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In the first half of the year 2017, the German Culture Forum for Eastern Europe  will repeat four films, which were shown at the FilmFestival Cottbus 2016 as part of the special "Exploring the Past: German-Polish-Czech History through the Ages".  At 13th January, there is the opportunity to see Michał Korchowiec's MORGENROT again on big screen in the Berlin cinema "Krokodil". The filmmaker travels to…

THE ERLPRINCE, the current feature film by the Polish director Kuba Czekaj, whose BABY BUMP (photo) was shown in the youth film competition at the FilmFestival Cottbus in 2016, runs in the program of this year's Berlinale. THE ERLPRINCE, like BABY BUMP, is an unusual, innovative coming-of-age film about the endless challenges of puberty - an associative story of growing up: a fifteen-year-old boy between…

The local and cultural journalist Zdzisław Haczek was awarded the "Golden ducats" of the Lubuskie Voivodeship on December 22nd. The award has been given annually since 2013 for merits for the spread and protection of culture. Haczek, who lives in Zielona Góra, reports for the daily regional newspaper "Gazeta Lubuska". He also reports from the FilmFestival Cottbus, which he has regularly visited for 26 years.…

Alle Freunde des Märchen-Marathons am Jahresende dürfen sich über eine Verlängerung freuen. DAS SINGENDE, KLINGENDE BÄUMCHEN ist noch bis 25. Januar 2017 in der ARD Mediathek zu sehen. Die Neuverfilmung des Klassikers feierte ihre Weltpremiere im Rahmen des Kinderfilmsonntag auf dem zurückliegenden 26. FilmFestival Cottbus. Filmemacher und Darsteller erlebten am 13. November gemeinsam mit zahlreichen begeisterten Besuchern, die erstmalige Vorführung der Produktion von rbb und…

One day before the award ceremonies for the European Film Awards, Magdalena Sroka, head of the Polish Film Institute, Kirsten Niehuus, head of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Claas Danielsen, head of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, and Peter Dinges, head of Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), signed an agreement on cooperation within the framework of the Polish-German Film Fund, which added the FFA Federal Film Fund as a new partner of this initiative.…

In April 2016, the goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film saw the launch of the human rights oriented project OPPOSE OTHERING! Five young international directorial duo teams from Germany and Central and Eastern Europe are currently in the process of completing films that confront the phenomenon of focused misanthropy directed at groups – also known as “othering”. The project website is now…

TRANSIT HAVANA, the new documentary by Daniel Abma, will have it Cuban premiere at the 38th Havana Film Festival in the beginning of December 2016. The film about the initiative of president Raúl Castros daughter Mariela to offer transgender operations and support LGBT rights in the  Socialist country also talks about the situation of homosexuals and the every-day-life in Cuba. Abma was co-curator of this…

Sophie Linnenbaum, who directed the 2015 trailer of the FilmFestival Cottbus which picked up motives of the „Eastern Europe of Cities“ focus, won two awards at the 36th Filmschoolfest Munich. Her current short OUT OF FRAME, which was produced at the film university Potsdam-Babelsberg, won the Panther award for the best European film production and the audience award. Linnenbaum was also part of the jury…

The Slovak director Mira Fornay is currently the guest of the DAAD’s Artists in Berlin program. She has made a couple of short films and two features, which tackle the issue of migration, exclusion and discrimination. With close distance to all protagonists involved, her films offer a poignant reflection of today’s everyday racism – without moralizing. Fornay had been a member of the International Festival…

Right after its double win at the FilmFestival Cottbus (FIPRESCI-Prize and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury), the Hungarian director Attila Till is able to reap more praise for TISZTA SZÍVVEL/KILLS ON WHEELS in the form of not one, but six awards in Thessaloniki and Arras, respectively. The film portraying three wheelchair users who join forces as hitmen swept jury, critics and audiences off their feet at…

The FilmFestival Cottbus will be presented with two programmes at the 32nd interfilm International Short Film Festival  Berlin which will show 600 films from 70 countries between November 14 - 20, 2016.  The Focus programme Cuba in Shorts and the programme of the section Polskie Horyzonty comprising films which were made at the Gdynia Film School were curated in cooperation between the FilmFestival Cottbus and interfilm and have…

The LUBINAS have been handed over - and still there is plenty of opportunity to catch some festival highlights on Sunday. Three freshly selected winner films of the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus get a special screening starting from 15.00 at Weltspiegel: The Prize for the Best Youth Film went to GEWITTERZELLEN/STORM CELLS. It will be featured at 15.00 in the intermediate film programme halblangXdrei.  At 17.30 we…

The 26th FilmFestival Cottbus culminated on Saturday with the conferment of its much-sought after LUBINA awards, as well as prize money amounting to an approximate 80,000 EUR. On the occasion of the festival's 26th anniversary Dietmar Woidke, Minister-President of the Federal State of Brandenburg, stressed the continued relevance of the FilmFestival Cottbus: “This year the festival's outstanding selection of films has again impressed visitors and…

