News
20. March 2023
FFC films nominated for Romanian Film Award
Bucharest - Gopo Awardsnominations for FFC films.Winners will be announced on April 25, 2023 Alexandru Belc's feature debut "Metronome" has 11 nominations at the 17th Gopo Awards, followed by "Immaculate" by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark and "Men of Deeds" by Paul Negoescu, both receiving 10 nominations. Also nominated is the film "Miracle" and #doogpoopgirl, which screened in Cottbus in 2021. More info about the…
13. March 2023
Spotlight Romania at Il Kino Berlin
FilmFestival Cottbus as guest at Il Kino Berlin (Neukölln). The Romanian Cultural Institute will show four selected films of the section "Spotlight România" from the last FFC on March 18 and 19. On Sunday, following the films, there will be a discussion with Peter Domasch of the Berlinale's European Film Market and FFC program director Bernd Buder on the role of Romanian cinema in the…
09. March 2023
Close-Up: Kazakhstan
This year at the FilmFestival Cottbus we are happy to present the film country Kazakhstan. Close-Up Kazakhstan, that's what the film series will be called. The country in Central Asia has been in a difficult balancing act for the past year. Economically and politically, the country is closely tied to Russia and is looking for ways to break free from this close dependence and open…
06. March 2023
107 Mothers on 8.3. in Berlin
107 MOTHERS by Peter Kerekes, will be shown on March 8 at 7:00 pm at Brotfabrik (Caligariplatz 1, 13086 Berlin).The occasion for the screening of the Ukrainian Cinema Club Berlin is International Women's Day.Ticket price: 8 € normal, 6 € reduced 107 MOTHERS won the main prize at the 31st FilmFestival Cottbus 2021. Peter KerekesSlovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, 2021, 93 min. In the heat of…
17. February 2023
FFC goes Berlinale (updated)
Program Director Bernd Buder and Deputy Joshua Jádi are at the Berlinale for us.(This blog will be updated) How was the Berlinale Bernd Buder? "The people were there, the cinemas were filled, the need for exchange between filmmakers and audience was enormous, the Q and A's were very emotional, often very concentrated, the dialogue was in the foreground, even notorious self-promoters listened. At the end…
14. February 2023
FFC films nominated for Polish Film Awards
The nominations for the Polish Film Awards - The Eagles 2023 - have been announced.The winners will be announced on March 6, 2023 at the Polish Theater in Warsaw. "The Eagles Awards are extremely important for Polish cinema. From the very beginning, our goal has been to make objective and direct artistic decisions," said Polish Film Academy President Dariusz Jabłoński. The nominations were selected from…
09. February 2023
Prices for FFC Film Victim
We are happy about great awards for an FFC film:The Czech Film Critics Award has now been presented in Prague. Director Michal Blaško received the Innogy Award for Best Newcomer for his debut film Victim / Oběť. Vita Smachelyuk received the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of the main character Irina in Blaško's Victim. Congratulations! ObeťVICTIM Michal Blaško SK, 2022, 90 min. After the…
20. January 2023
FFC on the road: Trieste Film Festival
Bernd Buder, Program Director of the Cottbus Film Festival and Jana Gebauer, Head of PR&Marketing were at the Film Festival in Trieste, Italy. The film festival in Trieste, northern Italy, right on the border with Slovenia, focuses on showing films from eastern Central Europe. It was held for the 34th time from January 21-28. Finding special films for the FFC in November was of course…
This year's BERLINALE SHORTS line-up also includes a film by Nadiia Parfan. The Cottbus Film Festival has also worked a lot with the Ukrainian director in the past. Director Nadia Parfan, together with her partner Ilia Gladshtein, launched the now defunct conceptual film art festival "'86' - Festival of Film and Urbanism" in Slavutych and produced four seasons of the short film painting guide "My…
12. January 2023
Guest program in Saarbrücken
At the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Saarbrücken the FilmFestival Cottbus presents THE 9TH STEP Irma Pužauskaitė LT/PL, 2022, 93 min Stirring coming-of-age portrait of two teenagers, one of whom, Linas, is however already 40 and the father of the other. Linas is recovering from his alcoholism when his daughter Eve turns his life upside down and her friend Maya, looking for her first big…
02. January 2023
Cineuropa Award goes to FFC Film Snow and the Bear
Snow and the Bear, the first feature film by Turkish director Selcen Ergun, won the Cineuropa Award at the Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival. The film screened at FFC 2021 in the SPECTRUM section. Selcen Ergun DE/TR/RS, 2022, 93 min.In a small, remote village in the hinterland of the Black Sea coast, winter has always been harsh, but this year there is no end to it.…
23. December 2022
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas ! In 2023 we start again into a wonderful festival year, hopefully together with you. We are looking forward to a new year with you and already to a great 33rd FilmFestival Cottbus. This is what the entire FFC team wishes you, only a part of it made it into the photo.
28. November 2022
Impressions of the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus
The best impressions of the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus: browse through the galleries and review a week full of special films, impressive encounters, inspiring conversations and glamorous performances!
13. December 2022
Les Arcs FilmFestival
Closing the festival year for our Deputy Programme Director Joshua Jádi in the winter wonderland of the Les Arcs Industry Village at the Les Arcs FilmFestival.In the photo are the MIOB representatives: Guillaume Calop, Valentine Bottaro (both Les Arcs), Joshua Jádi, Carolina Stera (Trieste), Lina Zukauskaite (Scanorama).Read more about MIOB here. Exciting films for the next year were presented in a magical atmosphere. In addition,…
12. December 2022
FFC films win prizes in Belgrade
The Serbian-Croatian co-production Have You Seen This Woman? (directed by Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluscevic) was awarded Best Film at the 28th edition of the renowned Auteur Film Festival in Belgrade. Dušan Zorić/Matija Gluščević RS/HR , 2022, 79 min.One woman, three lives: Draginja and a dead man in her flat. Draginja with a fake child and fake husband. Draginja who can't remember anything. Three ways…
12. December 2022
FFC Film Mariupolis 2 wins at the European Film Awards
The award for the best documentary went to "Mariupolis 2" by Mantas Kvedaravičius. The film was screened at the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus. Mantas Kvedaravičius LT/FR/DE , 2022, 112 MinHighlights from the war: bomb craters, a house that is simply gone, a pigeon fancier has just twenty of the 300 animals left, the two corpses in the yard are already beginning to stink. Lithuanian director Mantas…
28. November 2022
Impressionen des 32. FilmFestival Cottbus
Die schönsten Eindrücke des 32. FilmFestival Cottbus: blättern Sie durch die Galerien und lassen Sie eine Woche voller besonderer Filme, beeindruckender Begegnungen, inspirierender Gespräche und glanzvoller Auftritte Revue passieren!
24. November 2022
The 9th Step wins several prizes at the Lecce European Film Festival!
Just one week after its world premiere at the 32nd FFC, THE 9TH STEP (Irma Pužauskaitė LT/PL, 2022) won three awards at the Lecce European Film Festival. The film, which screened at the FFC in the Competition U18 Youth Film section, won the Cineuropa Award , the Audience Award and the Cinematography Award in the main competition. All award winners can be found here. THE…
21. November 2022
International student meeting at the 32nd FFC
This year again, students from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany met at the FFC and experienced the festival together. The young people saw films from the U18 Youth Film Competition, which gave them access and space to reflect on identity, neighborhood and homeland. Afterwards there were discussions with the filmmakers, for example with Antonio Lukich, director of "Luxembourg, Luxembourg", UA 2022. <Talk with Antonio…
17. November 2022
FFC On Tour: Women's roles in socialism and afterwards
An FFC Special goes on tour! The films of the series "Women's Roles in Socialism and After" will be shown in different cities during the weeks! BLINDFOLD (Taras Dron, UA 2020) Under socialism, the issue of equality was considered solved. Women in the GDR, Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries were encouraged to get an education and go to work. And this is where…
16. November 2022
One Day In Ukraine Screening at Bundesplatzkino Berlin
Bundesplatzkino Berlin is hosting a screening today of the FFC film ONE DAY IN UKRAINE (Volodymyr Tykhy UA, 2022, 78 min), which screened in the What's Left section. Joining us for the conversation afterwards will be our Deputy Program Director Joshua Jádi and Chamber Man Ihor Ivanko. The discussion will be moderated by Susanne Strätling (FU Berlin). ONE DAY IN UKRAINE is a realdystopian observations…
15. November 2022
The FFC team thanks you!
The 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus is over and we are enriched by a lot of great experiences and encounters. The team of the festival would like to thank all partners and sponsors, all helpers, all visitors and last but not least the filmmakers, who make the whole thing possible through their artistic work! The Stadthalle was the center of the festival Executive Director Andreas Stein sums…
13. November 2022
Festivalblog: Sunday
It's the last day of the FFC and the team is exhausted, but also very happy about the great course of the festival. All prizes have been awarded, you can find a list here. You can see the winning film of the Outstanding Individual Performance Award (Iulian Postelnicu), MEN OF DEEDS , at 9 pm in the Stadthalle. (tickets & info) Men of Deeds (Paul…
11. November 2022
Festivalblog: Saturday- Award ceremony (winner update)
Today it's down to the final! Yesterday, eight juries had the incredibly difficult task of choosing a winning film from a large number of high-quality films. Tonight at 7 p.m. the winners will be chosen. Of course, there are still many films in the program today. For example WOMAN ON THE ROOF from the Feature Film Competition about a 60-year-old who, slowly but surely, embarks…
![Festivalblog: Friday - Ukrainian Day [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/9d7c1c9b941763c2b63d9c921f6a9d0f_L.jpg)
10. November 2022
Festivalblog: Friday - Ukrainian Day [Updated]
The festival weekend is upon us and it goes blow by blow with the most grandiose events. The Friday is mainly in the sign of Ukraine. In this festival year a total of 13 films from and 3 films about Ukraine are represented in the program of the FilmFestival Cottbus. Thus, the FFC presents at least one Ukrainian contribution in almost every section. Today we…
![Festivalblog: Thursday [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/0edaa9d5f0db0808db7ec5a120c91357_L.jpg)
10. November 2022
Festivalblog: Thursday [Updated]
We are in the middle of the festival and the program is packed and varied! You can find the whole program here. In addition to many films, there is also a varied supporting program again today. Here is a selection: Church meets cinema: In the Oberkirche St. Nikolai the Ecumenical Evening takes place at 5 pm. The film NO BODY AND THE BLUE SKY from…
![Festivalblog: Wednesday [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/2a1efaf12d575df75b411da94af12a4a_L.jpg)
09. November 2022
Festivalblog: Wednesday [Updated]
After the grand opening at the Staatstheater, the festival team is in full working mode. Today, many guests are expected again at the festival center for accreditation and the film program is just getting started (you can find the whole program here). For example, the Romanian spy film OCCASIONAL SPIES will be screened in Weltspiegel Room 2 at 1 p.m. Afterwards, director Oana Giurgiu will…
![Festivaltuesday: Opening [Updated]](/media/k2/items/cache/7f337f7b79bbf91f6a590333793c25a6_L.jpg)
08. November 2022
Festivaltuesday: Opening [Updated]
Tuesday, 9 a.m.: it's the first team meeting at the Festival Center in the Stadthalle. The team is highly motivated and the atmosphere is already very excited. At 10 a.m., the first guests and press representatives arrive to pick up their accreditation wristbands. Catalina Ene Ona, Bernd Buder, Oana Giurgiu, Eugen Kelemen, Valeriu Andriuta The Staatstheater Cottbus is hosting the grand official opening today with…
![Festivalmonday: Today begins the 32nd FFC with the 20th Lausitzer FilmSchau [prize winner update]](/media/k2/items/cache/1d9a33d11ed57ea93d90495bbcf425d2_L.jpg)
07. November 2022
Festivalmonday: Today begins the 32nd FFC with the 20th Lausitzer FilmSchau [prize winner update]
Monday afternoon 14 o'clock - bustle in the festival office. Soon we will move to our festival center in the Stadthalle Cottbus. From 10am on we will be there every day with the whole team. You have a question? No problem, come by the festival center - here you will find all answers about the FilmFestival Cottbus. The whole year we prepare our festival. The…
