Hessen Film & Media at the Berlinale with Five Films, Including One in Competition

»The films address themes ranging from societal expectations placed on motherhood to racism and gender roles – and include two outstanding documentaries. We are truly delighted about this strong Hessian presence and the impact these funded films will make across the various Berlinale sections.«

»Mother’s Baby« uses elements of science fiction to explore painful and rarely depicted experiences of motherhood, such as birth trauma and postpartum depression. In her third feature film, Austrian director Johanna Moder (»Once Were Rebels«) plays with horror genre conventions and presents a powerful cast including Marie Leuenberger and Hans Löw.

The film is a co-production between Austria’s FreibeuterFilm, Cologne-based production company The Match Factory, and Swiss partner tellfilm. The score was composed by Offenbach-based Diego Ramos Rodriguez, and Hesse’s production and VFX companies Seehund Media and Acht GmbH also contributed to the film.

Layered and provocative: In his conspiracy thriller »Hysteria«, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay uses the film-within-a-film motif to challenge perception and truth. The lead role is played by Devrim Lingnau, known from the Netflix series »The Empress«.

The film was produced by Claus Herzog-Reichel and Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay through their company filmfaust GmbH, in co-production with ZDF/Das kleine Fernsehspiel. Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, born in Bad Hersfeld, is no stranger to the Berlinale: his debut feature »Oray« won the Award for Best First Feature in 2019.

Veronica Nicole Tetelbaum, born in Ukraine and based in Tel Aviv, presents her directorial debut »Batim« in the Berlinale Forum. The film follows a non-binary protagonist on a journey to rediscover their roots and identity.

»Batim« was produced by Marker Films in co-production with the Hessian-based company Zwillingfilm, led by Anatol Schuster. The Berlinale Forum is known for showcasing films with bold, innovative approaches – both aesthetically and thematically.

In their documentary »Circusboy«, Julia Lemke and Anna Koch follow young Santino, who travels from place to place with his family and their animals. While his grandfather recounts stories from the past, Santino is just beginning his own journey.

»Circusboy« is a production by Flare Film, in co-production with Hessischer Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, and SWR.

Frankfurt-based filmmaker Marcin Wierzchowski presents his documentary »Das deutsche Volk« in the Berlinale Special section. The film examines the aftermath of the Hanau attacks, during which nine people were murdered and others injured on 19 February 2020. Over a period of four years, Wierzchowski followed the bereaved families and friends, documenting their lives both in their home communities and around the scene of the attacks.

The film was produced by Wierzchowski’s own company milk and water, in collaboration with Frankfurt-based strandfilm and with support from ZDF/3sat and Hessischer Rundfunk.

For 28 years, the European Shooting Stars program has spotlighted ten emerging acting talents from across Europe. The German Shooting Star 2025 is Devrim Lingnau, who will be featured at the Berlinale in Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay’s thriller »Hysteria«. In this way, the European Shooting Stars 2025 also tell a success story rooted in Hesse.

This prestigious initiative offers the selected actors a tailor-made, four-day platform to build international industry connections and advance their careers. For the first time, Hessen Film & Medien is supporting this valuable talent program, which paves the way for international careers.