Boundary Violation in the Boiler Room: “Unauthorized Versions” of the 76th Berlinale 2026 Forum Expanded

In Berlin’s Wedding district, the old incinerator transformed into Silent Green Kulturquartier vibrates on the same frequency as the lowest level of Apartment No:26—our Boiler Room—even amid February’s freezing cold. The 21st edition of Forum Expanded, the most experimental, unsettling, and underground vein of the 76th Berlinale, arrives under the title “Unauthorized Versions.” This program directs a projector beam into the gaps of history, the passages erased by states, and the counter-narratives constructed by individuals.

Blending London’s curatorial rigor with Berlin’s rule-breaking energy, this selection is not merely about watching films—it is about reconfiguring cinema as a form of resistance and remembrance. The machines in the boiler room are running more complex rhythms than usual today; because the boundaries of cinema are being violated across a wide spectrum—from video games to analog performances. These voices arriving from 30 countries carry the mesmerizing smoke that seeps from history’s footnotes into the corridors of our building.

Coffee Break in the Lab with Burak Çevik

One of Istanbul cinema’s most idiosyncratic figures, Burak Çevik returns to Berlin with his signature mysterious yet deeply local touch. The Weary Hours of Two Lab Assistants tells the story of an uncanny night in which two assistants examine an unknown substance with unknown machines.

As the night deepens and fatigue sets in, the rigid logic of the laboratory gives way to a fortune-telling ritual shaped in the steam of Turkish coffee. Çevik questions how knowledge is transmitted to us and how the intuitive intertwines with the rational. It feels like a “coffee break” taken amid the intense working tempo of our boiler room—both familiar and completely alien.

“Space Invaders” Against Colonialism: Land Invaders

Forum Expanded makes history this year by including a video game in its program for the first time. Cassandra Gardiner and Juan Mateo Menendez’s Land Invaders project transforms the arcade classic Space Invaders into an anti-colonial narrative. Players attempt to prevent Christopher Columbus’s ships from reaching the shores of Turtle Island. This “unauthorized version” that turns history upside down proves that cinema can be not only a passive viewing experience, but an active intervention zone.

16mm Magic and Myths Born from Yam

Berlin’s underground energy feeds on the sound of analog film reels. The Singaporean duo Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen turn the cinema hall into a ritual space with their performance Born of the Yam. Using modified multi-16mm projectors and handmade machines, they construct the mythology of a semi-divine being born from a yam.

Like the rusted yet perfectly functioning gears in our boiler room, this performance fuses technology with handmade (DIY) labor to question modern processes of idolization. The distinctive grainy texture of analog film delivers one of the most elegant slaps against the flawless perfection of the digital age.

Exile and Witness: Fruits of Despair

Iranian director Nima Nassaj’s Fruits of Despair is one of the most melancholic yet urgently necessary narratives in Berlin today. While shooting a documentary about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the director suddenly becomes the “subject” himself due to erupting violence in his own country.

His 12-day wait in a suburban house after fleeing Tehran turns into a personal diary. In this work, where the line between observer and participant vanishes, we witness a shattering meditation on how war reshapes life and authorship. In the political climate of 2026, this film represents one of the hottest pressure valves in our “Boiler Room.”

Homage to the Pioneers: Ken and Flo Jacobs

The program does not forget to honor Ken and Flo Jacobs, pioneers of American avant-garde cinema whom we lost in 2025. The re-screening of their 2007 Forum Expanded film Let There Be Whistleblowers serves to refresh cinema’s memory. Their experimental spirit continues to stand as one of the sturdiest columns in the foundations of our building.

The pressure in the boiler room has been balanced for today; the machines are left to cool. Yet the mental storm unleashed by “Unauthorized Versions” will keep blowing—from Berlin’s streets all the way to Istanbul’s back alleys.