05. November 2022
Behind the scenes: guest management
Viktoriia Pashchenko, Roberto Rossi, Auste Serapinaite (in the picture) form the guest management team of FFC. They are indispensable for the organization of guest arrivals and much more. This is how they describe their activity: "Guest Management is like putting together a 10.000-piece puzzle - the picture is of 100+ guests who come to the FilmFestival Cottbus to present their films. We work on the…
02. November 2022
In Fokus: EcoEast
The new EcoEast section shows films on ecological topics and sustainability. On a journey through 90 years of film history, the section demonstrates that ecological issues have not only been passionately discussed since the end of the 20th century. Eastern European film in particular developed an awareness of environmental and sustainability issues early on. How does man change the landscape and how does the landscape…
26. October 2022
Two Tuzla Film Festival winners in Cottbus
On 24 October, the 11th Tuzla Film Festival came to an end in Tuzla, the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Best Film was A BALLAD (BA/FR 2022), in which acclaimed director Aida Begić loosely applies the plot of Hasanaginica, a 17th-century South Slavic folk ballad, to the emancipation aspirations of a young woman today - from the omnipresent mother, the ruthless ex-husband and…
26. October 2022
Internationale Festivaljury
We are pleased to introduce this year's International Festival Jury! The International Festival Jury decides on the awarding of the main prize for the best film (25,000 EUR donated by GWFF), special prize for the best director (7,500 EUR donated by rbb) and the prize for an outstanding individual performance (5,000 EUR donated by Sparkasse Spree-Neiße). It consists of: Barbora Námerová (screenwriter). Among other awards…
25. October 2022
Warsaw: Odesa Film Festival in Exile
The Russian aggression on Ukraine has also affected cultural life there. Film festivals are being held abroad. The oldest Ukrainian film festival "Molodist", which normally takes place in Kyiv, recently showed its national competition as part of the Filmfest Hamburg. The Odesa Film Festival was a guest at the Prishtina Film Festival in September with a programme and last week with its Ukrainian competition at…
24. October 2022
FFC on the road: Tuzla Film Festival
Program Director Bernd Buder is at the Tuzla Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina for FilmFestival Cottbus. From October 21 to 25, the festival will take place for the 11th time. Buder is part of the feature film jury there: Bernd Buder (Germany, program director FilmFestival Cottbus). Paola Orlić (Croatia, festival producer "Animafest," Zagreb) Miodrag Radonjić (Serbia, actor) Danilo Šerbedžija (Croatia, director) Srđan Vukadinović (Montenegro,…
21. October 2022
Behind the scenes: Holger Bergmann & Giulia Gaspari
Holger Bergmann and Giulia Gaspari are our program coordinators. We asked them how they would describe their role: "Program coordination - is a combination of: - Program and - coordination. Which brings us to the topic - lists. Our everyday life consists of lists, for everyone and everywhere. We coordinate 800 submitted and screened films, invite about 250, and have 200 in the program this…
19. October 2022
Interview | Hella Stoletzki | Sektion Heimat | Domownja | Domizna
Hella Stoletzki curates together with Grit Lemke the section Heimat | Domownja | Domizna. A program full of references to what Lusatia is first and foremost: Sorbian. Including: "The Long Night of the Short Lusatians" with brand new films from Lusatia, a surprising look into Sorbian film archives and a tribute to the world's last silhouette filmmaker, Jörg Herrmann. And much more! Why you should…
18. October 2022
The program is published!
