PATRONS AND SPECIAL GUESTS 2025

Patrons and guests of the festival

From the very beginning – since 2026 – the AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS festival program has traditionally been presented by personalities from the film and cultural scene. For this anniversary year, the following have been secured as patrons: actors Bibiana Beglau (“No Hit Wonder”), Pegah Ferydoni (“Feste & Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns!”), Luisa-Céline Gaffron (“How to Be Normal”), Louis Hofmann (“Frisch”), Katharina Stark (“Franz K.”, “Nürnberg 45 – Im Angesicht des Bösen”); and screenwriter Louise Peter (“In die Sonne schauen”). the directors Sarah Blaßkiewitz (“Ivie like Ivie”, “Sam – A Saxon”), Nora Fingscheidt (“System Crasher”, “The Outrun”), Frédéric Jaeger (“All We Ever Wanted”), Dani Levy (“The Kangaroo Chronicles”), Ayse Polat (“In the Blind Spot”), Maria Schrader (“She Said”), Fabian Stumm (“Sad Jokes”), Nicolas Wackerbarth (“Casting”); the journalists Christiane Peitz (Der Tagesspiegel), the photographer Mathias Bothor and Vincenzo Bugno, head of the World Cinema Fund of the Berlinale. Guests expected at the festival include: Maren Eggert (actress of “Gavagai”), Ulrich Köhler (director of “Gavagai”), Alexandre Koberidze (director of “Dry Leaf”), Juan Sarmiento G. (cinematographer of “A Poet”), Olimpia Pont Cháfer (co-producer of “Romería”), Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach (co-producers of “Sentimental Value”).

The 20th World Cinema Festival opens on November 28, 2025, at the Kino in der KulturBrauerei with "Sentimental Value" by Norwegian director Joachim Trier. The film will be presented in the presence of co-producers Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach (Komplizen Film), as well as director and actress Maria Schrader, the film's patron. "Sentimental Value" opens in German cinemas on December 4, 2025 (PLAION PICTURES) and is Norway's official Oscar® submission for 2026 in the category of Best International Feature Film.

The 20th edition of the festival will take place at the Kino in der KulturBrauerei in Berlin, as well as at the delphi LUX and Neues Off cinemas. The festival concludes on December 6, 2025, at the Kino in der KulturBrauerei with the presentation of the "BASIS Berlin Postproduction Award" by the jury of Melika Foroutan, Angelina Maccarone, and Sophie Linnenbaum. The award recognizes the best directorial achievement in a film selected from the "14 Films" section. Premium partners of the 2025 festival include audio specialist beyerdynamic, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, ARTE, and CineStar.

Photo: Maria Schrader is the patron of the opening film "Sentimental Value". The director and actress has served as a festival patron on several occasions.

© Jan Ernsting