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FROM GREENLAND TO SYRIA TO OUTER SPACE: OUR PICKS FOR THE 75TH BERLINALE

FROM GREENLAND TO SYRIA TO OUTER SPACE: OUR PICKS FOR THE 75TH BERLINALE

Choosing what to see at the Berlinale is as difficult as securing one of the coveted tickets in time. The only trick for the latter is to be on time in the ticket queue or quick online. In terms of choosing what to see, we’ve rummaged through the program for you and highlighted our top picks. The 75th Berlinale will open under the direction of film festival director Tricia Tuttle on 13.02.2025 with a new film by Tom Tykwer, The Light. Starring Nicolette Krebitz and Lars Eidinger, The Light tells the story of the Engel family. Parents and children live side by side rather than together until the new Syrian housekeeper, Farrah, throws their everyday life off kilter. The documentary, Al Basateen, also focuses on Syria: artist Antoine Chapon lets two residents of the Basateen al-Razi district in Damascus, which was destroyed in 2015, have their say. The short film Anngeerdardardor by director Christoffer Stenbakken also tells a story of loss — in East Greenland, Kaali sets off in search of his missing sled dog. Beneath Which Rivers Flow is also about human-animal friendship between a boy and an animal. In his documentary short film, filmmaker Ali Yahya follows Ibrahim, who lives in a swampy area in southern Iraq as he tries to rescue a buffalo. Director Jan-Ole Gerster takes us to a luxury hotel in Fuerteventura in his new feature film Islands. Gerster tells the story of tennis coach Tom, played by Sam Riley, who becomes involved in a missing persons case. For the protagonist of Mickey 17 — the new science fiction blockbuster from Parasite director Bong Joon Ho — it’s not disappearance but the duplication becomes a problem. Mickey, played by Robert Pattinson, agrees to have his body cloned if he dies on a dangerous mission. This goes well until Mickey comes face to face with his clone and it is unclear which of the two will be allowed to survive.

Nineteen films (world premieres) are in the running for the coveted Golden and Silver Bears in this year’s competition. In the Irish entry, Blue Moon with Ethan Hawke, Margarete Qualley and Andrew Scott, famous songwriter Lorenz Hart plunges into a deep life crisis. Rebecca Lenkiewicz celebrates her debut with the drama Hot Milk, based on the novel of the same name by Deborah Levy. In it, Sofia travels with her mother to a Spanish coastal town and meets a seductive stranger, played by Vicky Krieps. In Frédéric Hambalek’s contribution What Marielle Knows, Marielle’s parents discover that their daughter has developed telepathic abilities, leading to uncomfortable and absurd situations. Yunan by Ameer Fakher Eldin is about the final act of life. On a remote island, Munir seeks solitude to reflect. We can look forward to seeing Hanna Schygulla and Sibel Kikelli. One of our favorite sections is the diverse Panorama, and it begins with Auto Naturno from Brazil: an actor and a politician begin a secret affair that becomes increasingly reckless. Another debut is Nele Mueller-Stöfen’s Delicious: the life of a wealthy family turns on its head when they hire a young woman as a maid on summer vacation. Chloë Sevigny shines in Amalia Ulman’s Magic Farm. On their way to meet a musician, a film crew travels to Argentina on behalf of a media agency. When they realize they have arrived in the wrong country, they decide to create a trend there. We’re particularly excited about the new film Other People’s Money by Jan Schomburg, Dustin Loose and Kaspar Munk. A global network of bankers, lawyers and super-rich investors defrauded the European state coffers of 146 billion euros. If you want to immerse yourself in the New York art scene of the 1970s, watch a conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his girlfriend Linda Rosenkrantz, played by Ben Wishaw and Rebecca Hall, in Peter Hujar’s Day by Ira Sachs. Schwesterherz by Sarah Miro Fischer is a tribute to the close bond between Rose and her older brother Sam. When Sam is accused of rape, Rose is asked to testify against him as part of the investigation. There’s no Berlinale without Nina Hoss: in Zikaden, Isabell takes care of her aging parents and is faced with the ruins of her marriage when she meets single mother Anja. Our Best of Berlinale 2025 ends with the news that this year’s Honorary Bear goes to the breathtaking actress Tilda Swinton! 

Text: Laura Storfner, Milena Kalojanov / Stills: Beneath Which Rivers Flow, Mickey 17, Was Marielle weiß

75th Berlinale (13.–23.02.2025)

Find the full Berlinale program here. You can buy tickets online from 10.02.2025 10h.

