10 must-see movies at the Berlin Film Festival 2024
The annual Berlin International Film Festival kicks off on February 15th, 2024, showcasing some of the year’s most anticipated movies. Lasting ten days of cinematic fun, the festival will screen several hundred movies for industry professionals, cinephiles, film buyers and distributors alike.
Founded in 1951, the festival has screened many classic movies over the years, alongside awarding many films with the coveted ‘Golden Bear’ prize. Some of the most prominent winners of the prize include 12 Angry Men, Alphaville, Sense and Sensibility, Magnolia, Spirited Away and The Thin Red Line.
The festival is one of the biggest celebrations of cinema in the world, classed as part of the ‘Big Five’ of film festivals. This year, there are plenty of enticing titles on offer, which we have picked out below.
From the newest offering from Saint Maud director Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding, to Hong Sangsoo’s upcoming Small Things Like These, starring Isabelle Huppert, here are ten films you must see at the Berlin International Film Festival.
10 must-see movies at the Berlin Film Festival:
Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass)
After releasing her debut movie, Saint Maud, in 2019, Rose Glass is back with a bang. Love Lies Bleeding looks like an action-packed journey through American landscapes – a sharp contrast to the British setting of Saint Maud.
The movie features Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as lovers whose lives are suddenly flipped upside down when Ed Harris’ Lou Sr, the criminal father of Stewart’s character, enters the picture. With Glass at the helm, Love Lies Bleeding will certainly be a thrilling watch.
I Saw The TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun)
Jane Schoenbrun, director of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is releasing another exciting horror movie in 2024 in the form of I Saw The TV Glow. The movie follows two characters, played by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, as they become obsessed with a television show that is subsequently cancelled.
The movie stars several musicians in supporting roles, such as Snail Mail, Phoebe Bridgers, and even Fred Durst. Already receiving high praise, I Saw The TV Glow appears to be a timely piece of social critique that multiple generations of horror fans will find themselves drawn to.
A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)
Following recent parts in movies like Fresh and Sharper, Sebastian Stan has nabbed another starring role in A Different Man, directed by Aaron Schimberg. This is the director’s third movie and will also feature Renate Reinsve, best known for her starring role in The Worst Person in the World and Adam Pearson from Under the Skin.
The movie follows a budding actor named Edward who becomes obsessed with what he could’ve had after he undergoes major surgery to remove tumours from his face. Despite having a new face, Edward loses sight of his identity in this gripping psychological thriller.
My Favourite Cake (Maryam Moqadam and Behtash Sanaeeha)
Following their film Ballad of a White Cow, Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moqadam and Behtash Sanaeeha are releasing another feature, My Favourite Cake. Starring Lily Farhadpour, who also appeared in Ballad of a White Cow, the film explores the life of her character, Mahin, a widow.
Living all alone, romance re-enters Mahin’s life after an afternoon of connecting with friends, which encourages her to do something about her loneliness. The movie challenges Iranian attitudes toward womanhood, so much so the directors have been banned from leaving the country to promote the film.
Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)
Claire Keegan’s historical drama novel Small Things Like These has been adapted for the big screen by screenwriter Enda Walsh, with Tim Mielants directing. Cillian Murphy, who has recently picked up plenty of nominations for his leading role in Oppenheimer, will star as the film’s main character, Bill Furlong.
Murphy plays a coal merchant who makes a shocking discovery at a convent nearby. The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was heavily praised, so we have no doubt that the movie, which also stars Emily Watson, won’t be anything less than great.
Abiding Nowhere (Tsai Ming-Liang)
What would a quality European festival be without the presence of the Malaysian filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang? The previous recipient of multiple Berlin awards over the years, Ming-Liang has consistently proved himself as one of contemporary cinema’s most exciting filmmakers, creating such beloved creatives, making such classics as 1997’s River, 2005’s The Wayward Cloud and 2020’s Days.
His latest movie, Abiding Nowhere, is the latest in his meditative Walker series and tells the story of a Buddhist monk (played by Lee Kang-sheng) who traverses the world as a monk, caring not about dangerous roads or private land. Clocking in at just 79 minutes, Ming-liang’s latest sounds like something to be truly treasured.
Chime (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
The Japanese film director and screenwriter Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of the most curious filmmakers of contemporary cinema, having made multiple middling films in the 21st century, only to pull through with some undisputed indie gems. He may be inconsistent, but there’s no doubting the pure brilliance of 2008’s Tokyo Sonata, his disturbing 2001 horror Pulse or his crime thriller Cure from 1997, which has received a modern surge of popularity.
Understandably, then, his latest movie, Chime, has attracted considerable publicity since its announcement, with the film having its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. At just 45 minutes in length, the short horror thriller has a fascinating premise, telling the story of a school teacher who is awoken in the middle of the night by a sound that sends him into a state of dead-filled anxiety.
Diaries From Lebanon (Myriam El Hajj)
The Lebanese documentary filmmaker Myriam El Hajj is one of the most exciting directors to appear at the Berlin Film Festival, taking her sophomore feature, Diaries From Lebanon, to the event. Her new film takes audiences back to 2018 when the author and poet Joumana Haddad became the first woman to be voted into the Lebanese parliament, only for the government to take a U-turn on the decision due to an archaic hierarchy of power.
Such led to a revolution in 2019, with El Hajj tracking the mass protests that erupted over four years as the country attempted to break free from a broken social system. A fascinating and urgent study, El Hajj’s film could easily become one of the festival’s biggest talking points.
A Traveler’s Needs (Hong Sangsoo)
Festivals such as Berlin and Cannes are all about shining a light on the indie filmmakers who often don’t get the praise they deserve, with the South Korean film director and screenwriter Hong Sangsoo being one such creative. A regular staple of the biggest European film festivals, Sangsoo has previously found great success with the Palme d’Or nominees Woman Is the Future of Man, Tale of Cinema and In Another Country.
A poignant filmmaker who prefers the slow pace of cinema, his latest film, A Traveler’s Needs, stars Isabelle Huppert as a French woman in Korea who resorts to teaching her native tongue after losing her job. Thanks to its place in the Golden Bear competition, all eyes will be on A Traveler’s Needs and Sangsoo.
