News
10. July 2023
Golden Apricot Film Festival Yerevan (Armenia)
Program Director Bernd Buder is currently on the jury of the Golden Apricot Film Festival Yerevan in Armenia. It is taking place for the 20th time this year. Armenian cinema, since the country's independence in 1991, has been present at international festivals. Bernd Buder is on the jury of the festival, together with Inna Sahakyan (producer from Armenia), Claire Simon (producer from France), Lav Diaz…
10. July 2023
Review: Karlovy Vary
Together with our co-production market connecting cottbus and the medienboard Berlin Brandenburg we had a successful reception in Karlovy Vary! The main prize of the 57th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, was awarded on Saturday evening to the Bulgarian-German film "Blagas Lessons" by director Stefan Komandarev. Lead actress Eli Skortcheva was named best actress. In the film, retired teacher Blaga falls victim…
26. May 2023
Rising Star Award in Cannes for young Serbian actor
Rising Star Award in Cannes for young Serbian actor With the Louis Roederer Foundation's Rising Star Award for Jovan Ginić, a promising young Serbian actor has won an award in the Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. He was awarded for the leading role in Vladimir Perišić's LOST COUNTRY (France, Serbia, Luxembourg, Croatia). Perišić won the awards for Best Film and Best…
19. May 2023
FFC on the road @Cannes
Program Director Bernd Buder and FFC Deputy Program Director Joshua Jádi are currently at the Cannes International Film Festival. The focus is on networking with producers, world distributors and national film funders, as well as researching current films from Eastern Europe. In the photo you can see both of them at a short meeting on Close-Up Kazakhstan after a conference on Kazakh cinema at the…
Croatian producer Miljenka Čogelja, producer of the FFC-winning film 2022 A SAFE PLACE, is one of the 20 young producers who will be attending the Cannes Film Festival as "producers on the move". The title is awarded by the world's most influential film festival to talented film producers who are integrated into a special workshop program on the Côte d'Azur. Other Producers on the Move…
08. May 2023
FFC on the Road: Krakau
Program Director Bernd Buder was at the Offcamera Film Festival in Krakow for FilmFestival Cottbus. He was a jury member there for the Polish Competition, together with Debbie McWilliams (casting agent from Great Britain ) and Marianne Bilcher (director from Denmark).Debbie McWilliams, by the way, was a casting director for the James Bond films for many years. In Krakow, the following films were awarded,…
02. May 2023
FFC Winning Films @ Crossing Europe Linz
CROSSING EUROPE Film Festival Linz awards festival prizes.Among the winners also the following FFC films: The Best Film award at Crossing Europe goes to BREAD AND SALT, which won Best Director at FilmFestival Cottbus 2022. Damian Kocur PL, 2022, 100 min.Polish kebab stall racism meets successful young pianist with a hip-hop look. Tymek visits his prefab home and discovers that, apart from his love for…
02. May 2023
14 Gopo awards for FFC films from Romania
At the prestigious Gopo Awards, Romania's national film prizes, FFC films claimed 14 of the 21 awards given out.Paul Negoescu's MAN OF DEEDS, about a police officer who takes a job in the provinces and faces unforeseen challenges, won six awards, including Best Film and Best Director. MAN OF DEEDS screened in the 2022 FFC competition, as did Alexandru Belc's coming-of-age political drama METRONOM set…
02. May 2023
NEW VISION AWARD 2023
NEW VISION AWARD 2023 CROSSING EUROPE FILMFESTIVAL LINZ presents the award! And the winner is BEAUTIFUL BEINGS by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, nominated by the European Film Forum Scanorama! According to Grazina Arlickaite, artistic director and founder of the Scanorama European Film Forum, "Guðmundsson's second feature film opens up the theme of violence in the lives of teenagers through the means of magical realism, successfully avoiding…
28. April 2023
FFC on the road: GoEast Wiesbaden
Program Director Bernd Buder is at the GoEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden for us right now. For the 23rd time, goEast - Festival of Central and Eastern European Film brings a diverse program of film screenings and accompanying events to Wiesbaden and the Rhine-Main region. Organized by the DFF - Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, the festival sees itself as a window to Central and Eastern…
23. April 2023
Rain of awards for FFC films
