Deadline:
September 03, 2025
Program Starts: February 13, 2026
Program Ends: February 18, 2026
Location(s)
Germany
Berlin
Overview
Berlinale Talents is the annual summit and networking platform of the Berlin International Film Festival for 250 outstanding creatives from the fields of film and drama series.
Details
Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a programme of the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. It was initiated in 2003.
In addition to the extensive summit programme of master classes and panel discussions with top-notch experts, Berlinale Talents offers a range of Project Labs in which you can further develop and present your own project. Berlinale Talents also provides Studio programmes and workshops for specific groups of film professionals. As an initiative of the Berlin International Film
Festival, the entire event is closely linked with the programmes of the festival sections and the European Film Market.
While the roots of Berlinale Talents are firmly planted in Berlin new shoots of the initiative have been sprouting internationally. These Talents International editions, Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina, Talents Guadalajara in Mexico, Talents Durban in South Africa, Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Talents Tokyo in Japan have the familiar structure and purpose of their German counterpart; all the while retaining a regional perspective and finding support and the necessary amenities in a locally based international film festival. Talents initiatives are supported by local partners as well as by the Goethe-Institut.
SUMMIT
The Summit programme of Berlinale Talents comprises a wide range of talks, panel discussions, workshops, case studies and screenings of select alumni films at the three venues of the HAU Hebbel am Ufer theatre.
Thirty public events focus on a new topic each year, featuring a variety of formats and set-ups. On the HAU1 Grand Stage, internationally renowned experts offer insights into their work and methods. In the interactive panels, presentations and case studies on the HAU2 Talents Stage and the HAU3 Top Floor, experienced filmmakers and artists engage in a lively dialogue with the audience.
All live recordings can be found in the Watch and Discoversection. The programme for Berlinale Talents is published every year in February.
STUDIOS
Berlinale Talents provides a range of Studio programmes for specific groups of film professionals. Actors, cinematographers, distributors, editors, production designers, sales agents, score composers and sound designers are automatically considered for one of the corresponding Studios.
Here they can share their ideas with fellow talents, take part in various hands-on programmes and excursions, and discuss and improve the aesthetics and mechanics of their own work under the tutelage of renowned mentors and experts.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Who can apply for Berlinale Talents?
Berlinale Talents is aimed at film and television professionals in the early stages of their careers. You should have made either one feature-length film, two short films or a high-quality TV series that have been screened internationally or won awards. Students are only chosen in very exceptional cases, e.g. when they have already worked in the film business before and come with a promising track record of films or series. If you don’t fulfill these criteria yet, don’t worry. Simply apply in another year.
If you wish to apply as a distributor or sales agent, you should have been involved in either the distribution or sale at least two feature length films. If you apply as a Film Critic you should have published at least three film related articles in the last two years.
Do you have special selection criteria?
As “talent” is a broad field and in the end a very individual characteristic we don’t have overall selection criteria. Nevertheless, there are of course soft criteria, which are integrated in the selection committee’s work. Aspects like “professionalism” (completed apprenticeship, professional independence, first track record, etc.), your “resonance” (interrelations with local and broader communities you are working with/for, acceptance among festival programmers, audiences and press, etc.) and the “relevance” of your work (willingness to take artistic risks, overcoming internal and external borders, dealing with important individual and social issues, etc.) play a role in the committee’s discussions. We also look for innovative aspects in your work (interdisciplinary teamplay, original technical approaches, unusual attempts with regard to dramaturgy, editing, composition, mise-en-scene etc.). However, we truly believe in everyone’s individual strengths and we encourage you to apply with what you are and what you think is “right” to move film forward, touch people and deal with the world that surrounds you.
Dates
Deadline: September 03, 2025
Program starts:
February 13, 2026
Program ends:
February 18, 2026
Program Starts: February 13, 2026
Program Ends: February 18, 2026
Cost/funding for participants
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
