Berlinale Talents 2026 is fast approaching, and the excitement of welcoming everyone to Berlin is growing. Since our very beginning, Berlinale Talents has been rooted in connection - uniting people across crafts in the film industry, as well as across cultures, lived experiences and borders.

As it is with the whole of the Berlinale, that mission is at the heart of all we do. It is why our 200 Talents, along with industry guests and the wider public, are invited not simply as observers but as active contributors in this shared pursuit. We invite you to engage, participate, exchange ideas, challenge perspectives and embrace emerging stories. Step into the confusion with us and discover what remarkable creativity can arise when we explore it together.

Last year’s journey into the art of listening laid bare an undeniable truth: we live in a world saturated with sound - voices, viewpoints and messages constantly intersecting, interrupting and competing for our attention. Today, this is amplified by the global landscape of shifting alliances, contested narratives, and crises unfolding and continuing simultaneously in regions such as Iran, Latin America, Gaza and the West Bank, across the wider Middle East, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, the Congo, Myanmar, as well as alarming social and political shifts across Europe and the United States. Confusion is increasingly weaponised through misinformation, polarisation and rhetoric. The othering of people is a glaring example of continuous attempts to disconnect us, to confuse our morality and make us forget our common humanity.

We all share the responsibility to ensure empathy for our fellow human beings, which is why we honour the civilians, filmmakers and artists who continue to withstand and even document the injustices around them, even while living through danger, fear and uncertainty themselves. Their commitment to bearing witness, to capturing truth, preserving memory and shaping stories, in moments when doing so requires such courage is a profound act of resilience. In the face of censorship, oppression and the threat of violence, they remind us of the essential role storytelling plays in protecting dignity and making visible the realities that others may try to obscure. We stand with those who create under these troubling and often perilous circumstances, and we acknowledge the depth of strength and humanity that their work represents.

That is why, for Berlinale Talents 2026, we choose to reclaim the state of confusion. We choose to approach and embrace it not with apprehension but with curiosity, imagination and hope. By looking closely at that confusion, we can break our usual ways of seeing things and notice contradictions, helping us and others rethink our own viewpoints. What possibilities appear when we let go of assumptions, question the things we think we know, strip things back to basics and begin anew? What can we un- and re-learn, break down and rebuild with creativity, together? We look forward to finding out with you.