Shower of prizes for FFC films at national film awards in Slovakia and Estonia The Slovak-Czech-Macedonian folk-mystery drama THE BALLAD OF PIARGY cleared a total of eleven prizes, including the Audience Award, at the Slovakian "Sun in a Net" Film Awards on April 15. The prestigious awards are named after Štefan Uher's 1963 cult film, one of the most important harbingers of Czechoslovakia's eventual opening…
21. April 2023
Grenzlandfilmtage Selb
The Grenzlandfilmtage in Selb took place for the 46th time this year. The focus of the festival is Eastern Europe. Films are also screened in Regensburg and in As in the Czech Republic. Program director Bernd Buder was a jury member and helped choose the best Eastern European film:The winner was the Ukrainian short film HUMAN (directed by Khachatur Vasilian) with an existentialist message:a man…
14. April 2023
Joshua Jadi at Torino Film Lab
Joshua Jàdi, Deputy Program Director of FilmFestival Cottbus has been accepted at Torino Film Lab.Congratulations! TorinoFilmLab (TFL) has selected 20 projects for its ScriptLab 2023 and five screenwriters:The 20 projects are from 20 writer/directors and eight co-writers and were selected from 550 submissions. The selected participants will attend three one-week in-person modules in April, June and November, and two online modules in September and October.…
11. April 2023
The Ballad of Piargy FFC Film in Berlin on 13 April
THE BALLAD OF PIARGY screened at the 2022 FFC at the Spectrum and can be seen on Thursday, April 13, at 7 pm in Berlin. The Embassy of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Institute in Berlin invites to the screening.The film will be shown with English subtitles. Registration is requested by mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Ivo Trajkov SK, 2021, 100 MiThe mountain looms menacingly over the…
04. April 2023
Nationwide theatrical release FFC Film Victim from April 6
VICTIM tells an extremely gripping universal story based on real events and compellingly shows how thin the ice cover of a democratic society can be.Michal Blaško impressively paints the picture of Irina, a single Ukrainian woman who wants to build a new life in a foreign country and is confronted with racism, fake news and the rise of the new right.(Source: Greenhouse-PR) VICTIMSlovak Republic, Czech…
20. March 2023
FFC films nominated for Romanian Film Award
Bucharest - Gopo Awardsnominations for FFC films.Winners will be announced on April 25, 2023 Alexandru Belc's feature debut "Metronome" has 11 nominations at the 17th Gopo Awards, followed by "Immaculate" by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark and "Men of Deeds" by Paul Negoescu, both receiving 10 nominations. Also nominated is the film "Miracle" and #doogpoopgirl, which screened in Cottbus in 2021. More info about the…
13. March 2023
Spotlight Romania at Il Kino Berlin
FilmFestival Cottbus as guest at Il Kino Berlin (Neukölln). The Romanian Cultural Institute will show four selected films of the section "Spotlight România" from the last FFC on March 18 and 19. On Sunday, following the films, there will be a discussion with Peter Domasch of the Berlinale's European Film Market and FFC program director Bernd Buder on the role of Romanian cinema in the…
09. March 2023
Close-Up: Kazakhstan
This year at the FilmFestival Cottbus we are happy to present the film country Kazakhstan. Close-Up Kazakhstan, that's what the film series will be called. The country in Central Asia has been in a difficult balancing act for the past year. Economically and politically, the country is closely tied to Russia and is looking for ways to break free from this close dependence and open…
06. March 2023
107 Mothers on 8.3. in Berlin
107 MOTHERS by Peter Kerekes, will be shown on March 8 at 7:00 pm at Brotfabrik (Caligariplatz 1, 13086 Berlin).The occasion for the screening of the Ukrainian Cinema Club Berlin is International Women's Day.Ticket price: 8 € normal, 6 € reduced 107 MOTHERS won the main prize at the 31st FilmFestival Cottbus 2021. Peter KerekesSlovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, 2021, 93 min. In the heat of…
17. February 2023
FFC goes Berlinale (updated)
Program Director Bernd Buder and Deputy Joshua Jádi are at the Berlinale for us.(This blog will be updated) How was the Berlinale Bernd Buder? "The people were there, the cinemas were filled, the need for exchange between filmmakers and audience was enormous, the Q and A's were very emotional, often very concentrated, the dialogue was in the foreground, even notorious self-promoters listened. At the end…
14. February 2023
FFC films nominated for Polish Film Awards
The nominations for the Polish Film Awards - The Eagles 2023 - have been announced.The winners will be announced on March 6, 2023 at the Polish Theater in Warsaw. "The Eagles Awards are extremely important for Polish cinema. From the very beginning, our goal has been to make objective and direct artistic decisions," said Polish Film Academy President Dariusz Jabłoński. The nominations were selected from…
