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Where To?

Perspectives 2026
© Maayne Bouhnik
In the endless Berlin nights, Hassan, a 55-year-old Palestinian Uber driver, shuttles night owls from one party to the next. Estranged from his eldest daughter, who is determined to marry her German boyfriend, Hassan often finds himself driving the streets without any sense of purpose. One night, Amir, a 25-year-old Israeli tourist who is exploring his sexual identity far away from home, stumbles into Hassan’s cab. Months later, Amir makes a reappearance. He is now living in Berlin and suffering from heartbreak after the tortuous end of a love affair. As their rides together recur across two years, Hassan begins to recognise echoes of his own buried pain in Amir’s struggles. Eventually, their late-night journeys help Hassan to confront his own past – including the events that led him to leaving his homeland 30 years ago.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Assaf Machnes (Director, Screenplay)
with Ehab Salami, Ido Tako, Milan Peschel, Rama Nasrallah, Raheeq Haj Yahia-Suleiman, Dov Navon, Sarit Vino Elad, Enzo Brumm Israel / Germany 2026 English, Arabic, German, Hebrew 95' Colour World premiere | Debut film

With

  • Ehab Salami (Hassan)
  • Ido Tako (Amir)
  • Milan Peschel (Moritz)
  • Rama Nasrallah (Juman)
  • Raheeq Haj Yahia-Suleiman (Nur)
  • Dov Navon (Dudu)
  • Sarit Vino Elad (Tzipi)
  • Enzo Brumm (Nils)

Crew

Director Assaf Machnes
Screenplay Assaf Machnes
Cinematography Maayane Bouhnik
Editing Or Lee-Tal, Shauly Melamed
Music Habib Hanna Shehadeh
Sound Design Shahaf Wagshall
Production Design Kristina Schmidt
Costumes Tamar Eyal
Make-Up Revital Cohen
Casting Alexandra Koknat, Chamutal Zerem Castel
Producers Tomer Mecklberg, Estee Yakov-Mecklberg, Haim Mecklberg, Oren Rogovin, Dennis Schanz, Luis Singer, Julia M. Muller, Guy Shani
Executive Producers Ygal Mograbi, Omer Rogovin, Benedikt Eisenstecken, Orna Lipkind
Co-Producers Mohamed Babai, Yonatan Finegold, Julia Badouine Finegold

Produced by

2-Team Productions

Tel Aviv, Israel

Rogovin Brothers

Tel Aviv, Israel

Iconoclast Films

Berlin, Germany

Lev Cinemas

Tel Aviv, Israel

Co-produced by

ZDF - Das Kleine Fernsehspiel / ARTE

Mainz, Germany

World Sales

Lucky Number

Paris, France

Photos

Assaf Machnes

© Grisha Chernigowsky

The screenwriter and director is based in Berlin and Tel Aviv. His work was first presented at the Berlinale in 2017 when his short film Seven Minutes screened in the Generation section. His films have also been selected for festivals including the Venice Biennale, Locarno and BFI London and have won multiple awards. His series Gimel was broadcast on Arte and Ynet and has been streamed over a million times. He is currently developing new projects in the US and Germany.

Filmography

2013 Lizkor Velo Lishcoach (Auschwitz on my Mind); short film 2016 Sheva Dakot (Seven Minutes); short film 2018 Layam; short film · Al Hagvul (Borderline); short film 2025 Where To?

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026