75th Berlin International Film Festival – 2025 Award Winners

Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).

The 75th Berlin International Film Festival concluded on February 22, 2025, with Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” taking home the prestigious Golden Bear for Best Film. The film, produced by Yngve Sæther and Hege Hauff Hvattum, led a diverse slate of winners from around the globe.

Main Competition Awards:

Golden Bear for Best Film: “Drømmer” [“Dreams (Sex Love)”] by Dag Johan Haugerud
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: “The Blue Trail” by Gabriel Mascaro
Silver Bear Jury Prize: “The Message” by Iván Fund
Silver Bear for Best Director: Huo Meng for “Living the Land”
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance: Rose Byrne in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Andrew Scott in “Blue Moon”
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Radu Jude for “Kontinental ’25”
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: The creative ensemble of “The Ice Tower” by Lucile Hadžihalilović

Other Major Awards:

Best First Feature Award: “The Devil Smokes” by Ernesto Martínez Bucio
Berlinale Documentary Award: “Holding Liat” by Brandon Kramer
Golden Bear for Best Short Film: “Lloyd Wong, Unfinished” by Lesley Loksi Chan

Notable Special Awards:

TEDDY Award for Best Feature Film: “Lesbian Space Princess” by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese
Special TEDDY Award: Todd Haynes
Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Panorama): “Sorda (Deaf)” by Eva Libertad
Europa Cinemas Label: “Hysteria” by Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay

Generation Awards (Youth Section):

Crystal Bear for Best Film (Kplus): “Maya, Give Me a Title” by Michel Gondry
Crystal Bear for Best Film (14plus): “Sunshine” by Antoinette Jadaone

The festival, running from February 13-23, 2025, showcased a strong selection of international cinema, with jury president Todd Haynes leading the international jury that included Fan Bingbing and Maria Schrader among others.