09. February 2023
Prices for FFC Film Victim
We are happy about great awards for an FFC film:The Czech Film Critics Award has now been presented in Prague. Director Michal Blaško received the Innogy Award for Best Newcomer for his debut film Victim / Oběť. Vita Smachelyuk received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of the main character Irina in Blaško's Victim. Congratulations! ObeťVICTIM Michal Blaško SK, 2022, 90 min. After the…
20. January 2023
FFC on the road: Trieste Film Festival
Bernd Buder, Program Director of the Cottbus Film Festival and Jana Gebauer, Head of PR&Marketing were at the Film Festival in Trieste, Italy. The film festival in Trieste, northern Italy, right on the border with Slovenia, focuses on showing films from eastern Central Europe. It was held for the 34th time from January 21-28. Finding special films for the FFC in November was of course…
This year's BERLINALE SHORTS line-up also includes a film by Nadiia Parfan. The Cottbus Film Festival has also worked a lot with the Ukrainian director in the past. Director Nadia Parfan, together with her partner Ilia Gladshtein, launched the now defunct conceptual film art festival "'86' - Festival of Film and Urbanism" in Slavutych and produced four seasons of the short film painting guide "My…
12. January 2023
Guest program in Saarbrücken
At the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken the FilmFestival Cottbus presents THE 9TH STEP Irma Pužauskaitė LT/PL, 2022, 93 min Stirring coming-of-age portrait of two teenagers, one of whom, Linas, is however already 40 and the father of the other. Linas is recovering from his alcoholism when his daughter Eve turns his life upside down and her friend Maya, looking for her first big…
02. January 2023
Cineuropa Award goes to FFC Film Snow and the Bear
Snow and the Bear, the first feature film by Turkish director Selcen Ergun, won the Cineuropa Award at the Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival. The film screened at FFC 2021 in the SPECTRUM section. Selcen Ergun DE/TR/RS, 2022, 93 min.In a small, remote village in the hinterland of the Black Sea coast, winter has always been harsh, but this year there is no end to it.…
23. December 2022
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas ! In 2023 we start again into a wonderful festival year, hopefully together with you. We are looking forward to a new year with you and already to a great 33rd FilmFestival Cottbus. This is what the entire FFC team wishes you, only a part of it made it into the photo.
28. November 2022
Impressions of the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus
The best impressions of the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus: browse through the galleries and review a week full of special films, impressive encounters, inspiring conversations and glamorous performances!
13. December 2022
Les Arcs FilmFestival
Closing the festival year for our Deputy Programme Director Joshua Jádi in the winter wonderland of the Les Arcs Industry Village at the Les Arcs FilmFestival.In the photo are the MIOB representatives: Guillaume Calop, Valentine Bottaro (both Les Arcs), Joshua Jádi, Carolina Stera (Trieste), Lina Zukauskaite (Scanorama).Read more about MIOB here. Exciting films for the next year were presented in a magical atmosphere. In addition,…
12. December 2022
FFC films win prizes in Belgrade
The Serbian-Croatian co-production Have You Seen This Woman? (directed by Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluscevic) was awarded Best Film at the 28th edition of the renowned Auteur Film Festival in Belgrade. Dušan Zorić/Matija Gluščević RS/HR , 2022, 79 min.One woman, three lives: Draginja and a dead man in her flat. Draginja with a fake child and fake husband. Draginja who can't remember anything. Three ways…
12. December 2022
FFC Film Mariupolis 2 wins at the European Film Awards
The award for the best documentary went to "Mariupolis 2" by Mantas Kvedaravičius. The film was screened at the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus. Mantas Kvedaravičius LT/FR/DE , 2022, 112 MinHighlights from the war: bomb craters, a house that is simply gone, a pigeon fancier has just twenty of the 300 animals left, the two corpses in the yard are already beginning to stink. Lithuanian director Mantas…
28. November 2022
Impressionen des 32. FilmFestival Cottbus
Die schönsten Eindrücke des 32. FilmFestival Cottbus: blättern Sie durch die Galerien und lassen Sie eine Woche voller besonderer Filme, beeindruckender Begegnungen, inspirierender Gespräche und glanzvoller Auftritte Revue passieren!
