News
17. September 2021
COTTBUS IN ZIELONA GÓRA
The European film festival buzz has started rolling again, and the FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) is of course back in the game. Programme director Bernd Buder will join the 10th Kozzi Film and Theatre Festival from 15th to 19th of September, which is taking place for the seventh time this year in Cottbus' Polish twin city Zielona Góra. The FFC traditionally presents the winning films of…
15. September 2021
FFC - Film - Diversity
The artwork of this year’s 31st FilmFestival Cottbus The time has come: We are happy to present the artwork of this year's FilmFestival Cottbus! How the artwork was developed and the motivation behind it can be found in this short profile.
31. August 2021
„Lusatian Filmfestivals present“
FilmFestival Cottbus and Neisse Film Festival present their first joint film series as part of the Lusatia Festival From the region for the region - FilmFestival Cottbus presents in cooperation with Neisse Filmfestival the first film series in the framework of the Lausitz Festival. From 01 to 04 September 2021, the specially curated program will take viewers on an exemplary journey through the worlds of…
25. August 2021
SWEAT opens 16th filmPOLSKA
The Polish Film Festival "filmPOLSKA" opens its doors today for the 16th time and shows until 01.09.2021, screening this year's programme in 13 cinemas throughout Berlin.
The 11th Postira Seaside Film Festival (PSFF) will take place from 27.07. - 31.07.2021 in the idyllic coastal town of Postira on the island of Brač in Croatia. Despite the still ongoing pandemic, the festival will be exclusively live and on location, just like last year. This is made possible by a large open-air space at which, under controlled conditions, all distance and hygiene regulations…
23. June 2021
Where to meet us
Throughout the year, the team of the filmfestival cottbus are guests at numerous European film festivals.
27. May 2021
filmPOLSKA reloaded: Stream WILD ROSES for free
It is summer in the countryside. The horizon is wide, the bees are buzzing, the sunlight bathes the fields in warm colours - an idyll?
21. May 2021
OASIS wins main prize at the 49th FEST in Belgrade
We are pleased to announce that the film OASIS has won the main competition of the 49th International FilmFEST Festival (FEST) in Belgrade.
29. April 2021
Stream A COACH'S DAUGHTER for free
First a healthy, high-energy breakfast, then training, followed by a car ride to the next location.
As part of the Powerful Voices online film program, the Czech Center Berlin in cooperation with the FilmFestival Cottbus present the fourth film of the series Powerful Voices.
31. March 2021
ILUZE / ILLUSION – If Life were a Computer Game
As part of the Powerful Voices online film program, the Czech Center Berlin in cooperation with the FilmFestival Cottbus will present the third of four films by Czech women documentary filmmakers this spring.
29. March 2021
FFC in the works-in-progress jury in Bratislava
While the renowned international film festival "Febiofest" in Bratislava, founded in 1993, had to be cancelled for the second time due to the Covid19 pandemic, the IFF Febiofest Bratislava Industry Days will get underway on March 29 and 30 - online, of course.
22. March 2021
Online film program Powerful Voices enters second round - EPIDEMIC OF FREEDOM deals with the hotly debated issue of vaccination
As part of the Powerful Voices online film program, the Czech Center Berlin in cooperation with the FilmFestival Cottbus will present the second of four films by Czech women documentary filmmakers this spring. Today, March 22nd, 2021, the second film of the series, EPIDEMIE SVOBODY / EPIDEMIC OF FREEDOM, can be streamed for free on the portal dafilms.com until 24:00. Just register briefly and you're ready to…
15. March 2021
All good things come in threes - SHADOW COUNTRY, DRONEMAN and ACTOR receive the Czech Lion Award
It's that time again: The Czech Lion Awards were presented for the 28th time this year.
26. February 2021
This year everything stays different - FilmFestival Cottbus and connecting cottbus kick off their festival year #digitally
FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) and the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (coco) celebrated the official kick-off of the new festival year with the #digital East European Brunch. The international industry meeting was combined with a preview of the upcoming festival.
10. February 2021
Film Selection Berlinale 2021
During this week the cinematic repertoire of the Berlinale was announced. The last titles will be published until tomorrow. Already now we would like to congratulate all those selected who made it into the Berlinale program.