@berlinale

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CATCH HER IF YOU CAN: CEMILE SAHIN AT ESTHER SCHIPPER

CATCH HER IF YOU CAN: CEMILE SAHIN AT ESTHER SCHIPPER

Fast cars, guns, roses and diamonds. In her new exhibition at Esther SchipperCemile Sahin covers the walls with pictures of cliché props from action films. However, the aluminum panels superimposed with truisms like subtitles, should not dazzle the viewer, nor should the garish kill-bill yellow. Because there’s nothing harmless or predictable about Sahin’s work. She created the panels with the help of an AI she trained with her works until the machine developed a kitschy backdrop between memes and martial arts that Sahin couldn’t have thought up any better. Sahin knows how to captivate visitors with perfect surfaces. But as soon as you enter her colorful world of images, she confronts you with themes with no simple explanations. Her latest film Road Runner, which lends its title to the exhibition, revolves around drones and their use in a military context. In the not-so-distant future, killer drones have taken control. Sahin uses video game aesthetics and drone footage to tell the story of sisters Bêrîtan and Ava, who are targeted by the machines. What jumps between virtual and real on the screen has foundations in the here and now, because AI-supported drone systems are being used on the front in Ukraine every day. They are also produced by German software companies. In her exhibition, Sahin conveys precise in-depth research as captivating content. She tells her story in pictures just as she does in her books. It’s no coincidence that her most recently published novel Kommando Ajax reads like a screenplay.

Text: Laura Storfner / Credits: Cemile Sahin, Road Runner, Esther Schipper, Berlin, 2025; Courtesy the artist and Esther Schipper, Berlin/Paris/Seoul / Photos: Andrea Rossetti, Paul Niedermayer

Esther Schipper, Potsdamer Str.81e / top floor (via lift or stairs), 10785 Berlin–Tiergarten; map

Road Runner – Cemile Sahin until 05.03.2025.

@estherschippergallery
@___cemilesahin___

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REPLAY — THE BITTERLY EVIL FAMILY CONSTELLATION BY YAEL RONEN AT THE SCHAUBÜHNE

REPLAY — THE BITTERLY EVIL FAMILY CONSTELLATION BY YAEL RONEN AT THE SCHAUBÜHNE

“Everyone is the architect of their own happiness and is responsible for their own priorities and decisions in life.” This mantra hangs over “Replay” at the Schaubühne like a thundercloud. The new theatre production by Israeli-Austrian author and director Yael Ronen uses a family tragedy to pose the question: how is it that history always repeats itself? Each generation seems to experience the same traumas as the previous ones — conflicts, illnesses, separations, suicides. The plot: In 1987, a successful opera singer and mother from the GDR is addicted to her reputation. She leaves for the West after a performance in Bayreuth, leaving her young family behind in her hometown. This move changes everything. Her husband signs the divorce papers under duress and swears socialist fidelity. As adults, the daughters left behind separate. They find and lose love. Almost forty years later, conflicts, behavioral patterns and relationship structures repeat themselves, as cyclical as the seasons. And this is exactly what the ensemble with Christoph Gawenda, Carolin Haupt,Eva Meckbach, Ruth Rosenfeld and Renato Schuch magnificently achieves. The 125 minutes in Magda Willi‘s beautiful spatial installation are almost enough to make you forget the chain of unresolved problems and tragedies we are dealing with here.

Text: Milena Kalojanov / Photos: Ivan Kravtsov

Schaubühne, Kurfürstendamm 153, 10709 Berlin–Wilmersdorf; map
Replay” by Yael Ronen. Find tickets here

@schaubuehne_berlin

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ART, CULTURE, CERAMICS — A MULTIMEDIA WEEKEND IN BERLIN

ART, CULTURE, CERAMICS — A MULTIMEDIA WEEKEND IN BERLIN

Taking a break between Fashion Week and the Berlinale? No way! Here is the colorful array for the weekend. The Steven Holl – Drawing as Thought exhibition kicks off today (06.02.2025) at the Tchoban Foundation. Few have captured the most important contemporary cultural buildings in international cities from such interesting angles as he has. The US architect’s legacy of drawings comprises more than 500,000 sketches, watercolors and black-and-white drawings, only a selection of which will be on display — a reason to take an even closer look. At the center of the exhibition is his design for the America Memorial Library in Berlin. On Friday (07.02.) the University of the Arts invites you to the presentation of “Reincarnation“. For this project, third-semester fashion students have transformed discarded hotel textiles into wearable designs. The collection, created in collaboration with Admiral and Vintage Revivals, presents upcycling as an alternative to fast fashion. The sale of garments supports the Bahnhofsmission Berlin at Zoologischen Garten — it’s fashion with a purpose. Saturday (08.02.) will be colorful and lively because the second edition of the Herrlich flea marketis on. As usual, it will be at the Herrlich Studio, by friends for friends — this time with a new edition of clothes, tableware and event equipment from past events. With a drink in your hand, browse through new and old Herrlich stuff and support the cab fund of Abortion Buddy, an anonymous companion for women after abortions.

