News
26. February 2020
Photo Gallery "EAST EUROPEAN BRUNCH" – Kick-off 30. FFC
Auftakt ins Jubiläumsjahr Das FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) feiert 2020 sein 30. Jubiläum. Der offizielle Auftakt in dieses bedeutende Festivaljahr ist der heutige internationale Branchentreff „East European Brunch“ im Rahmen der 70. Berlinale.Gemeinsam mit der Vertretung des Landes Brandenburg beim Bund begrüßten das FFC und der Ost-West-Koproduktionsmarkt connecting cottbus (coco) 300 Gäste aus Film, Kultur, Politik und Wirtschaft.Erste Programminhalte des 30. FFC, die 22. coco-Ausgabe sowie…
The FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2020. The official start of this significant festival year was the international industry meeting "East European Brunch" during the 70th Berlinale on 26 February 2020. Together with the Representation of the State of Brandenburg to the Federal Government, the FFC and the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (coco) welcomed over 300 guests from the film industry,…
05. February 2020
Ognjen Glavonić is member of debut jury at the Berlinale
The Serbian director and author Ognjen Glavonić is member of the jury "GWFF Best First Feature Award" of this year's 70th Berlinale (Feb 20 to Mar 1, 2020). Glavonić participated with TERET | THE LOAD 2018 in the Feature Film Competition of the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus. The film received a Special Mention by the International Jury and won the FIPRESCI Prize. Together with the Egyptian…
19. January 2020
FilmFestival Cottbus and connecting cottbus in Trieste
In collaboration with the Film Festival Cottbus and with the support of the Goethe Institut Rome, the 31st edition of TRIESTE FILM FESTIVAL (January 17-23, 2020), Italy’s leading festival for East Central European cinema, presents the festival section "1990-2020: 30 years from German reunification. Time Will Tell". Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall discussions about the events of 1989/90 and the post-reunification…
17. January 2020
Film critics workshop "Civil society discourse in film journalism"in Cottbus and Batumi
During the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus, 14 film journalists from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Russia came together for a four-day workshop. Under the title "Civil society discourse in film journalism", participants from all areas of the media have been sensitised for differentiated reporting on films that transport and discuss civil society values. Headed by film journalist Marta Balaga (Cineuropa, Variety), the participants have been made…
04. December 2019
OIFF General Producer Julia Sinkevych receives award
Julia Sinkevych, General Producer of the Odesa International Film Festival (OIFF), was awarded for her engagement to the development of the Ukrainian film industry at the 8th Subtitle: Spotlight European Film Festival in Kilkenny. The award was presented by the Irish actor Cillian Murphy (28 DAYS LATER, BROKEN, DUNKIRK). "The Odesa International Film Festival has been one of our partner festivals for several years," explains…
25. November 2019
Five FFC films are Oscar contenders
The submissions for the best international feature film at the Oscars 2020 have been made. For the first time, the prize will be awarded under the name "Best international feature film" instead of "Best foreign-language film". 92 films compete for the award. 28 of them come from countries which, according to the regulations, belong to the territory of the FFC. Among them are five films that…
09. November 2019
Variety is what makes the 29th FFC stand out – Women's portrait SISTER wins Main Prize
In the evening on the 9th of November, the winners of the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus were chosen at the award ceremony in the FESTIVALZentrum Stadthalle.The Main Prize for Best Film goes to the Bulgarian film SESTRA | SISTER by Svetla Tsotsorkova. Teodor Kuhn is delighted to receive the Special Prize for Best Director for his emotional feature film OSTRÝM NOŽOM | BY A SHARP KNIFE.For…
09. November 2019
29. FFC – Winners und Jury Statements
Wettbewerb Spielfilm | Competition Feature Film Hauptpreis für den besten Film | Main Prize for Best Film 25.000 EUR gestiftet von | donated by Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrechten (GWFF) SESTRA | SCHWESTER | SISTER Svetla TsotsorkovaBG/QA 2019 Wenn ein Film dem Kino das gibt, was das Kino am meisten liebt, dann ist die Begeisterung des Publikums und der Jury die gleiche: Es geht um faszinierende…
30. October 2019
Student Encounter 2019
Film festivals are an excellent place for encounters and intercultural exchange between filmmakers and their audiences. Films can point to current narratives and it is not unusual for political and historical taboos to regain more public attention on the screen. They therefore offer an opportunity for joint reflection. Thus it is more than necessary to involve a young, multinational audience in this dialogue. The FilmFestival…
The FilmFestival Cottbus presents its complete programme, which this year includes 210 films from 45 (co)producing countries. With the Georgian film GORI | PIG by Giga Liklikadze, the FFC presents another world premiere in the Feature Film Competition. Patrons of the 29th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus are Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, and traditionally Dietmar Woidke, Minister President of Brandenburg. "The…
18. October 2019
Festival Programme and FESTIVALMagazine of the 29th FFC online!
