The 76th Berlin Film Festival has unveiled its highly anticipated competition lineup, marking the second year under artistic director Tricia Tuttle. The selection aims to blend international prestige, politically charged cinema, and intimate character studies with a significant presence of A-list talent, highlighting the growing convergence of Hollywood and acclaimed European filmmakers.

Among the buzziest titles in competition is Karim Aïnouz’s “Rosebush Pruning,” boasting a star-studded cast including Riley Keough, Callum Turner, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Letts, and Pamela Anderson. This contemporary satire, from the helmer of “Motel Destino” and “Firebrand,” delves into the fractured relationships of siblings confronting the truth about their mother’s death. The Match Factory, a key player in film sales, is notably producing “Rosebush Pruning” and handling its worldwide sales. Another hotly anticipated film is “Josephine,” directed by Beth de Araújo and starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan as parents seeking justice after their daughter witnesses a crime. This psychological thriller, which is Araújo’s sophomore outing, will make its international premiere in competition at the Berlinale after bowing at Sundance. Tuttle described it as a “really personal story” that captures the trauma and powerlessness of a family whose sense of safety is shattered.

The lineup also features acclaimed directors and actors. Kornél Mundruczó’s “At the Sea” showcases an “absolutely enthralling” performance from Amy Adams as a former dancer confronting identity and trauma post-rehab. European royalty is represented with former jury president Juliette Binoche, starring alongside Tom Courtenay in Lance Hammer’s “Queen at Sea.” This tender film, also sold by The Match Factory, examines dementia, autonomy, and marital devotion. German superstar Sandra Hüller, known for “A Zone of Interest” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” leads Markus Schleinzer’s stark period piece “Rose,” set in a suspicious Protestant village in the early 17th century, a film also part of The Match Factory’s sales portfolio.

Several Berlinale alumni are returning to Potsdamer Platz. Turkish-German director İlker Çatak, whose “The Teachers Lounge” won a prize in 2023 and earned an Oscar nomination, presents “Gelbe Briefe” (“Yellow Letters”), exploring state oppression’s effects on a married couple from Ankara. Senegalese helmer Alain Gomis, a Silver Bear winner in 2017, returns with “Dao,” weaving themes of family and heritage between France and Guinea Bissau. German director Eva Trobisch, whose “Ivo” played in Encounters 2024, brings “Etwas ganz Besonderes” (“Home Stories”) to competition, a film with a multi-layered script and excellent ensemble cast exploring a fractured German family. The Match Factory is also launching sales for Trobisch’s “Home Stories,” which features Frida Hornemann in her screen debut alongside Max Riemelt and Eva Löbau.

As previously announced, Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat’s romantic comedy “No Good Men,” set in a Kabul newsroom before the Taliban’s return, is kicking off the festival. Celebrated German director Wim Wenders is set to succeed Todd Haynes as jury president. This edition promises significant star power across all sections, including Charli xcx’s anticipated “Brat” mockumentary “The Moment,” Isabelle Huppert in the vampire film “The Blood Countess,” and Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe in the historical drama “The Weight.” Tricia Tuttle, formerly of the London Film Festival, aims to bring the Berlinale closer to Cannes. The 76th edition of the Berlin Film Festival is scheduled to take place from February 12-22.

The Match Factory is handling four films in this year’s competition: “Queen at Sea,” “Home Stories,” “Rosebush Pruning,” and “Rose.” “Queen at Sea,” marking Lance Hammer’s return to Berlin, further includes Anna Calder-Marshall and Florence Hunt in its cast. Eva Trobisch’s “Home Stories” is her third feature, following “All Good” and “Ivo.” Karim Aïnouz’s “Rosebush Pruning” involves a collaboration with MUBI, Kavac Film, and others, and is written by Efthimis Filippou. Markus Schleinzer’s “Rose” is a historical drama portraying a woman who defied her birth by comporting as a man, starring Sandra Hüller.

The comprehensive competition lineup includes:

• “At the Sea” by Kornél Mundruczó (USA / Hungary 2026): A woman confronts trauma and identity after rehab.
• “Dao” by Alain Gomis (France / Senegal / Guinea-Bissau 2026): Two celebrations of life intertwine with family and heritage.
• “Dust” by Anke Blondé (Belgium / Poland / Greece / United Kingdom 2026): Visionary entrepreneurs face their empire’s collapse due to fraud.
• “Etwas ganz Besonderes” (“Home Stories”) by Eva Trobisch (Germany 2026): A young woman searches for identity within her family’s hotel in former East Germany.
• “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” by Grant Gee (Ireland / United Kingdom 2026): The inner life of jazz pianist Bill Evans after losing his musical soulmate.
• “Gelbe Briefe” (“Yellow Letters”) by İlker Çatak (Germany / France / Turkey 2026): A celebrated artist couple from Turkey targeted by the state.
• “Josephine” by Beth de Araújo (USA 2025): Parents seek justice after their daughter witnesses a crime.
• “Kurtuluş” (“Salvation”) by Emin Alper (Turkey / France / Netherlands / Greece / Sweden / Saudi Arabia 2026): An exiled clan’s return revives a land feud, challenging leadership.
• “The Loneliest Man in Town” by Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel (Austria 2026): A blues musician confronts demolition and a resurfacing dream.
• “Meine Frau weint” (“My Wife Cries”) by Angela Schanelec (Germany / France 2026): A crane operator picks up his crying wife from the hospital.
• “Moscas” (“Flies”) by Fernando Eimbcke (Mexico 2026): Olga’s controlled world shifts as a man and his son intertwine with her life.
• “A New Dawn” by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya (Japan / France 2025): A boy unravels the mystery of a mythical firework before his factory closes.
• “Nina Roza” by Genevieve Dulude-de Celles (Canada / Italy / Bulgaria / Belgium 2026): An art dealer travels to see the paintings of an elusive pre-teen prodigy.
• “Queen at Sea” by Lance Hammer (United Kingdom / USA 2026): A woman’s advanced dementia affects her husband and daughter.
• “Rosebush Pruning” by Karim Aïnouz (Italy / Germany / Spain / United Kingdom 2026): American siblings confront the truth about their mother’s death in a Spanish villa.
• “Rose” by Markus Schleinzer (Austria / Germany 2026): A soldier’s arrival in a Protestant village leads to suspicions and a reckoning.
• “Soumsoum, la nuit des astres” (“Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars”) by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (France / Chad 2026): A seventeen-year-old with supernatural powers meets her destiny.
• “À voix basse” (“In a Whisper”) by Leyla Bouzid (France / Tunisia 2026): Lilia returns to Tunisia to confront family secrets and her uncle’s death.
• “Wo Men Bu Shi Mo Sheng Ren” (“We Are All Strangers”) by Anthony Chen (Singapore 2026): A life-altering event forces two generations to redefine family.
• “Wolfram” by Warwick Thornton (Australia 2025): Two outlaws unleash cruelty in 1930s Australia, leading three kids to break free.
• “YO Love Is a Rebellious Bird” by Anna Fitch, Banker White (USA 2026): A documentary about a deep bond defying age and experience.
• “Yön Lapsi” (“Nightborn”) by Hanna Bergholm (Finland / Lithuania / France / United Kingdom 2026): A couple’s dream of a perfect child turns into a nightmare.

The Perspectives section includes:

• “17” by Kosara Mitic (North Macedonia / Serbia / Slovenia 2026): A teenager hides a secret and witnesses a sexual assault.
• “Animol” by Ashley Walters (United Kingdom 2026): Troy enters a brutal world in a young offender institution.
• “Chronicles From the Siege” by Abdallah Alkhatib (Algeria / France / Palestine 2026): Ordinary people face impossible choices during a city siege.
• “El Tren Fluvial” (“The River Train”) by Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A. Vignale (Argentina 2026): A nine-year-old dancer dreams of escaping his village for Buenos Aires.
• “Filipiñana” by Rafael Manuel (Singapore / United Kingdom / Philippines / France / Netherlands 2026): Isabel uncovers a sinister shared history at a country club.
• “Forêt Ivre” (“Forest High”) by Manon Coubia (Belgium / France 2026): Caretakers of a mountain hut face solitude and nature’s poetry.
• “Hangar rojo” (“The Red Hangar”) by Juan Pablo Sallato (Chile / Argentina / Italy 2026): An Air Force Captain is torn between duty and conscience during a 1973 military coup.
• “Der Heimatlose” (“Trial of Hein”) by Kai Stänicke (Germany 2026): A man returns to his village, where the community no longer recognizes him.
• “Nosso segredo” (“Our Secret”) by Grace Passô (Brazil / Portugal 2026): A family struggles to defy grief after a recent loss.
• “A Prayer for the Dying” by Dara Van Dusen (Norway / Greece / United Kingdom / Sweden 2026): A Civil War veteran fights to save his town amidst an epidemic.
• “Take Me Home” by Liz Sargent (USA 2026): A woman with a cognitive disability cares for her ageing adoptive parents.
• “Truly Naked” by Muriel d’Ansembourg (Netherlands / Belgium / France 2026): An introverted teen working in pornography is challenged to embrace real connection.
• “Where To?” by Assaf Machnes (Israel / Germany 2026): A Palestinian Uber driver and a young Israeli bond over heartbreak in Berlin.