Berlin, Feb 15 (.) Chinese and Greater China cinema are making a strong impact at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival and the accompanying European Film Market, spearheaded by the latest dramedy “Unexpected Family” headlined by “Jackie Chan and Anthony Chen’s Singaporean drama “We Are All Strangers”.
Hong Kong-based Golden Network Asia’s “Unexpected Family” also features Peng Yuchang Zhang Jianing and is directed by Li Taiyan.
The comedy-drama follows Zhong Bufan (Peng), a broke tenant struggling to survive in the city who finds himself living with an elderly landlord, Dad Ren (Chan), who mistakes him for his long-lost son.
Also under the same roof are Su Xiaoyue (Zhang), a drifting tenant chasing her dreams; Jia Ye (Pan), a middle-aged housing agent; and Jin Zhengu (Li), a warm-hearted neighbour who treats everyone like family.
The ensemble cast navigates Dad Ren’s unpredictable memory lapses until Bufan uncovers a long-buried secret. Han Sanping serves as executive producer, with production by Wuhan Legendary People Film & TV Art Co., China Film Group and Xiao Xiang Pictures.
Parallax International Sales is representing four officially selected films across different sections of the festival. In Panorama, Chinese filmmaker Agnis Shen Zhongmin makes her feature debut with “Shanghai Daughter,” a meditative work that blends fiction and documentary while drawing from the director’s family history. The film follows a Shanghai woman’s journey to a rubber farm in southwest China, where her late father was sent during the Cultural Revolution.
In the Forum section, Japanese choreographer and filmmaker Nao Yoshigai presents documentary “Masayume,” which chronicles her Zen training journey after losing her mental and physical balance at age 34. North American rights have been acquired by Kani Releasing.
Two Chinese short films round out Parallax’s lineup: Qu Jingkai’s “Kleptomania” in the Shorts Competition and Wang Beidi’s “Scorching” in Generation 14plus. “Kleptomania” is set on a frigid Harbin night and follows a boy trapped in a cycle of violence, while “Scorching” centers on Li Yan, who refuses to work at the local poultry factory and instead obsesses over hatching a stolen egg.
Parallax is also launching several new projects at EFM aimed at world premieres at major festivals later in 2026. These include “Crossing a Dawn,” a commercial romance directed by Zhao Badou and starring Ma Sichun and Edward Chen, produced by China’s MOMO Pictures.
Taiwanese director Wang Yi-Ling’s debut feature “Running Wild” is described as an LGBTQ youth film that combines elements of crime escape and self-exploration. Wang’s short film “Towards the Sun” was previously selected for the Cinéfondation section at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
Documentary “Coo Coo, Quark Quark” comes from Zhu Xin, whose “Vanishing Days” screened in Berlinale Forum in 2018. The project continues Zhu’s exploration of abstract concepts, including memory, melancholy and poetry, through documentary form, reports VARIETY.
China’s Rediance Films is handling world sales for Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot’s Switzerland production “Tristan Forever,” screening in Panorama Dokumente, and represents mainland China rights for Anthony Chen’s Singapore film “We Are All Strangers,” which is in the main Berlin competition.
Additional Chinese titles in the official selection include Zhang Xinyang’s “Panda” from Singapore, Hong Kong and China in the Forum strand, and Tan Yucheng’s “The Girl” from China in Generation 14plus Short Films. . . .