September 2025 Highlights: Superior Cinematic Happenings
Get ready, film enthusiasts! This autumn, Berlin and various locations across Germany are set to host a dazzling array of film festivals, each offering a unique and captivating cinematic experience.
First up, the Festival of Animation returns for its 8th edition, showcasing 131 animated works from 33 countries from Sep 26-28. This year, the festival will have a special focus on Japanese animation, with the German premiere of ChaO by Yasuhiro Aoki.
Meanwhile, Fantasy Filmfest, established in 1987 and renowned for launching cult classics, is back with a bang. This year's lineup includes a variety of genres such as revenge thrillers, neo-folk horror, and gangster epics. One of the highlights is the contemporary erotic thriller, Bone Lake. Another highlight is Ben Leonberg's new work, Good Boy, a chilling horror tale about a man and his dog who move to a remote farmhouse and encounter something sinister.
For those interested in overlooked, rarely seen, and forgotten films, look no further than Idiocinecratic, a new screening series. The series kicks off with Sarah Jacobson's Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore from 1996, followed by Martha Coolidge's Not a Pretty Picture (1976), a film about sexual assault and feminist cinema.
The Queer Film Festival screens some of the year's boldest, funniest, and most beautiful queer cinema. The Kurdish Film Festival, now in its 15th year, also focuses on diverse and thought-provoking stories, taking place at Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, Mitte from Sep 25-Oct 1.
For animation lovers, the Festival of Animation includes six competitions: International, German, New Talent, Commissioned Films, Pink Panda (for children from preschool to secondary school) and feature films. The festival will open with a performance by the AniManga Chor and feature a special anniversary screening commemorating 65 years of the International Animated Film Association.
If you're a fan of regional cinema, filmPOLSKA, a festival that focuses on debut or second feature films, is not to be missed. One of the highly anticipated works at filmPOLSKA is Glorious Summer, a coming-of-age story that has been compared to Yorgos Lanthimos and Lucile Hadžihalilović.
Lastly, the Silent Film Live Festival is a 10-day event that showcases silent movies with live music. Kinofest 2025 offers €5 tickets to all films screening in participating cinemas across Germany on Sep 13-14.
So, grab your popcorn, settle into your seat, and get ready for an unforgettable cinematic journey!
