Films
2025 FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Announcing the official selections of feature films for the 29th Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, presented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco. The Festival’s main events will run March 27-29, 2025 at the historic Roxie Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District, and March 30-31, 2025 at Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood in Berkeley. Additional programs, including Streaming, to be announced.
Highlights include: Joachim A. Lang’s biopic “John Cranko,” about the innovative choreographer who catapulted the Stuttgart Ballet to the world stage; Andres Veiel’s “Riefenstahl,” a complex breakdown of one of the most controversial women in the 20th century; the Goethe Forum special screening of Episodes 1-3 of the groundbreaking series “Black Fruit;” the family matinée and North American Premiere of the cinematic adaptation of “Der Buchspazierer” in “The Door-to-Door Bookstore;” the third of the familial tragicomedy from Sönke Wortmann with “Weddings and Wokes: A Family Dilemma.”
INQUIRIES
Sponsorship Inquiries – Sophoan Sorn, Festival Director: berlinbeyond@gmail.com
Press Inquiries – Steve Indig Public Relations: steve@steveindigpr.com
OPENING NIGHT FILM
John Cranko
Northern California Premiere
Directed by Joachim A. Lang
Starring Sam Riley, Elisa Badenes, Max Schimmelpfennig, Hanns Zischler, Lucas Gregorowicz
Prosecuted for homosexual activity in London, up-and-coming choreographer John Cranko is stranded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1960. With his charming demeanor, the manic workaholic swiftly revitalizes the ballet company of this rather sleepy, sympathetic city, and catapults it onto the global stage. (133 min. Germany / 2024. German and English with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtimes:
– Roxie, SF – March 27 at 5:30 PM Tickets
– Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 31 at 7:45 PM Tickets
CINEMA PANORAMA
Beyond the Blue Border (Jenseits der blauen Grenze)
Northern California Premiere
Directed by Sarah Neumann
Starring Lena Urzendowsky, Willi Geitmann, Jannis Veihelmann
GDR, August 1989: Hanna and Andreas became a target of the secret police and had to give up their plans for their future studies and desired professions. Their only chance for a self-determined life lies in fleeing across the Baltic Sea. (102 min. Germany / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 31 at 3:00 PM Tickets
From Hilde, with Love (In Liebe, Eure Hilde)
Northern California Premiere
Directed by Andreas Dresen
Starring Liv Lisa Fries, Johannes Hegemann, Lisa Wagner, Alexander Scheer
Berlin 1942, Hilde, a member of an anti-Nazi group, falls in love with another member, Hans. They are caught by the Gestapo and Hilde is imprisoned, eight months pregnant. (125 min. Germany / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 27 at 8:45 PM Tickets
The Mariana Trench (Marianengraben)
Northern California Premiere
Directed by Eileen Byrne
Starring Luna Wedler and Edgar Selge
Adaptation of Jasmin Schreiber’s bestselling novel. Paula, who is deeply grieving the loss of her younger brother, crosses with Helmut, an elderly widower planning to transport his late wife’s ashes to South Tyrol. (88 min. Luxembourg, Austria, Italy / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 29 at 11:30 AM Tickets
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Starring Soheila Golestani, Missagh Zareh, Setareh Maleki
Nominated for the 2025 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film: Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures that strain family ties as societal rules crumble. (167 min. Germany, France / 2024. Persian with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 29 at 5:00 PM Tickets
Weddings and Wokes: A Family Dilemma (Der Spitzname)
North American Premiere
Directed by Sönke Wortmann
Starring Iris Berben, Christoph Maria Herbst, Florian David Fitz, Justus von Dohnányi, Janina Uhse, Caroline Peters
Anna and Florian want to get married and unite their families in a ski resort in Tirol. But the celebratory atmosphere is on the verge of collapse as discussions about helicopter parents, wokeness and the meaning of sensibility training arise. This is third of Sönke Wortmann’s familial tragicomedies, following How About Adolf? and Family Affairs, which both screened at previous Berlin & Beyond Film Festivals. (90 min. Germany / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtimes:
– Roxie, SF – March 29 at 8:45 PM Tickets
– Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 31 at 5:30 PM Tickets
– Jarvis Conservatory, Napa – April 6 at 4:30 PM Tickets
Two to One
Special Screening
Directed by Natja Brunckhorst
Starring Sandra Hüller, Max Riemelt, Ronald Zehrfeld, Peter Kurth
