{"id":8320,"date":"2026-02-10T17:58:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/8320\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:58:28","slug":"sydney-sweeney-charli-xcx-and-ethan-hawke-power-berlin-hot-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/8320\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney, Charli xcx and Ethan Hawke Power Berlin Hot List"},"content":{"rendered":"

The film festival\u2019s hottest sales titles span anime, horror, documentary and prestige drama as international cinema enjoys its strongest moment in years.<\/p>\n

\tPublished on February 10, 2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"(Clockwise<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(Clockwise from top left): ‘A Prayer for the dying’, Charli xcx, ‘Josephine’, Sydney Sweeney<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLukasz Bak, Joe Maher\/Getty Images, Greta Zozula, Amy Sussman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the first major movie market of the year, Berlin\u2019s EFM is a barometer of indie industry sentiment and international purchasing power. Much is made of one-off deals out of Sundance, but the volume of global pre-sales signed at Berlin\u2019s Grand Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, and Adlon hotel suites every February dwarfs even the biggest domestic deals.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe package business \u2014 movie ideas with a script, director, and talent attachments seeking financing \u2014 will again be the source of the real heat in the chilly German capital. New projects with Sydney Sweeney, Charlie xcx, Chris Hemsworth, Brie Larson, Ethan Hawke, and Zoe Saldana are among the biggest and buzziest ahead of EFM 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut this year\u2019s Oscar race underscored the growing strength of international films. Titles such as Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, and Sirat (with 13 Oscar nominations between them) have broken out of the arthouse niche, combining awards traction with eight-figure box office returns. That momentum plays directly to Berlin\u2019s strengths in the finished film business. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs THR\u2018s annual hot list of Berlin\u2019s buzziest market titles attests, a surprising number of movies in the official competition, across all genres \u2014 from Japanese anime to political documentaries \u2014 arrive without U.S. deals in place, suggesting this year\u2019s Berlin could also be a source of bidding wars and domestic pick-ups.<\/p>\n

\t\u20181949\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Sandra\"Sandra
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Gerald Matzka\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Sandra H\u00fcller, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Hanns Zischler<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ An awards-season favorite in the making, the new period drama from Oscar-winner Pawlikowski (Ida, Cold War) features an all-star German cast, including Anatomy of a Fall\u2018s Sandra H\u00fcller, in the timely true tale of Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (H\u00fcller), who, in 1949, embark on a road trip across war-ravaged black Germany, from Frankfurt in the American zone, to Soviet-controlled Weimar.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Match Factory<\/p>\n

\t\u2018A New Dawn\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Yoshitoshi\"Yoshitoshi
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: A New Dawn Film Partners\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Yoshitoshi Shinomiya<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ The global anim\u00e9 boom \u2014 see Demon Slayer ($779 million in global box office) and KPop Demon Hunters (Oscar contender and cultural juggernaut) \u2014 should have buyers flocking to Shinomiya\u2019s feature-length debut, after working as an assistant director on 2016\u2019s $400 million global smash Your Name. The plot follows a boy living in an abandoned fireworks factory racing to launch a mythical firework invented by his vanished father before the factory shuts down.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Charades<\/p>\n