24. November 2022
The 9th Step wins several prizes at the Lecce European Film Festival!
Just one week after its world premiere at the 32nd FFC, THE 9TH STEP (Irma Pužauskaitė LT/PL, 2022) won three awards at the Lecce European Film Festival. The film, which screened at the FFC in the Competition U18 Youth Film section, won the Cineuropa Award , the Audience Award and the Cinematography Award in the main competition. All award winners can be found here. THE…
21. November 2022
International student meeting at the 32nd FFC
This year again, students from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany met at the FFC and experienced the festival together. The young people saw films from the U18 Youth Film Competition, which gave them access and space to reflect on identity, neighborhood and homeland. Afterwards there were discussions with the filmmakers, for example with Antonio Lukich, director of "Luxembourg, Luxembourg", UA 2022. <Talk with Antonio…
17. November 2022
FFC On Tour: Women's roles in socialism and afterwards
An FFC Special goes on tour! The films of the series "Women's Roles in Socialism and After" will be shown in different cities during the weeks! BLINDFOLD (Taras Dron, UA 2020) Under socialism, the issue of equality was considered solved. Women in the GDR, Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries were encouraged to get an education and go to work. And this is where…
16. November 2022
One Day In Ukraine Screening at Bundesplatzkino Berlin
Bundesplatzkino Berlin is hosting a screening today of the FFC film ONE DAY IN UKRAINE (Volodymyr Tykhy UA, 2022, 78 min), which screened in the What's Left section. Joining us for the conversation afterwards will be our Deputy Program Director Joshua Jádi and Chamber Man Ihor Ivanko. The discussion will be moderated by Susanne Strätling (FU Berlin). ONE DAY IN UKRAINE is a realdystopian observations…
15. November 2022
The FFC team thanks you!
The 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus is over and we are enriched by a lot of great experiences and encounters. The team of the festival would like to thank all partners and sponsors, all helpers, all visitors and last but not least the filmmakers, who make the whole thing possible through their artistic work! The Stadthalle was the center of the festival Executive Director Andreas Stein sums…
13. November 2022
Festivalblog: Sunday
It's the last day of the FFC and the team is exhausted, but also very happy about the great course of the festival. All prizes have been awarded, you can find a list here. You can see the winning film of the Outstanding Individual Performance Award (Iulian Postelnicu), MEN OF DEEDS , at 9 pm in the Stadthalle. (tickets & info) Men of Deeds (Paul…
11. November 2022
Festivalblog: Saturday- Award ceremony (winner update)
Today it's down to the final! Yesterday, eight juries had the incredibly difficult task of choosing a winning film from a large number of high-quality films. Tonight at 7 p.m. the winners will be chosen. Of course, there are still many films in the program today. For example WOMAN ON THE ROOF from the Feature Film Competition about a 60-year-old who, slowly but surely, embarks…
![Festivalblog: Friday - Ukrainian Day [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/9d7c1c9b941763c2b63d9c921f6a9d0f_L.jpg)
10. November 2022
Festivalblog: Friday - Ukrainian Day [Updated]
The festival weekend is upon us and it goes blow by blow with the most grandiose events. The Friday is mainly in the sign of Ukraine. In this festival year a total of 13 films from and 3 films about Ukraine are represented in the program of the FilmFestival Cottbus. Thus, the FFC presents at least one Ukrainian contribution in almost every section. Today we…
![Festivalblog: Thursday [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/0edaa9d5f0db0808db7ec5a120c91357_L.jpg)
10. November 2022
Festivalblog: Thursday [Updated]
We are in the middle of the festival and the program is packed and varied! You can find the whole program here. In addition to many films, there is also a varied supporting program again today. Here is a selection: Church meets cinema: In the Oberkirche St. Nikolai the Ecumenical Evening takes place at 5 pm. The film NO BODY AND THE BLUE SKY from…
