• Film
  • Berlinale 2025: Our guide to tickets, programming and venues

Berlinale

Berlinale 2025: Our guide to tickets, programming and venues

Attending the 75th Berlinale? This guide covers everything you need to know, from tickets and prices to navigating the festival's diverse programme of events.

Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17 (2025), d. Bong Joon Ho.
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17 (2025), d. Bong Joon Ho.

The 75th Berlinale is right around the corner! One of the big three film festivals of Europe (along with Cannes and Venice) the Berlinale (February 13th to 23rd) sees hundreds of films being screened at venues across the city over 10 days.

Between all the different venues and events, the programme can be pretty confusing. That’s why we’ve summarised the most important info here regarding tickets, venues and categories.

Tickets and prices

The festival sells tickets to individual screenings on its website. The tickets are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, starting at 10:00 three days before the particular screening. The biggest films often sell out quickly, but tickets to sold-out shows often become available again (especially in the hour before the screening begins). 

To have the best odds at getting a ticket, we suggest queuing in the online shop before 10:00.

There is a limit to two tickets per screening (a maximum of 5 for any film from the Generation section) and you can buy them on the Berlinale website, which will redirect users to the partnering platform Eventim. The exception is the Berlinale’s opening gala and screening, which will be broadcasted live in seven cinemas across different cities in Germany. This list can be found here and the ticket sales run through the corresponding cinema stores. 

The Berlinale is remarkably accessible for a major film festival: anyone can buy tickets to the festival screenings (barring a handful of events for the industry and press). Tickets prices range from €9 to €15, with the exception of Berlinale Palast tickets, which are €20, and there are reduced ticket prices for qualifying groups as well (ticket details here). To have the best odds at getting a ticket, we suggest queuing in the online shop before 10:00.

Programme

The festival will showcase its selected films across 10 different sections and a mutable number of special presentations. Some of the sections are self-explanatory (shorts, classics, etc…) but it’s useful to have a basic knowledge of the bigger sections to understand what type of film is shown in each:

Competition

The competition is the centre of the entire festival. One of the films screened here will come home with the coveted Golden Bear prize – given by the competition jury to the best overall film. Lots of attention is placed on the competition films, which tend to be bigger budget than the rest of the sections. This is the section with the stars, the red carpet and the most excitement.

Forum & Forum Expanded

Forum is the place for daring, avant-garde cinema. This is where artists and filmmakers examine the medium of film and create challenging art; often, screenings here feel more like art installations than traditional cinema. 

Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown (2025), d. James Mangold. Image: Searchlight Pictures 
Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown (2025), d. James Mangold. Image: Searchlight Pictures 

Panorama

Panorama is more art-house than the Competition section, but bigger budget than Forum. Expect a batch of exciting, innovative films that please the crowd. The best part: the audience is the jury, so you get the chance to vote for the winner of the section. A full list of festival sections can be found here.

So, what are the programme highlights this year? Some early standouts include James Mangold’s eight Academy Awards nominations film A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, and Richard Linklater’s musical biopic Blue Moon, starring Margaret Qualley, Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott. Director Bong Joon Ho’s long anticipated return with Mickey 17 is also set to make some waves. 

For the festival programme, check here, but be aware the complete programme will only be available from February 4th.