WOLF Reveals Bold, Global Slate for Berlinale 2026 Across Competition and Panorama
- Horror Movies Uncut
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WOLF has unveiled a formidable and thematically rich lineup for the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, assembling a slate that spans historical identity dramas, frontier mythmaking, intimate feminist storytelling, and politically urgent thrillers. With titles placed across Competition, Perspectives, Panorama, and the festival’s Opening Night slot, the distributor is making a clear statement about the kind of cinema it is backing heading into Berlinale.
Leading the charge in Competition is ROSE, directed by Markus Schleinzer and anchored by a commanding performance from Sandra Hüller. Set against the chaos of the Thirty Years’ War, the film explores questions of identity, survival, and gender through the story of a scarred soldier who ingratiates herself into a suspicious Protestant village while living under a carefully constructed lie. Schleinzer frames the narrative as both a historical parable and a subversive examination of how societies reward conformity while punishing truth, continuing the director’s tradition of unsettling, psychologically precise storytelling.
Also competing is WOLFRAM, the latest feature from Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton. Returning to the thematic terrain that defined Sweet Country, Thornton delivers a brutal yet unexpectedly tender story set in 1930s Australia, where colonial violence and myth collide. The film follows three children fleeing oppressive white masters after a pair of outlaws tear through their community, transforming a tale of survival into a poetic reckoning with Australia’s historical scars. Thornton’s dual role as writer and cinematographer once again ensures a visual language deeply entwined with cultural memory.
In the Perspectives section, WOLF introduces FOREST HIGH, the debut feature from Manon Coubia. Structured as a triptych, the film observes three women tending a remote mountain hut in the northern Alps. Through seasonal shifts and quiet encounters, Forest High becomes a meditative exploration of solitude, withdrawal, and emotional endurance, offering a restrained but deeply resonant portrait of women choosing isolation as both refuge and reckoning.
Beyond the Competition and Perspectives selections, WOLF is also behind several of Berlinale’s high-profile sidebar titles. The festival’s Opening Film, NO GOOD MEN, is directed by and stars Shahrbanoo Sadat. Set in Kabul in 2021 on the eve of the Taliban’s return, the film blends comedy, romance, and political urgency through the story of a female camerawoman navigating love, work, and motherhood in a collapsing society. Its placement as the opening night selection signals Berlinale’s commitment to bold, contemporary voices and global perspectives.
Opening the Panorama section is ONLY REBELS WIN, directed by Danielle Arbid and starring Hiam Abbas. The film unfolds in Beirut, tracing an unconventional romance that ignites public outrage amid a city on the brink. Drawing tonal inspiration from Fassbinder, Arbid crafts a defiant love story that confronts racism, ageism, and social hypocrisy head-on.
Rounding out the slate is PROSECUTION, a German legal thriller from Faraz Shariat. The film centers on a state prosecutor who survives a racist attack and subsequently turns the justice system inward, exposing institutional complicity in far-right violence. Urgent, confrontational, and politically charged, Prosecution positions Shariat as one of the most vital emerging voices in contemporary European cinema.
Taken together, WOLF’s Berlinale 2026 lineup reflects a curatorial focus on cinema that challenges power, interrogates history, and centers voices operating at the margins. Whether through genre, historical drama, or intimate character studies, the slate underscores how global storytelling continues to evolve—and why Berlin remains one of the most essential stages for that evolution.
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