Berlin Film Festival

Afire – first-look review

By Marina Ashioti

Christian Petzold returns with something lighter, funnier and more instantly-lovable than his recent run, bringing regular leading lady Paula Beer along for the ride.

20,000 Species of Bees – first-look review

By Caitlin Quinlan

A mother and gender-curious child keep bees in Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren’s tender drama of division, renewal and the space in between.

The Plough – first-look review

By Rafa Sales Ross

Philippe Garrel enlists his three children for this family affair, in which a family of artistic puppeteers grapple with their patriarch's passing.

Love to Love You, Donna Summer – first-look review

By Anna Bogutskaya

Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano team up to create an intimate portrait of a conflicted and complicated artist.

Music – first-look review

By Marina Ashioti

The latest from formally-daring German filmmaker Angela Schanelec is an exciting and impenetrable take on the Oedipus myth.

Inside – first-look review

By Hannah Strong

Willem Dafoe plays an art thief who becomes trapped in a high-tech luxury pent house in Vasilis Katsoupis' unusual thriller.

Tótem – first-look review

By Marina Ashioti

Lila Avilés’ affecting second feature explores the essence of impending loss through the eyes of a young child.

Past Lives – first-look review

By Rafa Sales Ross

Celine Song's feature debut is a tender exploration of multiethnic romance, complimented by nuanced performances from Greta Lee and John Magaro.

The Shadowless Tower – first-look review

By Patrick Gamble

Inspired by a friendship with a young photographer, a middle-aged man living in Beijing reconnects with his estranged father in Zhang Lü's poignant drama.

Reality – first-look review

By Caitlin Quinlan

Sydney Sweeney plays NSA whistleblower Reality Winner in Tina Satter's adaptation of her own play, with effective results.

Disco Boy – first-look review

By Marina Ashioti

The stories of a French Foreign Legionnaire and a Nigerian guerrilla fighter converge in Giacomo Abbruzzese’s frustrating feature debut.

Manodrome – first-look review

By David Jenkins

Jesse Eisenberg breaks his dweeby typecast as a disenchanted bodybuilder lured into to a men’s rights group in John Trengove’s intriguing thriller.

The Beast in the Jungle – first-look review

By Marina Ashioti

Patric Chiha loosely interprets Henry James in this hazy, seductive nightclub-set drama.

The Berlin Film Fest’s 2023 lineup includes Christian Petzold, Hong Sang-soo

By Charles Bramesco

President Kristen Stewart will also pass judgement on films by Matt Johnson and Angela Schanelec.

This year’s Berlinale Forum grappled with humanity’s fraught place in the world

By Patrick Gamble

Emerging from the pandemic, filmmakers experimented with form and narrative to pose deeper questions about our past, present and future.

Dreaming Walls – first-look review

By Greg Wetherall

Maya Duverdier and Amelie Van Elmbt investigate the legacy and current precarious state of one of New York’s most enduring cultural landmarks.

The Quiet Girl – first-look review

By Alicia Haddick

A young girl discovers a life she never thought possible in the Irish countryside in Colm Bairéad’s affecting debut feature.

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Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.

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