German actor and director Jonathan Berlin (“The Forger”) is set to write and direct his first feature “Mio”, a queer coming of age drama about a teenager who must embark on a journey into the unknown after his parents disappear. Set in a small Spanish town, Mio undertakes an odyssey between childhood and adolescence that demands everything of him in his quest to find himself.

Taddeo Kufus (“Les Rascals”, “1917”), Barbara Auer (“Miroirs No. 3” and a German Film Award winner for “My Daughter Belongs To Me”) and Godehard Giese (“Rose”, a German Film Award for “Sad Jokes”) will star in the feature. Behind the camera, Gesa Jäger (a German Film Award winner for “The Teacher’s Lounge”) and Raffaéllo Lupperger (“Marzahn Mon Amour”) will edit, while Manuel Mack (German Film Critics Award for “Gun-Shy”) is on board as director of photography.

“Told as a modern, surreal fairytale, ‘Mio’ aims to explore the tender story about a teenager’s journey of self-discovery while exploring the reclamation of one’s own love, intimacy, and identity at the same time,” said Berlin. “Together with my team, I want to create a film that celebrates freedom and asks the question: Do I belong to myself? Am I MIO?”

Berlin is setting up “Mio” as a co-production with BetaBerlin Productions & Fourmat Film, with producers including two-time Emmy winner Nico Hofmann, plus Nicolas Kronauer, Jan Wünschmann and Tobias Gerginov. “Mio” is planned to begin shooting in Spain in early 2027.

An actor across both film and TV, Berlin has appeared “The Forger” (directed by Maggie Peren) and “Unwanted” (directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel) winning honors including the New Faces Award and the German Screen Actors Award. His short films as a director have screened at numerous international festivals.