Dear friends of the FFC, the festival program is online as of today! On our website you can now find the program overview here and click through 219 films from 48 production countries. The genre diversity ranges from Bekir Bülbül's contemplative road movie CLOVES AND CARNATIONS (TR), which celebrates its German premiere at the FFC, to the world premiere of the tragicomedy KINGS OF RAP…
13. October 2022
Interview | Joshua Jádi
What is special about the FFC? We asked our vice program director Joshua Jádi this question. In the interview he also tells us what connects him to Cottbus and why all filmmakers should come to the FFC. You can see the whole interview here!
12. October 2022
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Everything about FilmFestival Cottbus is available in our newsletter.
12. October 2022
Vote now: PICKASTORY - the Logline Audience Award
PICK A STORY is the Logline Audience Award at FilmFestival Cottbus. A logline describes a film in just one sentence. It is the "DNA" of a story. Click here, vote for your favorite story and vote for a future feature film! The winner will be invited to the FFC, may present his story and hopefully find an interested producer who will bring the idea to…
11. October 2022
Official festival trailer release!
This is the official festival trailer of the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus! It's less than a month until the opening Yael Reuveny is the director of the trailer. About the idea she says: "This year there is a series called "What`s left?" and it is about what`s left of the big ideas of the 90s. The financial and environmental promises, for example. In the trailer, we…
10. October 2022
Our Venues: Cottbus City Hall (Festival Center)
The Stadthalle Cottbus will be our festival center again! We return to the city center (Berliner Platz 6, 03046) and look forward to seeing you during the festival week. Here you will meet for example the press team and the guest relations. You have questions? We will answer all your questions about the festival. radioeins is also setting up a small broadcast studio here, so…
07. October 2022
Interview: Program Director Bernd Buder
In the interview, our program director Bernd Buder describes, among other things, the relevance of Ukrainian cinema, even independent of the war. Films from Ukraine have always been an integral part of the European film landscape and thus also of the FFC program. In this festival year, a total of 13 films from and 3 films about Ukraine are represented in the program of FilmFestival…
06. October 2022
PICKASTORY vote now
PICKASTORY - the audience award of the FFC The audience, that is YOU, choose YOUR favorite film idea from loglines.A logline describes a film in just one sentence. It is the "DNA" of a story. Join in and vote for your favorite! Directors and screenwriters from all over Europe have submitted their loglines. These are the loglines that have been finally selected and are up…
06. October 2022
Run-off election in Cottbus - election call!
On Sunday, 09.10, the run-off election for the Mayor of Cottbus will take place. The FFC supports that every eligible voter makes use of his right to vote. Especially in a runoff election every vote counts! Cosmopolitanism, tolerance, diversity, that is Cottbus!
05. October 2022
Our Venues: Spaceflight Planetarium
The space flight planetarium "Juri Gagarin" Cottbus is the cosmic venue of the FFC. The dome of the planetarium becomes a spectacular cinema screen and offers a very special cinema experience. Here you can watch the stars and starlets of Eastern European cinema. The planetarium in Cottbus was named after Juri Alexejewitsch Gagarin, the first man in space, and opened on April 26, 1974 after…
04. October 2022
WATCH & VOTE - MIOB In Shorts Award
Stream 15 short films for free until October 31 and vote for YOUR favorite! You can vote NOW on the MIOB website! The winning film will be awarded at the 32nd FilmFestival Cottbus. The MIOB In Shorts Award inspires with its artistic range and cross-genre diversity. 15 short films are nominated. MIOB (Moving Images - Open Borders) is a network of seven European film festivals…
30. September 2022
Slovak Film Awards for FFC Films
Last year's FFC main award winner 107 MOTHERS received the IGRIC Award for Best Feature Film.The IGRIC awards are given annually by the Slovak Film Union, the Slovak Union of Television Producers and the Literary Fund for innovative film and television productions inspired by the humanistic ideals of European culture.Peter Kerekes' cinematographer Martin Kollár received the award for best picture design. Věra Lacková, who participated…