear them. This year’s focus is on change and offers a sharp, timely lens on shifting gender roles and the power structures that uphold them. With a spotlight on films by female directors, the festival’s programme interrogates how identities are constructed, challenged and ultimately redefined, all while bringing Berlin the best in current African cinema.
But AFRIKAMERA doesn’t stop at screenings – expect short film programmes, panel talks, networking events and an electrifying Afrofuturistic Saharan electro concert by AFROTRONIX. There’s also a special film night at MAAYA, as well as a special programme, Spotlight on Windhoek on November 19 at Sinema Transtopia to mark the 25th anniversary of the Windhoek-Berlin town twinning, honouring Namibian-German cultural exchange through cinema.
Some festival highlights include the opening film, Promised Sky (Erige Sehiri, 2025), which is a tender, moving portrait of community and care in Tunis. On Becoming A Guinea Fowl (Rungano Nyoni, 2024) brings you into the drama of a funeral, secret and dead uncle in this sharp-edged portrait of Zambia’s matriarchal society. Also not to be missed is Angèle Diabang’s Une si longue lettre (2025), a profound meditation on love adapted from Mariama Bâ’s seminal 1979 novel. This box-office sensation follows a 50-year-old teacher whose life is upended when her husband takes a second wife – her daughter’s best friend.
- Various locations, Nov 11-16, details.
INTERFILM 41: International Short Film Festival Berlin
International short film festival INTERFILM is returning for its 41st year, this time not just with films, but with a purpose. The festival, originally founded in 1982 in the squatting district of Kreuzberg, reminds us that cinema is more than escapism; it’s a tool, tactic and torchlight. Across various expansive and expertly curated programmes, INTERFILM provides the opportunity to watch hundreds of short films that you can be sure will push the usual boundaries of cinema. There’s also the opportunity to immerse yourself in events and talks alongside the screenings. The festival also has a FOCUS section called Weaving Tomorrows, dedicated to exploring how stories shape identities, communities and futures. Through five internationally curated programmes, themes of indigenous memory, lost Palestinian film heritage, FLINTA* voices sidelined by history and visions of queer and anti-colonial resistance are highlighted. Selected films weave together conceptions of memory, defiance and care, all within a wider cultural context that hinges on survival and solidarity. Through its film and event programme, INTERFILM invites you to resist, remember and reimagine together, through the radical art of short film.
- Various locations, Nov 4-9, details.
Mark Reeder’s Mystery Movie Night
It’s a brand new season of Mark Reeder’s mystery movie night, but the drill is the same as always: the counterculture icon chooses a movie to screen to an intimate audience. The selection is a closely-guarded secret that is only revealed as soon as the film starts. Reeder even keeps it hidden from his wife, so there’s no chance of a leak here.
- Backhaus Projects, Nov 10, details
Margarethe von Trotta at BABYLON
Catch the works of German film icon Margarethe von Trotta during her ongoing retrospective at BABYLON in Berlin. At the heart of the programme lies a vital question: how do individuals within a specific generation respond to the social structures that shape their world? Margarethe von Trotta’s In Search of Ingmar Bergman (2018), screening on November 4 is her first and so far only documentary, and it’s as personal as it is probing. In the film, von Trotta retraces the life and legacy of the legendary Swedish director whose work first inspired her to pick up a camera. The film is a deeply intimate journey that weaves biography, cinephilia and cultural reflection together into something richer. Another highlight will be the final screening of the series, Rosa Luxemburg (1986). After the film, there will be a panel discussion featuring cultural theorist Klaus Theweleit and Margarethe von Trotta herself, moderated by Marius Babias, director of the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein.
- Babylon Kino, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 30, Mitte, through Nov 9, details.
Best of Cinema Series: The Silence of The Lambs
A perfect American movie, a perfect movie – however you want to describe it, Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was a sensational cross-genre film made when Hollywood was still in all of its full glory. The Best of Cinema series picked a classic here, so don’t miss your chance to watch this high-octane ride on the big screen.
- Various locations, throughout November, details.
RISIKO KINO KLUB #2
Berlin-based independent music and culture magazine, RISIKO, is rolling out a real gem for their second feature event at Sputnik Kino. Japlan (1984) is a wildly inventive music documentary that captures Neue Deutsche Welle legends, Der Plan, on their surreal, sonically charged 1984 tour of Japan. More than a concert doc, it’s a playful, anarchic time capsule of a band at their eccentric height. To mark the release of their new album Take It Easy, Der Plan themselves will be in attendance, and will contribute a hand-picked selection of surprise videos, including some never-before-seen footage from their vaults. Between screenings, the band will also take part in a live Q&A, sharing stories, memories and almost certainly a few philosophical musings. Come along for a night of music, mischief and pure Der Plan.
- Sputnik Kino, Hasenheide 54/5th, Kreuzberg, details.
Around the World in 14 Films
Founded in 2006, Around the World in 14 Films is an international film festival that hand-picks films from the year’s global festival circuit. From Cannes to Venice, Sundance to Locarno, the festival showcases some of the year’s standout films that turned heads, sparked conversations and took home prizes. Opening the festival is Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, an emotive, provoking look at the bond between father and daughter, following his Oslo Trilogy. And that’s just the opener… don’t miss the rest of the screenings!
- Various locations, through Dec 6, details.
French Film Week
French Film Week is back, celebrating a quarter of a century showcasing the crème de la crème of cinema from the French-speaking world. With 31 films on the menu, it’s going to be a veritable feast of film.
- Various locations, Nov 20 – 26, details
Italian Film Festival
The 12th edition of the Italian Film Festival returns to Berlin, hosted in the atmospheric surroundings of Kulturbrauerei. Bringing the best of Italian cinema to the capital, this six-day event features numerous screenings and the chance to meet some of the filmmakers behind the flicks. Get ready to soak up that dolce vita lifestyle right in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg.
- Kino in der Kulturbrauerei, Nov 11 – 16, details
Soundwatch Music Film Festival
Soundwatch Film Festival Berlin returns for its 9th year, bringing a dazzling variety of international music films to the city’s kinos, many for the first time. The opening night features a screening of documentary Sound Dreams of Istanbul at Friedrichsain’s Galiläakirche, followed by a live performance from Turkish folk duo Velvele and a Q&A with director Anil Eralsan. Also don’t miss: Move Ya Body: The Birth of House and The World According to Allee Willis, a documentary exploring the life of the writer of the Friends theme tune.
- Various locations, Nov 12 – 17, details
