Sections

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 71st Berlin International Film Festival is taking place in two stages.

In 2021, the Competition, Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series, Encounters, Berlinale Shorts, Panorama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino as well as the Retrospective have been reduced in size due to the pandemic.

The majority of the Film Selection was available for viewing online by industry representatives and accredited members of the press during the Industry Event from March 1 to 5.

During the Summer Special from June 9–20, 2021, Berlinale audiences will be able to see the majority of the films selected by all the sections in numerous cinema screenings in Berlin in the presence of the filmmakers.

© Haut et Court - Abbout Productions - Micro_Scope © Palomar 2018

Competition

The festival's centrepiece screens the films that will be talked about.

© Tobias Datum / Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics © Tobias Datum / Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series

Space for the extraordinary, the glamorous and the festival's special concerns.

© Prophecy Films © Prophecy Films

Encounters

A platform aiming to foster aesthetically and structurally daring works.

© Juliette Barrat / L'Endroit © Juliette Barrat / L'Endroit

Berlinale Shorts

The films of Berlinale Shorts are cinema's unsolicitied requests to take the floor and speak.

© Silver Salt Films © Silver Salt Films

Panorama

Sexy, edgy, daring. Panorama screens extraordinary cinema and is a traditional audience favourite.

© Mick Bello © Mick Bello

Forum & Forum Expanded

Reflection on the medium of film, social and artistic discourse and aesthetic obstinacy.

© Aamu Film Company © Aamu Film Company

Generation

Films that matter. For young cineastes and everyone else.

© vajda film UG © vajda film UG

Perspektive Deutsches Kino

Talented directors screen their debut films and bring a fresh impetus to the cinema with their individual styles.

Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing, LLC

Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage

Discover film history and view it anew in screenings of the highest quality.