If you pass by the Zoo and want to get to know the city in a new way, make a detour to the Helmut Newton Foundation. In Berlin, Berlin, eighteen artists exhibit their photographic perspectives of the metropolis. One of them is Ulrich Wüst, a trained urban planner from Magdeburg and an important figure in GDR photography. As an observer of architectural cityscapes, especially in the former East Germany, he shows his view of Berlin in different eras and aesthetics. The exhibition only runs until next Sunday (16.02.2025). Round off the weekend at Helka Ceramics. Known for her pottery courses and ceramic designs, this Sunday (09.02.) she is bringing together the charming pieces of Julia Vermoehlen in her studio under the motto “perfectly imperfect“. Glaze experiments on bowls, cups with small imperfections, and egg cups with personality are waiting to become part of your kitchen shelf and morning routine (bring cash). So if you fancy old pieces, new perspectives or imperfect egg cups, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for this weekend.

Text: Emma Zylla / Photos: Daniel Faro, Helmut Newton Foundation, Lexi Sun, Maria Sewcz, Steven Holl, YVA

Tchoban Foundation, Christinenstr.18a, 10119 Berlin–Mitte; map
Steven Holl–Drawing as Thought 07.02.–04.05.2025, Opening 06.02.2025 19h

Vintage Revivals, Münzstr.5, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
Reincarnation 07.02.2025 18–21h

Herrlich Studio Mainzer Str.23, 12503 Berlin–Neukölln; map
Herrlich Flohmarkt 08.02.2025 12–16h

Helmut Newton Foundation, Museum für Fotografie, Jebenstr.2, 10623 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
Berlin, Berlin until 16.02.2025

Helka Ceramics, Böckhstr.12, 10967 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map
Sample Sale 09.02.2025 14–18h

@galeriewedding
@jenasamura
@tchoban_foundation
@stevenhollarchitects
@udkberlin
@admiralobjekt
@vintage.revivals
@herrlich.studio
@abortionbuddy
@helmutnewtonfoundation
@helkagram
@juliavermoehlen

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CROISSANTS, CRUFFINS & BUNS — BAKE AND TAKE BRINGS ARTISAN PASTRIES TO SAMARITERVIERTEL

CROISSANTS, CRUFFINS & BUNS — BAKE AND TAKE BRINGS ARTISAN PASTRIES TO SAMARITERVIERTEL

Sometimes, all it takes to brighten a morning is a freshly baked croissant and really good coffee on the way to work. If you live in Friedrichshain’s Samariterviertel, Bake and Take is the perfect start to your day. This small bakery, which opened in September 2024, is so popular it often sells out before official closing time — a testament to the exceptional quality of its pastries. Behind Bake and Take are two Ukrainian families who, after losing almost everything in the war, decided to make a fresh start in Berlin. What began as a small experimental project quickly captured the neighborhood’s curiosity and admiration. It’s hardly surprising, Oleg from Mariupol had worked with numerous cafés, restaurants and bars in Ukraine, while Oleg from Mykolaiv has extensive experience in bakery management. Their bakery’s name is as simple as it is fitting: “(We) Bake and (You) Take”. Everything here is made by hand, right in front of the guests, thanks to a large glass window that offers a glimpse into the baking process. The classic croissant has been the undisputed bestseller since day one, but the cardamom buns, croissants filled with salted caramel, and savory options like the morning cheese bun or prosciutto croissant with onion confit and rocket have also won over regulars.

The secret? A single, perfectly crafted dough — crispy, tender, and made with French butter and Italian flour — forms the base of all their pastries. Instead of frequently changing or expanding their selection, the bakery focuses on consistency and perfection. That said, seasonal creations will be introduced as spring approaches. True to its name, Bake and Take is a small space designed for quick stops. While you can stand by the window or sit at the outdoor tables, the best way to enjoy their pastries is to take them to go. And for the perfect pairing, they serve coffee to go featuring well-known roasts from Five Elephant. The neighborhood has embraced this new gem, the founders are grateful for the many happy faces (and glowing reviews!), and I, for one, am even more delighted whenever I find myself in Friedrichshain.

Text & photos: Robyn Steffen

Bake and Take, Proskauer Str.29, 10247 Berlin–Friedrichshain; map

@bakeandtakebakery

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