Berlinale 2027 Retrospective To Explore Visions Of The Future In Nod To Centenary Of Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’
The Berlinale’s 2027 retrospective will explore cinematic visions of the future and rebellion, drawing on the centenary of Fritz Lang’s *Metropolis*. Titled “Rage Against the Machine”, it will consider how films have imagined technology and social change through themes including artificial intelligence, urbanism, feminism and capitalism.
The announced selection ranges from Paul Verhoeven’s *RoboCop* (1987) and the underground film *Decoder* (1984) to Rintarō’s anime *Metoroporisu* (2001). It will also include Helma Sanders-Brahms’s *The Last Days of Gomorrah* (1974) and a new restoration of Ngozi Onwurah’s *Welcome II the Terrordome* (1995), described as the first feature-length British film directed by a Black woman. The programme is being organised with the Deutsche Kinemathek, with Heleen Gerritsen serving as artistic director for a second year.
- Berlinale’s 2027 retrospective centres on future visions and rebellion.
- The theme marks 100 years since *Metropolis*.
- The programme spans mainstream, underground and anime films.
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The Berlinale is Berlin’s annual international film festival, and its retrospective programme looks back at films from earlier decades. Fritz Lang’s silent film Metropolis, released in 1927, depicts a sharply divided future city and has influenced later stories about technology and society.
The films named for the programme span different eras and styles, from the science-fiction action film RoboCop to Japanese animation and independent cinema. Their subjects include artificial intelligence, city life, gender and economic power, offering different ways to consider how filmmakers have imagined the future and people’s responses to change.