When Iranian directors were announced, Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha could not attend the meeting in person. Berlinale scheduled the competition submission for their new feature, and news from authorities in their country indicated that passports were being confiscated and criminal charges could be filed against them over the film. The Tehran government has long pressured artists, including two Golden Bear winners at this festival, Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. The pressure has intensified in recent times, seemingly as retaliation for acts of terrorism. The wave of protests following Mahsa Amini’s death under police custody in September 2022 only amplified concerns. The surprise, in hindsight, came later.
‘Protagonist’ and ‘My Favorite Cake’ center on a mature woman who has lived alone since widowhood and decides to seek love before time runs out. With warmth, she ends up charming a man who was left by his wife and invites him to spend the evening at her home. They talk, share wine, dance with abandon, and, drawn to each other, begin to imagine a shared future and contemplate spending the night together. Given the repressive climate in Iran, where the theocratic regime curtails women’s autonomy and emotional expression, it is not surprising that authorities would reject any fiction that portrays a different kind of femininity. What is especially alarming is that the regime’s approach can feel punitive toward characters who rebel or seek personal happiness, a response that some see as more about official morality than a coherent ideological program. This framing raises questions about the limits placed on storytelling in environments with strict censorship.
Beauty and prejudice
“The release today of the second film among the Golden Bear contenders offers a notably satisfying surprise.” A Different Man departs from mere homage and translates a wide range of influences into a fresh cinematic voice. References to The Elephant Man (1980), The Fly (1986), and Vertigo (1958) surface, yet the film remains uniquely Kaufman-inspired, weaving sharp wit with moments that resist easy interpretation. It follows an actor whose face is disfigured by neurofibromatosis. He believes his appearance blocks his success until an experimental treatment reshapes him physically, only to reveal deeper truths: even after transformation, companionship and acceptance remain elusive. The work pushes a metatextual inquiry into the broad themes of beauty and normality that today’s society often equates with worth. It also challenges how artists who tell stories about people with disabilities should proceed when confronting public perceptions. Throughout, A Different Man continually morphs—shifting from comedy to horror, from existential drama to grotesque imagery—keeping viewers off balance and engaged.
None of the competition titles in Germany today carried the same level of anticipation as the fourth feature. Alonso Ruizpalacios, already recognized for Museo (2018) and A Police Movie (2021), is recognized as a rising voice in Mexican cinema. Yet the day’s biggest disappointment lies in an update of Arnold Wexler’s famous 1957 play, reimagined as a tale set within a New York Times Square kitchen. The film meditates on multiculturalism and the exploitation and racism inherent in capitalism, but it does so with an explicit, not subtle, approach. Ruizpalacios consistently leans toward the idea that the crowded cast in Kitchen is less about ensemble energy and more about visual ideas, staging, and dialogue that aim to impress rather than overwhelm. The question lingers whether he took inspiration from a fellow Mexican filmmaker, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, in pursuing this stylistic path.