Not Short on Answers: The International Jury of Berlinale Shorts I Berlinale Talents 2025
•March 5, 2026
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Why It Matters
The discussion showcases how interdisciplinary collaboration and attentive listening shape short‑film creation and distribution, offering emerging talent actionable insights for thriving in a competitive global market.
Key Takeaways
- •International jury includes programmers, composers, and alumni filmmakers.
- •Panel uses interactive card game to discuss inspiration and craft.
- •Participants emphasize collaboration and networking over solitary creation.
- •Film excerpts illustrate how music reshapes narrative mood in shorts.
- •Listening courageously is central theme for Berlinale Talents 2025.
Summary
The final session of Berlinale Talents 2025 brought together an international jury of Berlinale Shorts—programmers, composers and alumni filmmakers—to explore the theme “Listening Courageously.” Host Anna Henkel‑Onas introduced the panel and launched an interactive card‑game format where jurors selected personal questions about inspiration, favorite films, books and on‑set rituals, fostering a conversational rather than lecture‑style discussion.
The dialogue highlighted the jury’s diverse expertise: programmer Ying Haza described drawing ideas while running and the value of collaborative brainstorming; composer Dasha Dowhau cited “Gone with the Wind” as a repeatedly watched source of resilience; filmmaker Lan shared his first cinema experience in post‑war Vietnam, noting how state surveillance inadvertently introduced him to film. Throughout, participants stressed networking, cross‑disciplinary exchange and the power of music to alter a scene’s emotional tone, as demonstrated in excerpts from Lan’s short “Another City” and his later work “Blessed Land.”
Specific moments underscored the session’s core messages. Dasha explained how a kitschy song, when paired with melancholic visuals, flips audience perception, while Ying emphasized her role in connecting Nordic filmmakers with festival programmers. Lan reflected on the transformation of an artificial karaoke track into a personal emotional cue within his film, illustrating the theme of listening beyond dialogue.
The session signals Berlinale’s commitment to an interdisciplinary, mentorship‑driven model that equips emerging creators with practical networking tools and a heightened awareness of auditory storytelling. By foregrounding listening and collaboration, the program equips participants to navigate a global short‑film market where cross‑border partnerships and nuanced sound design increasingly determine success.
Original Description
Film composer Dascha Dauenhauer, film director (and Berlinale Talents alum) Phạm Ngọc Lân and short film expert Jing Haase are this year’s International Short Film Jury. In a playful, interactive interview format, they will give insights into their artistic practice, share examples from their work and elaborate on what “listening courageously” means to them personally – in their daily work and for their art. The audience is warmly invited to join this question-and-answer game.
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