Canadian production company Banger Films has announced that its feature-length documentary “The Ballad of Judas Priest” will receive its world premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) this February. The film is scheduled to screen in the Berlinale Special Midnight strand, with the festival running from 12–22 February 2026 in Berlin.
“The Ballad of Judas Priest” is an official career-spanning documentary about the Grammy-winning British heavy metal band, tracing more than fifty years of history from their working-class beginnings in Birmingham to their status as global metal icons. The film explores how Judas Priest helped define both the sound and the visual language of heavy metal, while also examining their wider cultural impact far beyond the genre.
The documentary is co-directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello. Dunn is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, anthropologist and co-founder of Banger Films, known for metal-focused titles such as “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey”, “Global Metal”, “Iron Maiden: Flight 666” and “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage”. “The Ballad of Judas Priest” continues his long-running collaboration with major rock and metal artists.
For Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, the project marks his directorial debut. Morello has previously appeared in numerous music documentaries; here he steps behind the camera to help tell the band’s story, working alongside Dunn to chart Judas Priest’s evolution and influence over five decades.
“The Ballad of Judas Priest” is produced by Banger Films and presented by Sony Music Vision in association with Sony Music Entertainment UK and Epic Records. Producers include Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, with executive producers from both the band’s camp and Sony’s music and visual divisions. The film is positioned as a definitive account of Judas Priest’s legacy, built around classic tracks such as “Breaking the Law” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”, and aims to capture the band’s resilience, longevity and ongoing relevance, including their recent “Invincible Shield” era.
In their announcement on Facebook, Banger Films said they were proud to bring the film to Berlinale and highlighted that German metal fans will be the first in the world to see it.
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