Rosebush Pruning (2026)

Rosebush Pruning is a 2026 satirical tragicomedy thriller film directed by Karim Aïnouz, written by Efthimis Filippou and loosely based on the 1965 film Fists in the Pocket by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Tracy Letts and Pamela Anderson.

The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on 14 February 2026, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear. It was released theatrically by Mubi in Germany on 23 April, followed by the United Kingdom on 10 July.

Premise

A satirical black comedy centring on an affluent but perverse family, Rosebush Pruning opens on a Spanish beach, where Edward is lecturing his new-found friend, George, on the tenets of fashion. From here, Edward introduces the audience to his family, which has recently moved from New York City to Catalonia, where its matriarch, Mother, was ripped apart by wolves; the household now comprises Father and his children Anna, Robert, Jack, and Edward. When Jack brings home a girlfriend, tensions rise in the family, all of whom are incestuously involved with Jack.

Cast

Callum Turner as Ed

Riley Keough as Anna

Elle Fanning as Martha, Jack's girlfriend

Jamie Bell as Jack, the eldest son

Tracy Letts as the Father

Pamela Anderson as the Mother

Elena Anaya as Emma

Lukas Gage as Robert

Yorgos Stefanakos as George

Production

Development

The film is produced by The Apartment Pictures in partnership with Match Factory Productions, Mubi, Kavac Film and Rai Cinema, and is directed by Karim Aïnouz.

It is written by Efthimis Filippou and inspired by Marco Bellocchio's debut feature Fists in the Pocket.

Viola Fügen and Michael Weber produced for The Match Factory, also handling worldwide sales. Simone Gattoni produced for Kavac Film, alongside Annamaria Morelli for The Apartment and Vladimir Zemtsov for Gold Rush Pictures. Spanish co-producers included Andreas Wentz and Juan Cano “Nono” for SUR FILM, while Rachel Dargavel served as co-producer for the UK's Crybaby.

The executive producers were Lota Dascioraite, Mitch Oliver, Catherine Boily, Kateryna Merkt, Matthew E Chausse, Pietro Caracciolo, Lorenza Veronica, Alessandro Del Vigna, Guilherme Cezar Coelho, Fernando Loureiro, Gabriel Amaral, and Morwin Schmookler.

Kristen Stewart, Josh O'Connor and Elle Fanning joined the cast of Rosebushpruning in May 2023. In September 2024, it was announced Riley Keough and Callum Turner had replaced Stewart and O'Connor due to scheduling conflicts. Also joining the cast at this time were Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Tracy Letts, Elena Anaya and Pamela Anderson with the title format changing to Rosebush Pruning.

Rosebush Pruning is Aïnouz's second English language feature film following Firebrand (2023).

Filming

Principal photography began in Spain on 26 September 2024 and wrapped 9 November, lasting approximately 35 days. Shooting locations included Castellterçol, Catalonia, and Barcelona.

Release

It had its world premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on 14 February 2026. It is scheduled to be released in Germany by Mubi on 23 April. Mubi will also handle distribution in Italy, North America, UK & Ireland.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 53 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 46 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Indiewire's David Opie describing it as "wearying and amusing in equal measure", and The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney summarising it as "shallowness with style in mixed-bag satire".

References

External links

Rosebush Pruning at IMDb