\t\u2018A Prayer for the Dying\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"John\"John
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Lukasz Bak\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Dara Van Dusen<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Johnny Flynn, John C. Reilly<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ An impressive cast gives this auteur Western, from debut director Van Dusen, crossover appeal. Flynn plays a Civil War vet whose dream of a new frontier life in Wisconsin becomes a nightmare when an epidemic threatens to destroy everything.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Anton, New Europe Film Sales<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Blasphemous\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Karen\"Karen
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Dia Dipasupil\/Getty Images; Brian Bowen Smith; Michael Buckner\/Penske Media\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Luke Piotrowski <\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Karen Gillan, Josh Hutcherson, Clive Owen<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ One of the very few big genre projects heading to Berlin this year, this supernatural thriller, the directorial debut of Hellraiser and She Rides Shotgun screenwriter Piotrowski, should scare up plenty of pre-sales business among the market\u2019s top-tier commercial buyers. The film is pitched as a mix of The Exorcist and Training Day, focused on a rookie priest (Hutcherson) and his devout mentor (Owen) transporting a possessed young woman (Gillan) for an exorcism, when she excapes and all hell breaks loose.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES North.Five.Six.\/CAA Media Finance<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Bodyman\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Nick\"Nick
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Billy Kidd\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Gary Fleder<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Nick Jonas<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A contained, high-concept action-thriller designed for maximum commercial lift, this latest package pairs pop-crossover star Jonas with genre veteran Fleder (Homefront, Reacher). Set over a single explosive Christmas at a remote estate, the film centers on a longtime bodyguard (Jonas) who becomes the unexpected heir to a billionaire\u2019s private military company, triggering a lethal scramble for power among the tycoon\u2019s spurned heirs. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES A Higher Standard (worldwide)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Cupid\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Catherine\"Catherine
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rene & Radka\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Tate Taylor<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Catherine Zeta-Jones<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A sleek, contained psychological thriller built around a star turn, this latest package casts Zeta-Jones as an unorthodox marriage counselor whose therapeutic weekend retreat slides rapidly into manipulation and menace. Directed by Taylor (The Girl on the Train), from a script by the Van Dyke brothers (Don\u2019t Worry Darling), Cupid offers commercially-minded buyers a global star and a darkly commercial hook.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Upgrade (international), CAA Media Finance (U.S.)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Doctor Caligari\u2019s Cabinet of Wonders\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Michael\"Michael
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Theo Wargo\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR John Erick Dowdle<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Michael Shannon<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A modern reimagining of one of cinema\u2019s foundational horror texts, this psychological chiller taps directly into the current appetite for elevated, IP-driven genre, from commercial leaning buyers. Dowdle (As Above So Below, No Escape) puts a contemporary spin on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, casting Nuremberg and Man of Steel actor Shannon as a traveling mesmerist whose mind-controlled sleepwalker leaves a trail of brutal murders across small-town America. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Anton (international), Anton \/ CAA Media Finance (North America)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Fonda\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Taylor Hill\/FilmMagic, Dominik Bindl, Samir Hussein\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Justine Triet<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Mia Goth, Andrew Scott, Frank Dillane, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ The English-language debut of boundary-pushing Palme d\u2019Or winner Triet (Titane), described as a psychological thriller set in a seemingly idyllic but tightly enclosed setting, promises The Substance-style cross-over appeal for arthouse buyers. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES mk2 Films<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Full Phil\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"'Full\"'Full
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Chi-Fou-Mi-Productions\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Quentin Dupieux<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Woody Harrelson, Kristen Stewart<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Dupieux (Yanick, The Second Act, Daaaaaali!), the absurdist clown king of French cinema, has locked in an A-list cast for this English-language excursion, with Harrelson playing a wealthy American industrialist who organizes a luxury trip to Paris for his estranged daughter (Stewart) in a bid to reconnect. Described as \u201cEmily in Paris in hell,\u201d it promises some high-end laughs for arthouse and specialty buyers worldwide. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Studiocanal<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Gerron\u2019s Last Film\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Simon\"Simon
