Shortly before the Berlinale, the annual meeting of the European film festival network MIOB (Moving Images, Open Borders) took place in Cottbus. Representatives from seven renowned European film festivals came together to further expand their collaboration and discuss new initiatives. In addition to the FFC, the member festivals include the Crossing Europe Film Festival Linz (AT), the European Film Festival Palić (RS), the Les Arcs European Film Festival (FR), the Scanorama European Film Forum (LT), the Trieste Film Festival (IT) and, as an associate member, the Festival de Sevilla (ES). Together, we are committed to increasing the presence of European films, promoting cultural and film journalism and innovative festival formats.
Future topics and new initiatives
The meeting focussed on current and future projects, including the further development of joint innovation tools such as a Green Charter for film festivals and a cross-festival audience survey. New initiatives to strengthen European cultural and film journalism were also discussed. The close cooperation between the festivals makes it possible to bring relevant social issues to the screen and debate them with the audience and industry representatives.
Looking ahead to the next MIOB festival
The next festival in the network is Crossing Europe in Linz, which will take place from 29 April to 4 May 2025. The MIOB New Vision Award, endowed with 3,000 euros, will also be presented there. In addition, the current short film programme MIOB in Shorts, which was first presented at the FFC 2024, will be shown again.
The meeting in Cottbus took place in an inspiring atmosphere and laid the foundation for many future projects!