Light Pillar

Source: Fengduan Pictures

‘Light Pillar’

The Berlinale has completed the selection for its competitive Perspectives strand with the addition of Chinese animated film Light Pillar.

Set in the future, when space travel in no longer a dream, the story centres on a lonely janitor who tends the grounds of a dilapidated bankrupt film studio with only a former cat actor for company until he embarks on a romantic journey with a female player in a virtual world.

Locally titled Han Ye Deng Zhu, the film will receive its world premiere in Berlin and marks the feature directorial debut of Xu Zao. Produced by Fengduan Pictures, the voice cast includes Da Peng, who is also an executive producer of the film, and Qing Yi.

It brings the total number of titles in the Perspectives section to 14, of which 12 are world premieres. They include Ashley Walters’ directorial debut Animol, and Dara Van Dusen’s Norway-Greece-UK-Sweden co-production A Prayer For The Dying, starring Johnny Flynn, John C. Reilly, Kristine Kujath Thorp and Gustav Lindh.

The competitive strand was introduced last year, and the selection vie for the best first feature award. This year’s jury comprises French Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui, German director Frederic Hambalek and Dorota Lech, Polish director of the New Horizons International Film Festival and a programmer at Toronto.

The 76th Berlinale will run from February 12-22.

Perspectives 2026

  • 17 (North Macedonia-Ser-Slovenia), dir. Kosara Mitic
  • Animol (UK), dir. Ashley Walters
  • A Prayer For The Dying (Nor-Greece-UK-Swe), dir. Dara Van Dusen
  • Chronicles From The Siege (Alg-Fr-Pal), dir. Abdallah Alkhatib
  • Filipiñana (Sing-UK-Phil-Fr-Neth), dir. Rafael Manuel
  • Forest High (Belg-Fr), dir. Manon Coubia
  • Light Pillar (China), dir. Xu Zao
  • Our Secret (Bra-Port), dir. Grace Passô
  • The Red Hangar (Chile-Arg-It), dir. Juan Pablo Sallato
  • The River Train (Arg), dirs. Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A. Vignale
  • Take Me Home (USA), dir. Liz Sargent
  • Trial Of Hein (Ger), dir. Kai Stänicke
  • Truly Naked (Neth-Belg-Fr), dir. Muriel d’Ansembourg
  • Where To? (Isr-Ger), dir. Assaf Machnes

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