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Tim P. Whitby\/Getty Images, Taylor Hill\/FilmMagic\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Simon Curtis<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Josh Gad<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Adulthood and Frozen star Gad takes on a rare tragicomic role in this Holocaust biopic from Woman in Gold director Curtis, playing Kurt Gerron, one of the most famous Jewish actors and directors in pre-Nazi Germany who, unlike his friends Marlene Dietrich and Fritz Lang, refused to leave the country when Hitler came to power. A prestige play with solid awards-season potential. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Rocket Science (international), CAA Media Finance\/WME independent (domestic)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Hello & Paris\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Taylor Hill, Jamie McCarthy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Elizabeth Chomko<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Javier Bardem, Kate Hudson<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A prestige rom-com play with clear theatrical and streaming upside, this package pairs Oscar winner Javier Bardem with two-time nominee Kate Hudson, marking Hudson\u2019s first project since her recent Oscar nod for Song Sung Blue. Written and directed by What They Had filmmaker Elizabeth Chomko the project leans into proven commercial comps (Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally) while offering international appeal through a Paris-set, transatlantic love story. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES 193<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Josephine\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Gemma\"Gemma
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Greta Zozula\/Courtesy of Sundance\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Beth de Ara\u00fajo<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Mason Reeves<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Indie European buyers come to Berlin searching for serious movies about serious subjects. Much like this feature, fresh from Sundance [where it won the U.S. Dramatic Competition, the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award], about the aftermath for a young girl (Reeves) and her parents (Tatum and Chan) after the child witnesses a violent sexual assault.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Goodfellas (international), WME Independent\/CAA Media Finance (North America)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Keep Her Quiet\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Stephane Cardinale \u2013 Corbis\/Corbis, Kate Green ,Mike Marsland\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTORS Franz B\u00f6hm, Suli Kurban<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Zar Amir, Jonathan Pryce, Amir El-Masry<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Holy Spider actress Amir plays an investigative journalist in this inspired-by-a-true-story tale of the reporters who exposed the Chinese government\u2019s brutal treatment of their Uyghur minority. Just the sort of high-brow thriller boutique international buyers are hungry for.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Beta Cinema<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Kockroach\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Pablo Cuadra, Frazer Harrison,Taylor Hill\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Matt Ross<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Chris Hemsworth, Taron Egerton, Zazie Beetz<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Black Bear is targeting deep-pocketed global buyers, as well as studios and streamers, with this glossy New York crime saga pitched in the lineage of Goodfellas and Scarface. Thor star Hemsworth stepping into the lead, replacing Channing Tatum, if anything increases the appeal of this slick package that blends marquee star power with strong indie credentials thanks to director Ross (Captain Fantastic).<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Black Bear<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Last Flight\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Benedict\"Benedict
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Babak Anvari<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Benedict Cumberbatch<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ This real-life thriller, from Under The Shadow director Anavari, is targeting commercial buyers and the arthouse crossover crowd with its story set in the final days of the Afghan War. Ali, a young Afghan man, is fighting to find safe passage out of the country for himself and his family and puts his fate in the hands of an American stranger (Cumberbatch) 7,000 miles away, who is desperately trying to put the war behind him.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Protagonist Pictures (international), WME Independent\/UTA (U.S.)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Legacy\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Steve Granitz, Arturo Holmes\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR David Slade<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Lucy Hale, Jack Whitehall, Anjelica Huston<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Horror, as the only reliable indie genre left standing, will be everywhere at the EFM this year, but this character-driven creepy looks likely to stand out from the horde. Hale and Whitehall star as American siblings who return to their family\u2019s estate in England to sell it, only for a mysterious woman (Huston), to arrive, triggering a twenty-four-hour siege by an ominous cult. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES HanWay (international), UTA (U.S.) <\/p>\n

