Julia Ducournau
Julia Ducournau is a filmmaker very much of her time – modern, radical, and visually striking. Her films are uncompromising yet deeply human. Raised in Paris, Ducournau rejects pigeonholing, including in matters of gender, and primarily defines herself simply as a human being. Deliberately turning away from the male gaze, she challenges existing binary orders and structures. FILMFEST HAMBURG screened Ducournau’s latest film Alpha (2025) as well as her earlier works Titane (2021) and Raw (2016).

Kleber Mendonça Filho
His films defy any single label and are always full of surprises. The Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho engages relentlessly with his homeland – exploring life under capitalism, global political developments, and the resurgence of toxic colonial legacies. FILMFEST HAMBURG screened Mendonça Filho’s films The Secret Agent (2025), Bacurau (2019), and Neighbouring Sounds (2012).

Pia Marais

Pia Marais invested many months of research into her film Transamazonia. She accompanied a journalist investigating the conflict between an Indigenous tribe and a neighboring logging town. Marais translated this narrative into a Western-style element within the film. It explores themes of tradition and territory, business and greed—and within this tense and volatile setting, evangelical groups play a role, driven by a missionary zeal that is infused with materialism. Transamazonia (2024) was screened at FILMFEST HAMBURG, as were Marais’ earlier films The Unpolished (2007) and Layla Fourie (2013).

Joshua Oppenheimer

The apocalypse is already in its name. Or at least the genuine interest in it. Joshua Oppenheimer grew up in New Mexico, overlooking Los Alamos, home of the US nuclear research project. He was repeatedly associated with Robert Oppenheimer, the “father” of the atomic bomb, but there are no family connections. FLMFEST HAMBURG screened Oppenheimer’s films The Act of Killing (2012), The Look of Silence (2014) and The End (2024).

Alice Rohwacher

Alice Rohrwacher, who grew up in Tuscany, has made a name for herself primarily through her sensitive stories about marginalized social figures. She draws inspiration for her stories and characters from personal experiences, which is reflected in the strong emotional resonance that Rohrwacher’s films trigger. Her central motifs of mythology, religion and folk culture paired with political issues are linked to her unique visual aesthetic. As part of the “Filmmaker in Focus” program FILMFEST HAMBURG showed the three films Corpo Celeste (2011), Land of Miracles (2014) and La Chimera (2023).

Bertrand Bonello

Incorporating obsessions and mysticism into current political issues is also central to French-born Bertrand Bonello – even if he otherwise avoids any coherent narrative in his works. Between the visual clinical clarity of Bonello’s imagery and the almost contradictory interweaving of his plots, which range from time jumps to phantasmagoria to hallucinations, his films show a great passion for new narrative forms in modern cinema. FILMFEST HAMBURG screened the three films Saint Laurent (2014), Nocturama (2016) and The Beast (2023) in 2023.

Ruth Mader

Ruth Mader studied directing at the Vienna Film Academy and won the prestigious Max Ophüls Prize in 1998 with her short film Gfrasta. This student production about four girls who torment another girl set the tone and theme for her subsequent works: Films about marginalized social figures and social upheavals, in which the documentary extends into fiction – and vice versa. FILMFEST HAMBURG showed her films Gfrasta (1998), Null Defizit (2001), Struggle (2003), What is Love (2011), Life Guidance (2017) and Serviam – I Will Serve  in 2022.

Santiago Mitre

Santigo Mitre’s works also deal with questions of power, institutions and society – all set against the political backdrop of a repressive state. Although his early films, such as The Student (2011) or his update of the Argentinian classic Paulina (2013), have already generated a great deal of discussion within the country, his international breakthrough can be seen in the invitation of The Summit (2017) to the festival within the “Un Certain Regard” section. FILMFEST HAMBURG screened The Student (2011), Petite Fleur (15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbor) and Argentina, 1985 in 2022.

Andrea Arnold

With Andrea Arnold, an explicitly female voice has found its way into the cinema of the socially marginalized. With an unadulterated gaze and raw aesthetics, brutality and beauty are always close to each other in her films. She won an Oscar for her short film Wasps (2003) and her subsequent feature-length films, including Red Road (2006), Fish Tank (2009) and American Honey (2016), were awarded several Jury Prizes in Cannes. As part of the “Filmmaker in Focus” format, FILMFEST HAMBURG screened Arnnold’s first documentary Cow (2022) as well as Red Road (2006) and Wuthering Heights (2011).

Sean Baker

Sean Baker’s films also deal with marginalized characters – his focus is on those for whom the promise of the American Dream has not been fulfilled. His stories are often centered around characters from the red-light district or the porn industry. FILMFEST HAMBURG screened Baker’s films Starlet (2012) about an unlikely female friendship, Tangerine L.A. (2015), which was shot entirely with an iPhone, and Red Rocket (2021) about an ex-porn star who tries to make a new start as an entrepreneur in his hometown.

You can find the recorded talk with Sean Baker HERE.

Kelly Reichardt

Portland instead of Hollywood: Kelly Reichardt and her cinema are far away from glamor and megalomania, from the egomania of the Instagram and lawn sprinkler world. Also light years away from the big budgets of the major studios. The director is independent in every respect. In the financing of her films, in the realization of her artistic vision and in her alternative narrative of America. Over the decades, she has built up a kind of family business in which the important positions are almost always held by the same people. FILMFEST HAMBURG showed her three films River of Grass (1994), Meek’s Cutoff – On the Way to Oregon (2010) and First Cow (2020) in the “Filmmaker in Focus” format.

You can find the recorded film talk with Kelly Reichardt  HERE.

Pablo Larraín

Like no other Chilean director since the legendary filmmaker Raúl Ruiz, Pablo Larraín possesses a stubbornness, political disobedience and the self-confidence necessary to leave his personal mark on cinema. After completing his studies and founding his own production company Fábula, Larraín released his feature film debut with Fuga. In his next films, he turned to his country’s past and subjected it to an uncomfortable, intensive revision. Tony Mareno (2008), No (2012) and Ema (2019) were screened at FILMFEST HAMBURG in 2020.

You can find the recorded film talk with Pablo Larraín HERE.