The Filmfestival Cottbus does not just consist of an exciting film program, but of the people who arrive daily in the FESTIVALCentre. They direct, act, produce, work in one of our juries or have curated sections and series: Our guests are the heartbeat of every festival year! Check here who we welcomed on November 11:{gallery}news-gaeste-11112016{/gallery}      

The festival friday awaits you packed with supporting events. Texts by Cuban author Santiago Díaz get the evening started in the lecture at Galerie Fango before the Party night is opened. Cuba Olvidar - the forgotten Cuba has us celebrating the way Cubans do till this day: with only water, lemon and rum. Start 20.00. Temperature rises at FESTIVALClub Scandale when DJ Holy Mo brings Fieber…

Young Belarusian film maker Vlada Senkova was awarded the FilmFestival Cottbus Discovery Script Doctoring Award yesterday.  The prize to a value of 5.000 EUR is donated by EastWest Filmdistribution GmbH, Vienna, and consists of counseling services for the development of a script ("script doctoring"). The Cottbus Discovery Script Doctoring Award which is awarded annually at the FilmFestival Cottbus supports directing talents from Eastern Europe. This year's award thus highlights…

The Filmfestival Cottbus does not just consist of an exciting film program, but of the people who arrive daily in the FESTIVALCentre. They direct, act, produce, work in one of our juries or have curated sections and series: Our guests are the heartbeat of every festival year! Check here who we welcomed on November 10:{gallery}news-gaeste-10112016{/gallery}      

Spoilt for choice! The Krótkie Horyzonty at 19.00 feature finest current Polish short films, including LOKATORKI/TENANTS by Klara Kochańska. Her graduation film at the Polish National Film School in Łódź was awarded with a student Academy Award in 2016.    Meanwhile, at 20.00, you also have the chance to watch the smart docu-fiction HOUSTON, IMAMO PROBLEM!/HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! by the Slovenian director Žiga Virc. Subsequently, you have…

Today from 16.30 Mighty and the band Two Doors to 69 (Cottbus/Berlin), along with DJ Sammy Fernandez, will take over the square in front of FESTIVALCenter Stadthalle for several hours. Two Doors to 69 already performed at the  opening ceremony of the film festival at Staatstheater and will make sure to heat up a cold november afternoon. DJ Sammy Fernandez comes into play at 19.00…

Nightly scandal – everything may happen at our party in the name of twin cities Cottbus and Zielona Góra. Actress Beata Małecka, protagonist from 33 MINUTY W ZIELONEJ GÓRZE CZYLI W POŁOWIE DROGI/ 33 MINUTES IN ZIELONA GÓRA will take over the turntables as DJane „Żaba“ at the FESTIVALClub Scandale. Mighty and  Pocki complete the trio at the turntables of this night. We invite you to a glass of…

The Filmfestival Cottbus does not just consist of an exciting film program, but of the people who arrive daily in the FESTIVALCentre. They direct, act, produce, work in one of our juries or have curated sections and series: Our guests are the heartbeat of every festival year! Check here who we welcomed on November 9: {gallery}news-gaeste-09112016{/gallery}      

The Filmfestival Cottbus does not just consist of an exciting film program, but of the people who arrive daily in the FESTIVALCentre. They direct, act, produce, work in one of our juries or have curated sections and series: Our guests are the heartbeat of every festival year! Check here who we welcomed on November 8:{gallery}news-gaeste-08112016{/gallery}      

On Tuesday, the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus was opened at Staatstheater Cottbus. The greatest surprise of the evening was the appearance of director Andreas Dresen. He held the laudation for Kirsten Niehuus, Managing Director of the Film Funding Department of the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, who was awarded the honorary LUBINA in recognition of her achievements for the development of Central and Eastern European film.Niehuus ist the fourth laureate…

At 7 pm, the moment arrives: on the eve of the grand opening of the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus, the Cottbus FilmShow (Cottbuser FilmSchau) will hold its 14th edition in recognition of regional filmmaking from all of Berlin-Brandenburg and the Saxonian Lusatia region.  First in line of the four competition sections, the FilmShow not only offers a platform for presenting the 16 best short films by…

In only three days, a cosmopolitan attitude and hospitality will blend once again with an informal festival atmosphere when the film industry’s ‘Who is Who’ meet with friends of Central and Eastern European cinema. The grand opening will be presented by actor and director Axel Ranisch; notable guests include the Honorary Festival President and Academy Award winner István Szabó as well as numerous representatives from…