\t\u2018Let Love In\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Stephane Cardinale\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Felix Van Groeningen<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Luca Marinelli, Charlotte Vandermeersch<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ The team behind the 2022 cross-over hit The Eight Mountains \u2014\u00a0director Van Groeningen and co-stars Marinelli and Vandermeersch, reunite for this relationship drama, about a couple whose relationship is shaken when a long-kept affair is confessed. A grown-up European drama that should have grown-up buyers lining up. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Match Factory<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Play Dead\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: John Sheare, Hannes Magerstaedt\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Jaume Collett-Serra<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Noah Jupe, Matthias Schweigh\u00f6fer<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Cliffhanger and The Shallows director Collett-Serra is bringing this historic thriller to chilly Berlin, promising theatrical distributors a combo of period style and genre thrills with the story of an Allied soldier (Hamnet actor Jupe) who, following an ambush, must play dead to survive. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES WME International<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Queen at Sea\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Seafaring LLC\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Lance Hammer<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall, Florence Hunt<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Oscar winner Binoche plays a daughter struggling to navigate her mother\u2019s (Calder-Marshall) advanced dementia in this drama from Ballast director Hammer that has awards play written all over it.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Bureau Sales<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Riverrun\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Marc Piasecki,John Parra,Jamie McCarthy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Philippe Parreno<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Charlotte Gainsbourg, Zoe Salda\u00f1a, Vicky Krieps<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Gainsbourg stars in this drama as Lucy, a musician who is slowly losing control over her body and voice. Sent by her psychiatrist (Salda\u00f1a) to a clinic in Spain, she meets Tony (Krieps) and her treatment becomes an unexpected journey of self-discovery. The combined thespian might of Gainsbourg, Salda\u00f1a, and Krieps in a single movie should have arthouse distributors the world over willing to submit.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Goodfellas<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Rosebush Pruning\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"'Rosebush\"'Rosebush
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: @Felix-Dickinson\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Karim A\u00efnouz<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Elle Fanning, Pamela Anderson<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A wealthy family begins to unravel when the truth of their mother\u2019s death is revealed in this star-packed melodrama from Firebrand and Motel Destino director A\u00efnouz that seems tailor-made for the Letterboxd crowd of young cinephiles.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Match Factory<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Skeletons\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Brie\"Brie
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Tayfun Coskun\/Anadolu\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR JT Mollner<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Brie Larson<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A slice of creature horror from Strange Darling director JT Mollner (who just signed on to helm<\/a> A24\u2019s Texas Chainsaw Massacre TV series, starring Glen Powell), this genre play comes with the quality imprimatur of an Oscar-winning star (Larson) and the safe hands of JJ Abrams (Super 8, Star Trek) as a producer.
SALES Filmnation<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Soon You Will Be Gone and Possibly Eaten\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Sophie\"Sophie
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Marilla Sicilia via Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Egor Abramenko<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Sophie Wilde<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ This market\u2019s alien invasion thriller comes courtesy of the director of Russian sci-fi horror Sputnik (2020) and A24\u2019s upcoming Altar. Talk to Me and Babygirl actress Wilde plays Sabile, a young woman planning her wedding with her fianc\u00e9 at a secluded mountain resort when some unexpected guests crash the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Anton (international), Anton\/Anonymous Content\/WME Independent (domestic)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Speed The Plow\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Andreas Rentz, Karwai Tang, JC Olivera, Lia Toby\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR David Mamet<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Anthony Mackie, Ben Mendelsohn, Emily Alyn Lind, Sharon Stone<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ A prestige, dialogue-driven package with instant market recognition, this feature adaptation of Mamet\u2019s Tony-winning play brings one of Hollywood\u2019s sharpest satires back into circulation. Set inside the fictional American Prestige Studios, the film skewers power, ambition and moral vacancy as a newly promoted exec (Mackie) flounders amid studio politics, manipulative colleagues and a volatile movie star (Stone). With Mamet directing his own script, a heavyweight cast and a February 2026 shoot locked, the project should appeal strongly to upscale buyers chasing adult-skewing fare with awards potential and marquee names.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Solution Entertainment Group (international)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Sunny\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Marilla Sicilia, Jason Mendez, Dominik Bindl\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Eva S\u00f8rhaug<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Angelina Jolie, Mary Stuart Masterson, Charlie Plummer, Jason Schmidt<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ This mafia thriller follows a female gangster who has only a matter of hours to plan the perfect escape and protect her sons and herself from an abusive drug kingpin. With Eva S\u00f8rhaug, a Norwegian director best known for her U.S. TV work (on Yellowjackets, Your Honor, and Tokyo Vice, among others), behind the camera, buyers can be confident this commercial title will deliver. <\/p>\n

\n\tSALES A Higher Standard (international), A Higher Standard\/WME Independent (domestic)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Sunny Dancer\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Bella\u202fRamsey\"Bella\u202fRamsey
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Colin J Smith\/Sunny Dancer Distribution Limited\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR George Jaques<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Bella Ramsey, Neil Patrick Harris, Daniel Quinn-Toye<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ The Last of Us star Ramsey plays a teen cancer survivor forced to attend a \u201cchemo camp\u201d with other kids in remission in this Brit comedy with clear crossover appeal.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Embankment Films<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Blood Countess\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Isabelle\u202fHuppert\"Isabelle\u202fHuppert
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Amour Fou Vienna\/Amour Four Luxembourg\/Heimatfilm\/P.Domenigg\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Ulrike Ottinger<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Isabelle Huppert, Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ German cult director Ottinger (Joan of Arc of Mongolia) reinvents the oft-told legend of the blood-sucking countess Elizabeth B\u00e1thory (Huppert) as a slice of Austrian horror camp. Huppert\u2019s OTT turn as an aging vamp should alone be enough to draw buyers in for the kill.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Magnify<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Custom of the Country\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Sydney\"Sydney
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Amy Sussman\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Josie Rourke<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Sydney Sweeney<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Sweeney\u2019s boxing biopic Christy didn\u2019t connect with audiences, but The Housemaid star continues to lend her A-list name to indie projects, and this period drama, from Mary Queen of Scots director Rourke, should have no trouble landing prestige international buyers. In the adaptation of the classic Edith Wharton novel, Sweeney is set to play Undine Spragg, an ambitious Midwest woman who attempts to ascend the social ladder in the turn of the century New York, armed only with \u201cbeauty, daring\/hustle and sheer force of will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Studiocanal<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Exiles\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"From\"From
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Beau Grealy; No Credit; No Credit\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Midi Z<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Sam Worthington, David Duchovny, Ke-Xi Wu<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ The English-language debut of festival favorite Midi Z. (The Road to Mandalay, Nina Wu) is an expat crime thriller set in Tapei and inspired by true events that promises to bring Midi Z\u2019s distinctive visual style and solid genre chops to a broader international audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Mister Smith Entertainment (international), CAA (U.S.)<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Idiots\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Aimee\"Aimee
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Mike Marsland, Stuart C. Wilson\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Ma\u0142gorzata Szumowska and Micha\u0142 Englert<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Aimee Lou Wood, Johnny Flynn, Vicky Krieps, Christian Friedel<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Wood and Flynn play Anna and Fydor Dostoyevsky in this cinematic take on the wife of the famed Russian novelist who saved him from a decline into gambling addiction. The film traces the couple\u2019s honeymoon trip to the German spa town of Baden, where Fydor\u2019s gambling spirals out of control, and the couple struggles to bring him back and to finish what will become his masterpiece, \u201cThe Idiot.\u201d The impressive cast and arthouse cred of Szumowska and Englert (In the Name of, Never Gonna Snow Again) should guarantee this project a top slot on every boutique buyer\u2019s watch list.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Match Factory<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Julia Set\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Mike Coppola, Marc Piasecki\/, Monica Schipper\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Niki Byrne<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Chase Infiniti, Christopher Briney, Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Chase Infiniti\u2019s first project post her One Battle After Another breakout sees her playing a gifted mathematician who is recruited by Pascal (Briney) into an elite preparatory programme for the world\u2019s most demanding mathematics competition: The Putnam Exam. A brainy thriller for upmarket theatrical buyers.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES HanWay<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The House of the Dead\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Isabela\"Isabela
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Monica Schipper\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTOR Paul W.S. Anderson<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Isabela Merced<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ\u00a0Resident Evil helmer Anderson adapting the SEGA horror shooter looks like an bullseye for commercial buyers, especially given it\u2019s obvious ancillary value and franchise potential. After surviving one zombie apocalypse in The Last of Us, Merced supposedly won\u2019t be bothered by using a railgun to mow down a new army of undead.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Rocket Science (international), CAA (Domestic) <\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Last of the Tribe\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Steve Granitz,Jamie McCarthy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Claudio Borrelli<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Ethan Hawke, Orlando Bloom, Zaya Guarani<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Anaconda proved there\u2019s money in the jungle movie, though this Amazon-set thriller is a true tale. Adapted from Monte Reel\u2019s non-fiction book, it sees the freshly Oscar-nominated Hawke playing a washed-out Chicago cop, now a corporate gun-for-hire, who is sent to investigate a death deep in the rainforest. During his mission, he encounters the last surviving member of an Indigenous tribe. From Brazilian director Borrelli (Vultures), promises decerning distributors a propulsive thriller with a strong moral core.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Protagonist Pictures<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Only Living Pickpocket in New York\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"John\"John
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: MRC II Distribution Company L.P.\/Courtesy of Sundance\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Noah Segan<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Will Price<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Indie buyers should be a light touch for this crime thriller, flying into Berlin off rave Sundance reviews<\/a>. Featuring a stand-out John Turturro as a low-end, but dignified city hustler who unwittingly targets the wrong mark.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES MRC MEDIA RIGHTS CAPITAL<\/p>\n

\t\u2018The Weight\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Ethan\"Ethan
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Matteo Cocco\/Courtesy of Sundance\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Padraic McKinley<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ One of Berlin\u2019s few star-driven genre titles, the action-adventure stars Hawke as a battle-scarred veteran hired during the Great Depression to smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of wilderness to save what remains of his family.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES WME Independent<\/p>\n

\t\u2018This is Pleasure\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Andreas Rentz,Neilson Barnard\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t
DIRECTORS Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Jessica Chastain, Chris Pine<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ This new feature from American Splendor directors Bergman and Pulcini is set in the U.S. publishing world and follows influential book editor Margot (Chastain), whose decades-long friendship with charming publisher Quin (Pine) is threatened when he is accused of misconduct. If Luca Guadagnino\u2019s After the Hunt hasn\u2019t soured buyers on star-driven #MeToo tales, they\u2019ll be hungry for this meaty moral drama.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Veterans\/CAA Media Finance<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Untitled Kyoto\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"(L\"(L
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jerritt Clark, Tiffany Rose, Patricia J. Garcinu\u00f1o, Karwai Tang\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Takashi Miike<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Charli xcx, Milly Alcock, Norman Reedus, Kiko Mizuhara, Sho Kasamatsu<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Few genre packages at this year\u2019s EFM feel as instantly market-ready as this latest provocation from cult maestro Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer). Set in Kyoto, the slasher-horror follows three lifelong friends on a reunion trip that curdles into terror when Katie (Charli xcx) becomes possessed by a violent, tortured spirit (Mizuhara), unleashing a nightmare steeped in classic Japanese horror traditions. With a buzzy cast led by the Brat pop star, hot off the launch of her A24 feature The Moment (and who will also produce) this high-concept horror looks primed to draw bids from prestige genre buyers and hardcore horror labels.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES The Veterans\/CAA Media Finance<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Who Killed Alex Odeh?\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Who\"Who
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy of the Odeh Family\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTORS Jason Osder, William Lafi Youmans<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ Combining elements of true crime and political documentaries \u2014 two of the hottest genres in nonfiction filmmaking right now \u2014 this doc examines the killing of a Palestinian American activist in Southern California and a 40-year quest for justice.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Dogwoof<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Wildwood\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Travis\"Travis
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Roy Rochlin\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDIRECTOR Travis Knight<\/p>\n

\n\tSTARS Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Angela Bassett, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina<\/p>\n

\n\tBUZZ From Laika, makers of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings, comes this new stop-motion feature, adapted from Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis\u2019s 2011 novel, in which two classmates enter a hidden magical forest near Portland on a mission to save an infant kidnapped by crows. Laika is a brand unto itself and the 2024 re-release of Coraline, which grossed $50 million+ worldwide, shows there is a global appetite for their dark emotional animated tales.<\/p>\n

\n\tSALES Filmnation<\/p>\n

\t\tTHR Newsletters<\/p>\n

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day<\/p>\n

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\t\tSubscribe\t<\/p>\n

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\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The film festival\u2019s hottest sales titles span anime, horror, documentary and prestige drama as international cinema enjoys its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[112,760,3146,6940,190,762,6941],"class_list":{"0":"post-8320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-berlin","8":"tag-berlin","9":"tag-berlin-2026","10":"tag-berlin-film-festival","11":"tag-charlie-xcx","12":"tag-germany","13":"tag-international","14":"tag-sydney-sweeney"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}