The 2026 Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market (EFM) are demonstrating a robust global cinematic presence, with significant contributions from Chinese, Greater China, Spanish, Chadian, and Turkish productions. The event serves as a crucial platform for international buyers and co-producers, introducing a diverse array of films and projects, from official selections to market premieres, while also navigating complex discussions surrounding art and geopolitics.

Chinese and Greater China cinema, in particular, commands substantial attention. Hong Kong-based Golden Network Asia is showcasing Jackie Chan’s latest dramedy, “Unexpected Family.” Directed by Li Taiyan and starring Chan alongside Peng Yuchang and Zhang Jianing, this Chinese production is already enjoying a wide theatrical release across multiple territories and is slated for a North American debut in February. The film is a comedy-drama following Zhong Bufan (Peng), a struggling tenant who becomes entangled with his elderly landlord, Dad Ren (Chan), who mistakes him for his long-lost son, set within an ensemble cast navigating memory lapses and uncovering secrets. Wuhan Legendary People Film & TV Art Co., China Film Group, and Xiao Xiang Pictures produced, with Han Sanping as executive producer.

Parallax International Sales is representing four officially selected films, including Chinese filmmaker Agnis Shen Zhongmin’s feature debut, “Shanghai Daughter,” in the Panorama section. This meditative work blends fiction and documentary, drawing from the director’s family history, as it follows a Shanghai woman’s journey to a southwestern Chinese rubber farm where her late father was sent during the Cultural Revolution. Shen Zhongmin’s unconventional approach treated non-professional performers as creative collaborators, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, and exploring themes of ecofeminism and social history without didacticism. Japanese choreographer and filmmaker Nao Yoshigai presents the documentary “Masayume” in the Forum section, chronicling her Zen training journey. Two Chinese short films, Qu Jingkai’s “Kleptomania” and Wang Beidi’s “Scorching,” are also featured in the Shorts Competition and Generation 14plus respectively. Parallax is also launching new EFM projects aimed at 2026 world premieres, such as Zhao Badou’s commercial romance “Crossing a Dawn,” Taiwanese director Wang Yi-Ling’s LGBTQ+ youth film “Running Wild,” and Zhu Xin’s documentary “Coo Coo, Quark Quark,” which continues to explore abstract concepts like memory and poetry.

Rediance Films is managing world sales for Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot’s Swiss production “Tristan Forever” (Panorama Dokumente) and handles mainland China rights for Anthony Chen’s Singaporean film “We Are All Strangers,” a main competition entry. Other official Chinese selections include Zhang Xinyang’s “Panda,” a Singapore-Hong Kong-China co-production in the Forum, and Tan Yucheng’s “The Girl” from China in Generation 14plus Short Films. Veteran producer Bill Kong’s Edko Films banner also showcases four commercial titles, including two sequels to the “Cold War” franchise: “Cold War 1994” and “Cold War 1995,” both directed by Longman Leung. These crime thrillers star Daniel Wu and Terrance Lau, with plots involving high-profile kidnapping, police corruption, and British government intervention leading up to the 1997 handover. Edko also presents “Night King,” a comedy-drama directed by Jack Ng about a divorced couple reuniting to save their nightclub, and “Unidentified Murder,” a comedy-drama directorial debut by Jack Lee Chun Kit, co-directed with Kwok Ka Hei, revolving around an influencer prank gone awry. Zhang Xinyang’s “Panda” follows four marginalized individuals in Nanjing, exploring “Chineseness” through classical Chinese literature and magical realism. Additionally, Entertaining Power Co. brings “Pass and Goal,” a family drama directed by Jil Wong Pak Kei.

Spanish cinema makes a strong showing at the EFM through its Producers Showcase, with five independent companies pitching projects. Kowalski Films presents “There’s Someone in the Garden,” a horror maestro Jaume Balagueró’s feature starring Úrsula Corberó, combining ghost cinema and crime thriller elements with key partners like Film Factory and Movistar Plus+/Disney+ already attached. Vértigo Films introduces “Broken Waters,” a Spain-Portugal co-production by debut director Patxi Isasti, which is a character-driven drama about revenge and buried secrets in a Galician coastal town, with Indie Sales handling international rights. Link-Up Productions pitches “The Beach of Paris,” a feature that weaves real historical figures like Dalí and Ava Gardner into a fictional narrative across four eras set in a Costa Brava villa. Japónica Films brings “La Madriguera,” a body horror film from Frank Lucas exploring generational trauma. Rounding out the showcase is Jaibo Films with “Disposable,” an adult animation co-produced with Colombia’s Nocroma Estudio, directed by Carlos Gómez-Salamanca, presenting a social-pressure thriller about a violent uprising of the homeless in Bogotá. Spain’s EFM agenda also includes discussions on co-production opportunities and the impact of AI on the industry.

Chadian auteur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun brings “Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars” to compete for his first Golden Bear. Filmed in the remote Ennedi Desert, the film is a story of sisterhood inspired by childhood legends and drawing connections to the origins of humanity. Haroun emphasizes his “duty” to document and archive life in Chad, seeing his cinema as a way to preserve the country’s disappearing past and build its memory, despite living in France.

Turkish cinema, despite facing economic and political constraints including censorship and state funding challenges, demonstrates remarkable resilience with three feature film premieres and two Golden Bear competitors. These include Berlin-born İlker Çatak’s “Yellow Letters,” which portrays an artist couple losing jobs due to political views amidst repression in Turkey (though shot in Germany), and Emin Alper’s “Salvation,” a potential political hot potato focusing on a land dispute rooted in the conflict over rights for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, which received European financing after Alper was reportedly blacklisted from government funding. Banu Sıvacı’s intimate drama “Hear the Yellow” is featured in the Forum, entirely financed within Turkey. A promising crop of upcoming films from prominent Turkish auteurs further highlights this vibrant scene, including Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s “Left Over,” Gürcan Keltek’s “Horde,” Ferit Karahan’s “Djinn Wedding,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s new father-daughter drama, Kaan Müjdeci’s “Dreamgirl,” and Berkun Oya’s “Merci Charlotte,” starring Juliette Binoche.

Amidst this rich showcase of global cinema, the Berlin Film Festival leadership has addressed a “media storm” concerning political comments made by attendees. Festival head Tricia Tuttle issued a statement affirming that free speech is happening at the Berlinale, while acknowledging the criticism faced by filmmakers and jury members, including Wim Wenders and Arundhati Roy, over their remarks on politics. Tuttle emphasized the festival's commitment to showcasing 278 diverse films, many of which directly engage with profound political and social issues like genocide, sexual violence, corruption, colonialism, and state power. She highlighted the courage of filmmakers who, despite personal risks of prison, exile, or death, share their work in Berlin. Tuttle reiterated that artists are free to exercise their right of free speech as they choose and should not be expected to comment on all broader debates unless they wish to. The festival’s mission, she concluded, is rooted in a deep respect for human dignity and the belief that watching films can inspire change, one heart or mind at a time.