Halberstadt, summer 1990: a group of clever East Germans seizes the chaotic post-GDR era to retrieve hidden millions from an underground vault. As they outsmart formidable opponents, the heist takes an unexpected turn when money officially unrecognized in the GDR circulates. (116 min. Germany / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtimes:
– Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 30 at 3:45 PM Tickets
– Jarvis Conservatory, Napa – April 6 at 1:00 PM Tickets
GOETHE FORUM
Black Fruit (Schwarze Früchte) (Episodes 1-3)
West Coast Premiere | Series
Directed by Elisha Smith-Leverock and David Ụzọchukwu
Starring Lamin Leroy Gibba, Melodie Simina, Vanessa Yeboah, Benjamin Radjaipour, Daniel Hernandez, Nick Romeo Reimann, Christine Rollar
Lalo and his best friend Karla, mid-20s, queer and Black in Germany, try to shape who they want to become and grapple with the limits of their adaptability in society. (87 min. Germany / 2024. German and some English with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 28 at 8:00 PM Tickets
SWISS FILM & TALKS
The Traitor (Landesverräter)
US Premiere
Directed by Michael Krummenacher
Starring Dimitri Krebs, Luna Wedler, Fabian Hinrichs, Stefan Gubser, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Sina Martens
St. Gallen during World War II: In the mistaken belief that he could become a great singer in Germany, drifter Ernst Schrämli sells Swiss military information to a manipulative German Nazi spy. (116 min. Switzerland & Germany / 2024. Swiss German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 29 at 1:45 PM Tickets
DOC SPECIAL
Riefenstahl
US West Coast Premiere
Directed by Andres Veiel
Riefenstahl examines this question using never-before-seen documents from the estate of one of the most controversial women of the 20th century, filmmaker and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. (115 min. Germany / 2024. German and English with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Roxie, SF – March 28 at 5:30 PM Tickets
YOUTH 4 GERMAN CINEMA 2025 WINNER
Winners (Sieger sein)
Northern California Premiere
Directed by Soleen Yusef
Starring Dileyla Agirman, Sherine Ciara Merai, Tamira Bwibo, Halima Ilter
Eleven-year-old Mona fled Syria with her Kurdish family and goes to a school in Wedding in Berlin. Mona doesn’t know a word of German, but she can speak football. (119 min. Germany / 2024. German and some Arabic with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtimes:
– Roxie, SF – March 29 at 10:00 AM (invited schools only/at capacity)
– Vogue, SF – March 29 at 11:00 AM (limited tickets to be released soon)
JUNIOR (FAMILY MATINÉE)
The Door-to-Door Bookstore (Der Buchspazierer)
North American Premiere
Directed by Ngo The Chau
Starring Christoph Maria Herbst, Yuna Bennett, Ronald Zehrfeld, Maren Kroymann, Edin Hasanovic, Hanna Hilsdorf
Cinematic vision of the bestselling novel by Carsten Henn: Carl’s life runs like clockwork: every day, he goes door-to-door delivering books to a handful of loyal customers. (108 min. Germany / 2024. German with English subtitles) View Trailer
Showtime: Rialto Elmwood, Berkeley – March 30 at 1:00 PM Tickets
SHOWTIMES
Thursday, March 27: Roxie Theater, San Francisco
5:30 PM: John Cranko 133 min. Tickets
8:45 PM: From Hilde, with Love 124 min. Tickets
Friday, March 28: Roxie Theater, San Francisco
10:00 AM: Winners (by invitation only) 119 min.
5:30 PM: Riefenstahl 115 min. Tickets
8:00 PM: Black Fruit (Episodes 1-3) 87 min. Tickets
Friday, March 28: Vogue Theater, San Francisco
11:00 AM: Winners (by invitation only) 119 min.
Saturday, March 29: Roxie Theater, San Francisco
11:30 AM: The Mariana Trench 87 min. Tickets
1:45 PM: The Traitor 116 min. Tickets
5:00 PM: The Seed of the Sacred Fig 167 min. Tickets
8:45 PM: Weddings and Wokes: A Family Dilemma 90 min. Tickets
Sunday, March 30: Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood, Berkeley
1:00 PM: The Door-to-Door Bookstore 108 min. Tickets
3:45 PM: Two to One 116 min. Tickets
Monday, March 31: Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood, Berkeley
3:00 PM: Beyond the Blue Border 102 min. Tickets
5:30 PM: Weddings and Wokes: A Family Dilemma 90 min. Tickets
7:45 PM: John Cranko 133 min. Tickets
April 1-3, 2025: Online Streaming
To Be Announced
Sunday, April 6: Jarvis Conservatory, Napa
1:00 PM: Two to One 116 min. Tickets
4:30 PM: Weddings and Wokes: A Family Dilemma 90 min. Tickets
TICKETS
Main Feature Films:
$18.00 general
$15.00 senior (with ID) / ADA (with ID)
$10.00 student (with ID – at door only)
San Francisco Opening Film – “John Cranko”:
$30.00 general / no discounts
Berkeley Opening Film Encore – “John Cranko”:
$22.00 general / no discounts
San Francisco FestPass
(Roxie festival screenings on March 27-29 with priority entry. Not including Youth 4 German Cinema):
$150.00 general / no discounts
Purchase the 2025 SF FestPass
Berlin & Beyond Junior (Family Matinée on Sunday, March 30):
$10.00 general / no discounts
Youth 4 German Cinema 2025:
By invitation only and for participating schools
Streaming (April 1-3):
$15.00