![Festivalblog: Wednesday [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/2a1efaf12d575df75b411da94af12a4a_L.jpg)
09. November 2022
Festivalblog: Wednesday [Updated]
After the grand opening at the Staatstheater, the festival team is in full working mode. Today, many guests are expected again at the festival center for accreditation and the film program is just getting started (you can find the whole program here). For example, the Romanian spy film OCCASIONAL SPIES will be screened in Weltspiegel Room 2 at 1 p.m. Afterwards, director Oana Giurgiu will…
![Festivaltuesday: Opening [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/7f337f7b79bbf91f6a590333793c25a6_L.jpg)
08. November 2022
Festivaltuesday: Opening [Updated]
Tuesday, 9 a.m.: it's the first team meeting at the Festival Center in the Stadthalle. The team is highly motivated and the atmosphere is already very excited. At 10 a.m., the first guests and press representatives arrive to pick up their accreditation wristbands. Catalina Ene Ona, Bernd Buder, Oana Giurgiu, Eugen Kelemen, Valeriu Andriuta The Staatstheater Cottbus is hosting the grand official opening today with…
![Festivalmonday: Today begins the 32nd FFC with the 20th Lausitzer FilmSchau [prize winner update]](/media/k2/items/cache/1d9a33d11ed57ea93d90495bbcf425d2_L.jpg)
07. November 2022
Festivalmonday: Today begins the 32nd FFC with the 20th Lausitzer FilmSchau [prize winner update]
Monday afternoon 14 o'clock - bustle in the festival office. Soon we will move to our festival center in the Stadthalle Cottbus. From 10am on we will be there every day with the whole team. You have a question? No problem, come by the festival center - here you will find all answers about the FilmFestival Cottbus. The whole year we prepare our festival. The…
05. November 2022
Behind the scenes: guest management
Viktoriia Pashchenko, Roberto Rossi, Auste Serapinaite (in the picture) form the guest management team of FFC. They are indispensable for the organization of guest arrivals and much more. This is how they describe their activity: "Guest Management is like putting together a 10.000-piece puzzle - the picture is of 100+ guests who come to the FilmFestival Cottbus to present their films. We work on the…
02. November 2022
In Fokus: EcoEast
The new EcoEast section shows films on ecological topics and sustainability. On a journey through 90 years of film history, the section demonstrates that ecological issues have not only been passionately discussed since the end of the 20th century. Eastern European film in particular developed an awareness of environmental and sustainability issues early on. How does man change the landscape and how does the landscape…
26. October 2022
Two Tuzla Film Festival winners in Cottbus
On 24 October, the 11th Tuzla Film Festival came to an end in Tuzla, the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Best Film was A BALLAD (BA/FR 2022), in which acclaimed director Aida Begić loosely applies the plot of Hasanaginica, a 17th-century South Slavic folk ballad, to the emancipation aspirations of a young woman today - from the omnipresent mother, the ruthless ex-husband and…
26. October 2022
Internationale Festivaljury
We are pleased to introduce this year's International Festival Jury! The International Festival Jury decides on the awarding of the main prize for the best film (25,000 EUR donated by GWFF), special prize for the best director (7,500 EUR donated by rbb) and the prize for an outstanding individual performance (5,000 EUR donated by Sparkasse Spree-Neiße). It consists of: Barbora Námerová (screenwriter). Among other awards…
25. October 2022
Warsaw: Odesa Film Festival in Exile
The Russian aggression on Ukraine has also affected cultural life there. Film festivals are being held abroad. The oldest Ukrainian film festival "Molodist", which normally takes place in Kyiv, recently showed its national competition as part of the Filmfest Hamburg. The Odesa Film Festival was a guest at the Prishtina Film Festival in September with a programme and last week with its Ukrainian competition at…