Daniel Bruhl's directorial debut to compete at Berlin International Film Festival

Daniel Bruhl's directorial debut has been selected to compete in the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.

The Captain America: Civil War actor will debut Nebenan, or Next Door, during his native Germany's annual film extravaganza. According to Variety, Next Door also stars Bruhl and is "a tribute to the contradiction of Berlin in the 21st century" which explores "several characters, including a famous film actor and his neighbour, as their lives collide."

Other competition titles include Portrait of a Lady on Fire director Celine Sciamma's latest movie Petite Maman, which only went into production in November.

The line-up also features Xavier Beauvois' Albatros, filmmaker Maria Schrader's I'm Your Man, starring Dan Stevens, and Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude's project about a secondary school teacher who discovers her sex tape has leaked online.

All 15 films in competition will have their world premieres at the festival, while there will be world premiere special screenings of Michael Caine's Best Sellers and a new documentary about the life and career of Tina Turner, alongside Michelle Pfeiffer's acclaimed new movie French Exit and The Mauritanian, starring Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The 71st annual Berlin International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from 1 to 5 March as a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a physical event tentatively scheduled for June.