INTERFILM Festival 2025: ‘Weaving Tomorrows’

by Eve Rogers // Oct. 28, 2025

Berlin’s International Short Film Festival, INTERFILM, returns for its 41st edition this November, inviting audiences to explore the theme ‘Weaving Tomorrows.’ From November 4th to 9th, the festival will light up the city with over 300 short films across more than 60 programs, spanning diverse genres, styles and voices. The festival runs concurrently with the 18th KUKI Young Short Film Festival (November 2nd to 9th), which presents an inspiring slate of short films for children and young audiences, fostering early engagement with experimental and socially conscious storytelling.

Interfilm 2025 logo // Courtesy of Interfilm Festival

This year, INTERFILM threads together narratives that confront pressing societal issues while celebrating imagination, resilience and community. Program highlights include categories such as curator Elisa Mohr’s ‘Dear Friends, Lovers and Comrades,’ a compelling collection of films exploring queer and anticolonial practices that interrogate histories of oppression while celebrating collective joy and solidarity. ‘New Suns: Feminist Futures, Radical Visions’ features works imagining speculative worlds that challenge patriarchal norms, offering visionary perspectives on empowerment and equality. ‘In the Embrace of Deep Time,’ centers Indigenous female directors meditating on time, kinship and storytelling, blending tradition and innovation to expand the cinematic vocabulary of memory and belonging.

Cauleen Smith: ‘Sojourner,’ 2018, film still // On Loan by the Tate Americas Foundation, courtesy of the North American Acquisitions Committee 2022

Other programs confront historical and contemporary struggles. ‘They Did Not Recognise Me in the Shadows’ details the struggles of anti-colonial resistance movements, while ‘Back from Exile’ honors the enduring legacy of Syrian filmmaker Bassel Shehadeh, whose work exemplifies the power of film as testimony and social commentary. These programs foreground cinema as both an artistic and political practice, amplifying voices often excluded from mainstream narratives.

Leo Luna Robert-Tourneur: ‘Hold Me Tight,’ 2021 // Couresty of the artist

Beyond screenings, INTERFILM’s InterForum offers an expanded series of workshops, talks and case studies for filmmakers, academics and cinephiles alike. Topics range from queer urban ecologies and the politics of memory to the role of colonial archives in contemporary filmmaking. These sessions provide vital spaces for professional exchange, critical reflection and collaborative innovation, strengthening connections across the global short film community.

Adam Sebire: ‘Sikoqqinngisaannassooq,’ 2025 // Courtesy of the artist

Accreditation is now open for industry professionals, filmmakers and members of the press. Over six days, INTERFILM 2025 promises to be a hub of cinematic experimentation, community engagement and bold storytelling, reinforcing Berlin’s reputation as a leading international nexus for short film. Whether discovering emerging voices, engaging in dialogue or celebrating cinematic artistry, audiences will find in INTERFILM a festival committed to exploring the stories that shape our futures.