The Berlin Film Festival has announced the competition lineup for its 76th edition, blending arthouse films with A-list stars such as Channing Tatum, Amy Adams and Riley Keough. Artistic director Tricia Tuttle highlighted the diverse selection of international auteurs and politically charged stories. The festival is scheduled for February 12-22, 2026.
The 76th Berlin Film Festival, under the leadership of artistic director Tricia Tuttle in her second year, unveiled its competition lineup on January 20, 2026. The selection emphasizes a mix of prestige international filmmakers, intimate character studies and politically engaged cinema, alongside Hollywood talent including Pamela Anderson, Amy Adams, Juliette Binoche, Sandra Hüller and Elle Fanning.
Key highlights include Karim Aïnouz’s 'Rosebush Pruning,' a contemporary satire starring Riley Keough, Callum Turner, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Letts and Pamela Anderson. The film follows siblings confronting their mother’s death amid family secrets. Tuttle described it as a “twisted thriller about a privileged family unraveling when dark secrets emerge.”
Channing Tatum stars in Beth de Araújo’s psychological thriller 'Josephine,' with Gemma Chan, where parents seek justice after their daughter witnesses a crime. Tuttle noted it as a “really personal story” capturing family trauma. Another anticipated entry is Kornél Mundruczó’s 'At the Sea,' featuring Amy Adams as a former dancer confronting identity post-rehab.
The lineup features European stalwarts like Juliette Binoche in Lance Hammer’s 'Queen at Sea,' exploring dementia and marital devotion, and Sandra Hüller in Markus Schleinzer’s period piece 'Rose.' Returning directors include Angela Schanelec with 'Meine Frau weint' and İlker Çatak with 'Gelbe Briefe,' addressing state oppression in Turkey.
Other films span global perspectives: Alain Gomis’s 'Dao' on family and heritage between France and Guinea-Bissau; Anthony Chen’s 'We Are All Strangers' concluding his trilogy; and animated 'A New Dawn' by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya. Animation and documentaries like Grant Gee’s jazz-inflected 'Everybody Digs Bill Evans' add variety.
Tuttle, during the announcement with programmers Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz, said, “We fell in love with so many films this year... You will find filmmakers working at the top of their game.” The Perspectives section for debuts includes 13 films, such as Ashley Walters’s 'Animol' with Stephen Graham.
Wim Wenders will serve as jury president, succeeding Todd Haynes. The festival opens with Shahrbanoo Sadat’s 'No Good Men,' a romantic comedy set in pre-Taliban Kabul.