21. January 2021
FFC's expertise at MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2021
Bernd Buder, programme director of the FFC, is part of an industry expert team during the Feature Launch 2021 Workshop as part of the co-production market “When East Meets West” at the 32nd Trieste Film Festival.
15. January 2021
FilmFestival Cottbus: A record for the anniversary in 2020, 2021 as a symbol of European film
The 30th FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) presented 150 films within four competitions and eleven other sections from December 8 to 31, 2020 during its nationwide digital anniversary edition. In conclusion, the festival organisers recorded 13,600 individual accesses to the films of the programme as well as almost 5,600 views of the free digital (live) content, such as talks with filmmakers, panels and talks. The 31st FilmFestival…
12. December 2020
#LubinaLove in a cube: Ivan I. Tverdovskiy wins the main prize at the FilmFestival Cottbus for the third time
Ivan I. Tverdovskiy wins the main prize for the best film in the Feature Film Competition of the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus. This is the third time the Russian director has been awarded the 25,000 EUR prize at the FFC, following CORRECTIONS CLASS (2014) and ZOOLOGY (2016). The Special Award for Best Director goes to Piotr Domalewski for I NEVER CRY. Acting debuts Marijana Novakov, Tijana…
"Everything different! Everything online!" is the new "normal" at FilmFestival Cottbus this year! For the past 29 years, the award ceremony at the FestivalZentrum has been the crowning finale and highlight of FilmFestival Cottbus. In 2020, the entire festival and thus also the award ceremony has been moved into the digital space for the first time.A milestone in the history of Film Festival Cottbus! From…
09. December 2020
Suspense guaranteed – Thrillers from Eastern Europe
Nearly 150 films are on the programme of the 30th FFC – and excitement is promised not only by the question of which of the films will win a Lubina. The programme includes a series of abyssal works that are as refined as they are elegant and stand for suspense made in eastern europe. A selected range: CAPTIVES Kristóf DeákHungary, 2019, 87 Min; HitsA chamber drama featuring the secret police.…
08. December 2020
The 30th FilmFestival Cottbus - start of the online anniversary edition
The 30th FilmFestival Cottbus begins on Tuesday, 8 December 2020. For more than three weeks - until 31 December - the anniversary edition will present 150 films nationwide in stream. In addition to the film programme, the FFC offers an online Q&A-programme with talks with film-makers as well as live talk rounds. The festival will kick off with an opening show hosted by Nadine Heidenreich…
26. November 2020
Eastern Europe nationwide - the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus shows its programme in a stream
As the Federal Government and the German States extended the measures aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic on the 25.11.2020 and cinemas will also remain closed, therefore, the film screenings of the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus planned between the 8th and 13th December 2020 in the cinemas cannot take place. Nevertheless, from 8 to 31 December 2020, 150 films will be available as a nationwide streaming…
Already on November 6, 2020, the Festival de Sevilla opened both as a presence and online festival. Until November 14, the 17th edition of the festival presents more than 150 European films in 18 sections, including 28 world premieres and 72 national premieres. A total of 150,000 euros in prize money will be awarded. Yesterday, the Andalusian regional government announced that all "non-essential activities after…
06. November 2020
coco AWARDS 2020
The 22nd edition of East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (coco) announced the award winners of its two sections – feature films in development in cocoPITCH and works in progress in cocoWIP. The traditional coco Best Pitch Award goes to the best pitch presentation of a project in development, voted for online by all attending industry participants. The audience chose VACUUM from Ukraine. In director Yelizaveta Smith’s fiction film debut,…
05. November 2020
MIOB member Scanorama opened online
Since 2018, the FilmFestival Cottbus joins „Moving Images, Open Borders“ (MIOB), a network of seven European film festivals which was initiated by the Crossing Europe film festival in 2017 (see www.crossingeurope.at). The network just recently was granted a Creative Europe MEDIA support in the frame of the „Support of European Networks of Festivals“-call. The member festivals are based in all parts of Europa – Austria, France,…
03. November 2020
30th FFC – Video message "See you in December!"
Dear friends of the FilmFestival Cottbus, actually the opening ceremony of the 30th FFC was scheduled for today. But as you know we have to be patient for another five weeks. Andreas Stein, managing director of FFC organiser pool production, together with programme director Bernd Buder and on behalf of the whole FFC team, sends you a special video message. Take a look!
03. November 2020
Dubioza Kolektiv is the official opening band of the 30th FFC
Around half the world with quarantine shows. With cinematic insights from Eastern Europe and many international guests, the FilmFestival Cottbus is a cultural melting pot - just like the Official Opening Band of the anniversary edition: Dubioza Kolektiv convinces with songs full of power and positive energy. The band with Bosnian-Slovenian-Serbian-Croatian roots finds its musical influences all over the world: ska meets punk, reggae, electronic…
29. October 2020
30th FilmFestival Cottbus postponed to December 8th – 13th, 2020
Following the decision announced on October 28th, 2020 by the Federal Government of Germany to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which includes the four-week closure of all cinemas, the organisers of the FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) have decided to postpone the 30th edition. The dual festival will take place with film screenings in real cinemas from December 8th to 13th, 2020, the nationwide streaming offer will be…
26. October 2020
IN TOUCH – Online film screening and discussion
On October 28th, 18.15 the project "Ukraine Calling" will show the Polish documentary film IN TOUCH, an experimental reflection on the relationship between labour migrants and their "home-bound" parents and grandparents. In this case of the Masurian village Stare Juchy, from which one third of the inhabitants moved to Iceland. The online screening will be followed by a discussion with the director Paweł Ziemilski and…
EDIT: Boğaziçi Film Festivali published the MEET THE JURY talk on its YouTube channel. Click here to watch. From October 23rd to 30th, 2020, the Bosphorus Film Festival takes place for the eighth time. While the films will be shown under the slogan #AgainstAllOdds in Istanbul cinemas, following the social distancing codes, the Bosphorus Film Lab will completely go online. The Lab takes place for the…
21. October 2020
Frequently asked questions to the 30th FFC
Here are the answers! Ticketing, streaming, Corona? In our FAQs you can find out everything about the schedule, form and other details of the dual FilmFestival Cottbus. THIS WAY PLEASE!
21. October 2020
Ticket sales for the 30th FFC has already started
Precisely two weeks before the start of the 30th edition, the FilmFestival Cottbus is publishing its complete programme. For the first time, the FFC will take place in a DUAL format: From November 3 to 8 in "real cinemas" in Cottbus as well as in Eisenhüttenstadt, Berlin, Görlitz, Zgorzelec and Zielona Góra and additionally from November 3 to 21 in the digital space. For the…
Down-to-earth attitude mixed with poetry – alongside the international Feature Film Competition, FilmFestival Cottbus presents the Short Film Competition and the U18 Youth Film Competition, which showcase the entire creative spectrum of the Eastern European cinema. For the first time, the winners of these two competitions will also be honoured with the FFC award LUBINA. The 30th FilmFestival Cottbus will take place from November 3…
10. October 2020
Greeting from Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany
Dear Friends of Eastern European Film, Home Cinema is not a permanent solution. This spring, when lockdown made public cultural life grind to a halt for weeks, we once again realised how much it means to us to go to the cinema or attend a festival, to jointly experience motion picture art and to directly share this experience with others. Accordingly, this year’s FilmFestival Cottbus…
09. October 2020
30th FFC – Feature Film Competition complete
The FilmFestival Cottbus has been known for the best cinema from Eastern Europe for 30 years. In the Feature Film Competition at the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus (November 3 to 8, 2020), twelve films from a total of 22 (co-)production countries compete for the main prize of 25,000 euros and the special prize for best director as well as the prize sculpture LUBINA (Sorbian: the Lovely).…
Under the title "Film Location Brandenburg", the 30th FFC will be exploring the state of Brandenburg, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding on 3 October, as an extremely versatile film location for international and German productions from 3 to 8 November. Every year dozens of feature films and television series are produced in Brandenburg. Not only in Potsdam-Babelsberg, but also in the surrounding…
03. October 2020
Von Frust und Freiheit (Of Frustration and Freedom) – History of the post-reunification period
The 30th year of German unification marks a change not only for Germany but also for its neighbouring countries. The FFC section "Von Frust und Freiheit" (Of Frustration and Freedom) - History(s) of the Post-Revolutionary Era looks at the effects in (East) Germany and the former socialist states of East Central Europe– Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The works presented tell astonishingly colourful…
