Festival Blog Sunday, November 9th

Sunday at the Cottbus Film Festival

After an intense week of premieres, discussions and encounters, the 35th Cottbus Film Festival is entering its final day. Yesterday evening, the festival's award winners were honoured at a ceremony. Here is the list of winners:

Feature Film Competition

Main Prize for Best Film – BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY (Ivona Juka, HR/PL/CA/CY/BA, 2024, 137 min)

Special Prize for Best Director – OUR FATHER (Goran Stanković, RS/IT/HR/MK/ME/BA, 2025, 90 min)

Prize for an Outstanding Individual Performance – Emir Hadžihafizbegović in BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY (Ivona Juka, HR/PL/CA/CY/BA, 2024, 137 min)

Short Film Competition

Main Prize for the Best Short Film – PEOPLE & THINGS (Damian Kosowski, PL, 2024, 20 min)

Special Prize for the Best Director – LOVE IS IN THE AIR (Claudiu Mitcu, RO, 2025, 18 min)

Youth Film Competition

Prize for Best Youth Film – PROMISE, I’LL BE FINE (Katarína Gramatová, SK/CZ, 2024, 92 min)

DIALOGUE Award for Intercultural Understanding - HOW COME IT’S ALL GREEN OUT HERE? (Nikola Ležaić, RS/HR/BG, 2025, 114 min)

Prize for the Best Debut - PROMISE, I’LL BE FINE (Katarína Gramatová, SK/CZ, 2024, 92 min)

FIPRESCI Awardof the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique - WROOKLYN ZOO (Krzysztof Skonieczny, PL/US, 2024, 128 min)

Award of the Ecumenical Jurysponsored by SIGNIS and INTERFILM - MAYFLIES (Emília Goldberg, HU, 2025, 90 min)

Honorable Mention of the Ecumenical Jury - IDA WHO SANG SO BADLY EVEN THE DEAD ROSE UP AND JOINED HER IN SONG (Ester Ivakič, SI/HR, 2025, 109 min)

Audience Award - BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY (Ivona Juka, HR/PL/CA/CY/BA, 2024, 137 min)

Sponsorship Award of the Foundation for the Sorbian People - Roman Pernack

Today offers the opportunity to experience some of the award-winning works and audience favourites once again on the big screen. There will also be a colourful family programme, cinematic discoveries from Eastern Europe and a final day full of cinema atmosphere that once again highlights what the FFC stands for: diversity, dialogue and passion for film.

Sunday begins at 10 a.m. at Glad-House with the children's day organised in cooperation with Gebäudewirtschaft Cottbus (GWC). Face painting, craft activities and little surprises will ensure fun and curiosity – and of course, cinema will also be part of the programme. The film shown will be THE FAIRY TALE OF SWAN LAKE by Christian Theede (Germany, 2025, 60 min), in which Prince Friedrich is supposed to find his future bride at a ball. But when he meets Odette in the enchanted forest, a girl who is turned into a swan during the day, a magical adventure of love, courage and deception begins.

At 11 a.m., the Weltspiegel Großer Saal invites you to a showcase of works by Roman Pernack. In four short films (85 min), the Berlin-raised filmmaker with Lower Sorbian roots explores themes such as identity, origin and social change. His camera takes him from the capital to the Arab Spring in Egypt and back to Bautzen and Berlin, where he meets the Sorbian composer Juro Mětšk. A multifaceted cinematic journey through time, space and self-image that touches and inspires.

At 2 p.m. in the Kammerbühne, THE FEAST OF THE WOLF by Jadran Boban (HR/RS, 2025, 85 min) will be shown. In a remote region of Croatia, wolves are returning, and with them ancient fears and myths. While the population blames ‘Brussels’ for everything, veterinarian Ana tries to counter the conspiracy narratives with empathy and education.

At 4:30 p.m., DAD'S LULLABY by Lesia Diak (UA/RO/HR, 2024, 78 min) will be shown in the Weltspiegel Hall 3. The film tells the moving story of a father who returns to his family after the war. But the reunion with his wife and children becomes a test of endurance – the traumas he carries with him overshadow everyday life. With great sensitivity and emotion, the film depicts the invisibility of war, which lives on in the faces of those who have returned.

In the evening, it's time to get another taste of the awards: the winning films from this year's festival will be shown: BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY runs at 7:30 p.m. in Weltspiegel Hall 1 and at 8 p.m. WROOKLYN ZOO can be seen in Weltspiegel Hall 2.

At the same time, the enchanting sci-fi comedy SASYQ by Yerden Telemissov (KAZ, 2025, 106 min) will be shown at 8 p.m. in the Glad-House. An ageing alcoholic in the Kazakh province witnesses a spaceship crash and takes the alien in without further ado. While the mayor wants to remove all ‘undesirable elements’ for a parade, an extraordinary friendship develops between the quirky man and his galactic guest. An absurdly funny, deeply human story about outsiders, hope and looking up at the sky. The screening is taking place in cooperation with the Weird Weekender International Film Festival Stuttgart.

Tickets are available online and at the festival box offices at the venues.