Berlinale Encounters (Discontinued)

Overview

Encounters was a competitive section of the Berlin International Film Festival that ran from 2020 to 2024. It was discontinued in 2025 when the new Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle replaced it with Perspectives, a EUR 50,000 competition for international fiction feature debuts. During its five editions, Encounters presented 12 to 15 feature films per year that represented experimental, hybrid, and formally challenging approaches to filmmaking.

The section was created by former artistic director Carlo Chatrian to give formally adventurous cinema its own competitive space, separate from the main Competition and the Forum section. The rationale was that films pushing the boundaries of narrative or documentary form were being evaluated against criteria designed for more conventional work, and a dedicated competition would allow them to be assessed on their own terms.

Films selected for Encounters received full Berlinale accreditation, access to the European Film Market (EFM), and coverage from the international press corps attending the festival. The section did not accept open submissions. Films were selected through the Berlinale's internal programming process, with submissions facilitated by sales agents and producers.

Discontinuation and Replacement

In late 2024, the Berlinale announced that Encounters would be replaced by Perspectives starting with the 2025 edition. Perspectives is a competitive section for first-time fiction feature filmmakers, with a top prize of EUR 50,000. The first edition of Perspectives featured 14 debut features, with 5 directed or co-directed by women and 2 directed by non-binary directors.

Tuttle stated that the change was motivated by a desire to create a clearer profile for debut filmmakers, whose work had previously been spread across multiple Berlinale sections. She also indicated that formally adventurous work formerly programmed in Encounters would continue to find a home in the Forum section, which remains non-competitive.

The Berlinale said it would "still seek to profile aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent filmmakers across different sections of the festival."

Awards and Winners

Encounters presented three jury prizes each year: Best Film, Best Director (sometimes awarded ex-aequo to two directors), and a Special Jury Award. Additional special mentions were given in some years.

Best Film Winners

• 2020: The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) by Anders Edstrom and C.W. Winter (Japan, Sweden, UK, US)
• 2021: Nous (We) by Alice Diop (France)
• 2022: Mutzenbacher by Ruth Beckermann (Austria)
• 2023: Here by Bas Devos (Belgium)
• 2024: Direct Action by Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell (Germany, France)

Notable Special Jury Award Winners

• 2020: Sandra Wollner for The Trouble with Being Born (Austria)
• 2021: Le Bao for Taste (Vi) (Vietnam)
• 2022: Mitra Farahani for See You Friday, Robinson (France)
• 2023: Paul B. Preciado for Orlando, My Political Biography (France) and Lois Patino for Samsara (Spain)
• 2024: Qiu Yang for Some Rain Must Fall (China, US, France, Singapore)

Notable Best Director Winners

• 2020: Cristi Puiu for Malmkrog (Romania)
• 2021: Ramon and Silvan Zurcher for The Girl and the Spider (Switzerland) and Denis Cote for Social Hygiene (Canada)
• 2022: Cyril Schaublin for Unrest (Switzerland)
• 2023: Tatiana Huezo for The Echo (Mexico)
• 2024: Juliana Rojas for Cidade; Campo (Brazil, Germany, France)

What Filmmakers Should Know

Encounters no longer exists as a submission destination. Filmmakers working in the formally experimental or hybrid space that Encounters served should consider the following Berlinale sections:

• Forum: The primary destination for formally adventurous and experimental work at the Berlinale. Forum is non-competitive and programmed by Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Art. It has no premiere requirement and accepts both feature-length and short films.
• Panorama: A competitive section for films with distinct artistic signatures and perspectives, particularly those addressing LGBTQ+ themes, political subjects, or underrepresented voices.
• Perspectives: The replacement competitive section, but limited to fiction feature debuts. The EUR 50,000 top prize makes it financially significant for first-time filmmakers.

Films that might have been Encounters candidates in previous years can still be submitted through the Berlinale's general submission process. The selection committee determines which section a film is programmed in, not the submitter.

Historical Context

Encounters was launched in 2020 as part of the Berlinale's restructuring under Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, who took over the festival's leadership in 2019. The inaugural edition featured 15 films, including 14 world premieres and 4 debut films. The section was immediately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2020 Berlinale curtailed and the 2021 edition moved to a summer slot (June 9 to 20, 2021).

The section developed a reputation for programming films that blurred the line between fiction and documentary. Alice Diop's Nous (We), the 2021 Best Film winner, was a documentary that played in the Encounters competition and went on to win the Best First Film award at Cesar 2023. Tatiana Huezo's The Echo, which won Best Director in 2023, was also a documentary form work that had previously been recognized at Cannes.

The decision to discontinue Encounters was part of broader leadership changes at the Berlinale. Chatrian and Rissenbeek departed after the 2024 edition, and Tricia Tuttle took over as festival director. The Encounters section was one of several programming changes Tuttle introduced for the 2025 edition, alongside the launch of Perspectives and adjustments to the Competition structure.

See Also

For the main Berlin Film Festival, see Berlin International Film Festival. For the co-production financing event held during the EFM, see Berlinale Co-Production Market. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To evaluate the financial return of a festival run, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator.