Berlinale 2025: A Stronger Presence for Women in Cinema

By Pickle February 16, 2025

The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) has released its latest gender evaluation, revealing a modest yet positive trend toward gender parity in its programming and industry events.

Gender Statistics 2025

Submissions at the Berlinale 2025 (based on Berlinale database):

Total number of submissions: 8,084
Directing: 35% female, 56% male, 3% non-binary, 6% balanced, 0% n.a.
Production: 37% female, 46% male, 3% non-binary, 13% balanced, 3% n.a.

Selection in the Berlinale programme 2025 (based on Berlinale database):

Total amount of evaluated films (programme selection without Retrospective or other historical films and installations): 199
Directing: 38% female, 47% male, 4% non-binary, 9% balanced, 2% n.a.
Production: 27% female, 39% male, 2% non-binary, 18% balanced, 14% n.a.

Directing: This year, 38% of the films in the Berlinale programme are directed by women, a slight increase from 36% in 2024. Notably, in the Competition section, women directed or co-directed eight out of 19 films (42%), while men directed 12 films (60%).

Production: The festival has seen a decrease in films with predominantly male production teams, dropping from 46% in submissions to 39% in the final programme. Conversely, productions with balanced gender representation have risen from 13% in submissions to 18% in the selection. In the Competition category, three films (15%) had predominantly female production participation, six (32%) had male-dominated teams, and four (21%) were mostly balanced.

Co-Production Market: Submissions featured 58% male and 32% female directors. However, the final selection favored female directors at 52%, surpassing their male counterparts at 36%. In production roles, women constituted 71% of submissions but only 24% of the final selection, while men made up 36% of submissions and 52% of those selected.

Talent Project Market: Female producers accounted for 50% of submissions and increased to 60% in the final selection.

Co-Pro Series: Submissions included 23% female and 34% male directors. The selection achieved gender parity, with 30% representation for both. Female producers led submissions at 38% and dominated the selection at 50%, compared to 30% and 20% for male producers, respectively.

Books at Berlinale: Female authors comprised 51% of submissions and 50% of the selection, indicating equal representation with male authors.

Berlinale Talents: Among directing applicants, 44% were women, 50% men, 4% non-binary, and 2% preferred not to disclose. The selection included 46% female directors, 42% male, 8% non-binary, and 4% undisclosed. Overall, 54% of selected participants were female, with a 4% increase in non-binary representation from application to selection.