Big news for lovers of short films: This year's festival edition boasts selections of finest short films not only in one, but several programme sections. Already the opening short film programme on 8th November at Staatstheater Cottbus,  4 Kurze zur Begrüßung, will provide an international and diverse kick-off into the festival week. The programme will be screened again on Wednesday, November 9th , in the festival centre Stadthalle.…

In only five days, on November 8th, the FilmFestival Cottbus will officially be opened at the venue of the Staatstheater Cottbus. Until then, this year's Festival Trailer should get you excited for six days of finest Eastern European Cinema! In what has evolved into a festival tradition over the years, the Festival Trailer is produced by a team of students from the Film University Babelsberg…

The diplomatic and economic ice age in Cuba has come to an end, change is under way. How do Cuban and foreign filmmakers reflect the status quo of the Cuban society? Can parallels be drawn to the transitions that many Central and Eastern European countries underwent in the 1990s? Cinematic links, current topics and motifs are in focus at the FilmFestival Cottbus from November 8 to 13,…

What connects the parrot of French foreign minister Édouard Daladier to Trabant-adventurers with and without wheelchairs, two ‘silly’ daughters and a carer with acting ambitions? They are the stars in our National Hits, the programme section for real crowd-pleasers which have tills ringing in their home countries, but rarely make it to foreign cinemas. The following four current films have hit the mark in the…

Jan P. Matuszyński’s debut feature OSTATNIA RODZINA/THE LAST FAMILY won the price for the Best Polish Film at the 30th Warsaw screenings. The screenings were held in the frame of the 12th CentEast Market at the Warsaw Film Festival and featured eleven new Polish films, presented to an audience of international film festival scouts, producers and sales agents. The winner was chosen by the international…

Come and join us November 8-13! Only until October 23 film industry and press may accredit for the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus. Discover, discuss and network - a trip to the FilmFestival Cottbus is always a good choice.Programme highlights from the 26th editionBesides the three competitions the section "Focus Cuba" will mark the beginning of a new series exploring the shared experience of socialist regimes in…

Bernd Buder, programme director of the FilmFestival Cottbus, will join the “Regiofun” film festival from 19th to 23rd  October. The festival in the capital of the Silesian wojewod shows films which had been produced with the support of regional film funds. It takes place for the 7th time.  With the Polish fiction feature THE LAST FAMILY, WAVES and THESE DAUGHTERS OF MINE, the festival in…

Competition 2016 Twelve films from eighteen co-production countries compete for the awards in the Feature Film Competition while nine films from nine countries are part of this year’s Short Feature Competition:   Feature Film Competition ANAS CKHOVREBA/ANNA'S LIFENINO BASILIA, Georgia 2016, 109 MIN CÂINI/DOGSBOGDAN MIRICĂ, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Qatar 2016, 104 MIN ERNELLÁÉK FARKASÉKNÁL/IT’S NOT THE TIME OF MY LIFE SZABOLCS HAJDU, Hungary 2016, 81 MIN…

Less than four weeks to the start of the festival and the members of the all in all eight juries of the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus are eager to get active. Today we present the International Festival Jury that will assess the entries in the Feature Film Competition and thus has the honour of awarding the festival´s show-piece, the glass award sculpture LUBINA. Each award sculpture is…

European refugee experiences and German contemporary history are among the issues at stake at the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus. From November 8 - 13, 2016, we will present two film series  in the Specials programme section: "Exploring the Past: German-Polish-Czech History Through the Ages" and "Bridges and Breaks – Convergence in Post-Unification Germany". Both series investigate the disruption of identities in the lifes of people following historic upheavals. …

Peter Bebjaks ČISTIČ/THE CLEANER, which was shown in the Spectrum programme section at the FilmFestival Cottbus in 2015, won three IGRIC awards in its country of production, the Slovak Republic, on September 22, 2016. A total of 22 awards were given for the 26th time by the Slovak Film Union, Literary Fund and Union of Slovak Television Creators.  ČISTIČ/THE CLEANER won the Special Prize for…

From September 19th to 24th , 2016, the Gdynia Film Festival will take place for the 41st time. The most important national film festival in Poland gives a detailed overview on the current Polish cinema – from the feature film competition which offers 18 awards, to programme sections for experimental (“Visions Apart”) and children’s films as well as retrospectives showing Polish musical films and works by the…

The first sections and film series are posted to their fixed time slots in the 2016 programme. Programme Director Bernd Buder and head of Programme Coordination Susann Trzewik join forces to prevent any overlapping and make sure each space is filled with long, short and medium length film thrills. Until the entire programme is complete, it will take a little more patience. But not to…

The accreditation form for film industry and press for the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus is online. Come and join us November 8-13! Discover, discuss and network - a trip to the FilmFestival Cottbus is always a good choice.Programme highlights from the 26th edition: besides the three competitions the section >Focus Cuba< will mark the beginning of a new series exploring the shared experience of socialist regimes…