01. October 2020
„Stau 1990/2020“: Right-wing extremism as a side effect of the reunification process
With the series "Stau 1990/2020", the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of German Unity, reflects on the right-wing extremism of the 1990s as an anti-democratic side effect of the reunification process and asks about the consequences for the current political culture. In the 1990s, the influx of right-wing extremist parties and right-wing subcultures was one of the side effects of…
23. September 2020
FFC at the Finále Plzeň
For three years now, the FFC has been presenting programmes of German films at the Finále Pilsen, the most important national Czech film festival. This year, under the title "30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain", the programme includes eight feature films, documentaries and short films that deal with East-West German themes in a pointed way. They deal with the difficulties and the…
01. September 2020
Celebrating Hungarian film
Veszprém-Balaton Filmpiknik is Hungary's newest film festival, the very first cultural cinema event of the 2023 European Capital of Culture Veszprém-Balaton. From 3 to 5 September the most famous Hungarian film classics and a selection of the best films from 2019 and 2020 will be screened, including FOMO and TALL TALES – films from the 29th FFC edition. The jury of the Veszprém-Balaton Filmpiknik also…
On the occasion of its 30th anniversary edition (November 3 to 8, 2020), the FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) makes itself and Germany a gift: The FFC is growing into the digital world and is expanding the Cottbus festival onto a new level with a nationwide online program. The goal of the FilmFestival Cottbus for already 30 years now has been promoting young, exciting, dialogue-oriented cinema from…
The European Film Academy has announced the first part of the feature films that will be recommended for nomination for the 2020 European Film Awards. Due to Covid-19 and its restrictions, the selection of 2020 will be announced in two steps. The second part of the list will be published in September. The two-step announcement allows the inclusion of films that would have premiered by…
19. August 2020
Here we are – the new team of the 30th FFC!
Here we are! And we're bright! The new team of the 30th FilmFestival Cottbus. We are preparing this year's anniversary festival for you. The 30th edition is under special circumstances, but it will surely be a blast. Let yourself be surprised!
From July 28 to August 1, 2020 the tenth Postira Seaside Film Festival (PSFF) will take place in the idyllic coastal town of Postira on the island Brač (Croatia). Since 2015 there is an intensive festival partnership between PSFF and the FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC).
Due to the Covid19 pandemic, all film festivals and film markets worldwide have been cancelled since the beginning of March. Most of them were postponed or presented their programmes online. With the necessary cautious reopening of the cinema landscape in Europe, it is foreseeable that film festivals will soon be able to take place again. The Sarajevo Film Festival and the Prishtina Film Festival, for…
08. June 2020
Cinema life in Germany restarts with NATIONAL STREET
One of the first releases to restart cinema life in Germany is NATIONAL STREET by Štěpán Altrichter. The film will start in German cinemas on 11 June 2020. The adaptation of the successful novel of the same name by Jaroslav Rudiš was screened as German premiere at the FFC 2019 in the Feature Film Competition and received the "Cottbus ins Kino" award for the promotion of…
Our series "EINBLICKE #stillcreative INSIGHTS" includes videos in which European filmmakers send greetings about the current situation. The complete playlist of "EINBLICKE #stillcreative INSIGHTS" is available on the YouTube-Kanal of the FilmFestival Cottbus: www.youtube.com/ffc
18. March 2020
Call for submissions – 30th FFC
Submission closed. Deadline: July 15th, 2020. Cottbus looks for new feature and short films from Eastern, East Central and South Eastern Europe* From November 3 to 8, 2020 the 30th jubilee edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus, one of the continent’s leading festivals for Central and Eastern European Cinema, is scheduled to take place. Featuring a total of up to 200 films from more than 30…
03. March 2020
Polish Film Awards ORŁY – CORPUS CHRISTI breaks record
The drama CORPUS CHRISTI by Jan Komasa has set a new record with eleven awards at the Polish Film Awards ORŁY (Eagle). Never before in the history of ORŁY, which has been awarded since 1999, has a film won so many prizes. With nominations in 15 of a total of 18 categories, CORPUS CHRISTI had already started the race with clear dominance and has now…