Berlinale Camera to Director Haile Gerima

At the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, the Ethiopian director Haile Gerima will be honoured with a Berlinale Camera. 

Haile Gerima’s latest work Black Lions – Roman Wolves, a nearly nine-hour exploration of the history and mythology of Italian colonialism and a commemoration of the Ethiopian resistance, is celebrating its world premiere in this year’s Berlinale Forum. 

The presentation of the Berlinale Camera to Haile Gerima will take place on February 17, 2026, at 4:00 pm at Delphi Filmpalast, as part of the screening of his film. 

“Haile Gerima’s works bear witness to histories marked by oppression, resistance, and the unfinished work of decolonisation – stories that speak with urgent force to the world today. Though he entered Competition with Sankofa in 1993, the Forum recognised Gerima’s work early on, and we are very proud to welcome him back to the Forum with his long-gestating Black Lions – Roman Wolves. It is an honour to present a Berlinale Camera to a filmmaker who has transformed the way so many understand the world,” says Tricia Tuttle, Director of the Berlinale. 

In 1967, Ethiopian director Haile Gerima emigrated to the United States and studied at the University of California. He became part of the L.A. Rebellion, a group of African-American and African filmmakers who, beginning in the 1970s, created an alternative, independent Black American cinema. His works combine personal, historical, and political perspectives. Although he has long resided in the United States, he remains deeply connected to his Ethiopian heritage. Among his best-known films are Harvest: 3,000 Years (1975, Forum) Bush Mama (1976), Ashes and Embers (1982, 1983 in Forum), the internationally acclaimed Sankofa (1993, world premiere in Berlinale Competition), and Teza (2008), a drama reflecting on Ethiopia’s past. 

Since 1986, the Berlinale Camera has honoured individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to filmmaking and with whom the festival feels a special connection. The Berlinale Camera consists of 128 individual components and is modeled on a real film camera. It is crafted by Düsseldorf-based goldsmith artist Georg Hornemann.