Yesterday, the nominations for the 2026 European Film Awards were announced, and two films that were screened just two weeks ago in the programme of the 35th FilmFestival Cottbus are now in the spotlight: the animated film DOG OF GOD (Raitis Ābele, Lauris Ābele, LV/US, 2025, 95 min), shown in the Midnight Madness section, has been nominated both for Best European Film and Best Animated Film. Also nominated is AUS VERSEHEN BESTSELLER (Nóra Lakos, HU/NL, 2024, 98 min) from the Kids im Kino section, which has qualified for the European Young Audience Award.
In recent weeks, the Oscar submissions from Eastern and Central Europe have also been announced. Among the films entered by their respective countries are several titles featured in the current and last year’s editions of the FFC. These include I’M NOT EVERYTHING I WANT TO BE (CZ) from the section The Female Gaze: New Films from the Czech Republic 2024, ORPHAN (HU) from the Feature Film Competition 2025, TOWER OF STRENGTH (CG) and THE SOUTHERN CHRONICLES (LT), both screened in the Feature Film Competition 2024, as well as SUN NEVER AGAIN (RS), presented this year in EcoEast.
The presence of several FFC titles in international competitions once again highlights the strong curatorial quality and international relevance of our festival. We warmly congratulate all film teams!