Opening Day of the 35th FilmFestival Cottbus
The time has finally come: the 35th FilmFestival Cottbus opens today! This evening, the festival week will be officially launched with a festive ceremony at the Staatstheater Cottbus, attended by guests from politics, culture, and film. The opening film is the Slovak-Czech musical DUCHOŇ by Peter Bebjak, which revisits the eventful life of Slovak pop star Karol Duchoň during one turbulent night. Parallel to the gala event at the Staatstheater, DUCHOŇ will also screen at 8:15 p.m. at the Weltspiegel Cottbus. This vibrant biopic is both entertaining and deeply moving – the perfect start to a week full of cinematic discoveries from Central and Eastern Europe.
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Earlier in the evening, the Weltspiegel’s Grand Hall hosts LONIG & HAVENDEL by Claudia Tuyết Scheffel at 6:30 p.m. In this atmospheric mystery tale about migration, belonging, and ghostly worlds, the young Vietnamese woman Trúc loses her way in the snowy Ore Mountains and enters a mysterious mirror world – a poetic story where reality and myth intertwine.
At 7 p.m., the Kammerbühne presents the Polish documentary THE TOWN THAT DROVE AWAY by Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski. The film powerfully portrays the disappearance of the ancient town of Hasankeyf, which was submerged as part of the Ilısu Dam project – a moving reflection on the loss of identity and cultural heritage.
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The first festival day concludes at 9 p.m. at the Weltspiegel with THE VISITOR by Vytautas Katkus. In calm, visually striking images, the Lithuanian-Norwegian film follows Danielus, who returns to his homeland after his parents’ death only to realize that familiarity and alienation often go hand in hand.
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Festival tickets are available online and at the festival box offices in all screening venues.