The film programme of the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus is complete, the FESTIVALMagazine is printed and the presale has started. The printed version with all information about the programme is already being distributed. Here on our website, the category SECTIONS gives you online an overview over the this year's programme. In addition, you can download the FESTIVALMagazine as a PDF here: FESTIVALMagazine - 29th edition
26. September 2019
Lone warriors among themselves – First films in competition
The FilmFestival Cottbus (November 5-10, 2019) announces the first six of twelve films of the FEATURE FILM COMPETITION. FULL MOON, the feature film debut of Bosnian director Nermin Hamzagić, celebrates its world premiere in Cottbus. People under pressure, angry citizens on adrenaline who have had enough and revolt - lone warriors of all ages against conventions and gentrification, corruption and right-wing networks, their own family…
14. September 2019
Georgia - Cottbus: Workshops for film journalists at BIAFF and FFC
On September 15, the Batumi International Art-House Film Festival (BIAFF) will begin in Georgia. For 14 years, the festival in the Black Sea city of Batumi has offered the public the opportunity to see the latest international arthouse productions. In the three competitions - Feature Film, Documentary Film and Short Film - which characterize the festival, nine prizes are awarded. BIAFF will be showing a…
12. September 2019
FilmFestival Cottbus opens with SMUGGLING HENDRIX
On November 5th, FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) will open its 29th edition in a festive ceremony in the Staatstheater Cottbus (Großes Haus). Opening film is the cross-border comedy SMUGGLING HENDRIX, the feature film debut of director Marios Piperides. The production, in which "Soul Kitchen" star Adam Bousdoukos plays the protagonist, has won numerous international awards, including the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. "The opening film…
On the occasion of the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the FilmFestival Cottbus and connecting cottbus together with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH invited to the East European Brunch. Programme Director Bernd Buder and Brigitta Manthey of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg welcomed both established and aspiring filmmakers as well as representatives of the media, politics and culture.
26. April 2019
Curation seminar at the University of Potsdam
Starting in the summer semester of 2019, the FilmFestival Cottbus, the Institute of Eastern Slavic Literatures and Cultures at the University of Potsdam and the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences (Eastern European Literatures) of European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) offer students the opportunity to curate a section of the festival. Within the curation seminar the students learn basic curation techniques, make a film selection…
23. April 2019
"Servant of the People" becomes real president
On April 21st, 2019 in Ukraine the comedian Volodymyir Selenskyj was elected president with an overwhelming majority – almost without political experience and without a programme. The audience of the FilmFestival Cottbus already knows Selenskyj from the leading role in the film SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE, based on the YouTube series of the same name. The film was shown in 2017 in the FFC section…
23. April 2019
FilmPolska and FFC present…
FilmFestival Cottbus‘ partner festival FilmPolska (April 24-May 1, 2019) also presents films of the 28th edition of FFC. Within the co-operation of FFC, the Polish Institute Berlin, Kino Krokodil, the Upper Silesian Museum and the German Culture Forum for Eastern Europe two cinematic highlights of the 2018’s FFC section Regio: Silesia are part of the programme of 14th FilmPolska: THE BEADS OF ONE ROSARY (Kazimierz…
In co-operation with the Finále Plzeň Film Festival and the Czech-German Future Fund the FilmFestival Cottbus presents the section “German Cinema” at this year's 32nd edition of the festival (April 11-16, 2019). The section with four long feature and documentary films as well as four short films was curated by the FFC Programme Department. Particular emphasis of the section is the current relevant political discourses in…
03. April 2019
„Everything remains different – the wild 90s“ – First joint project from goEast and FFC
This year the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be celebrated. On this special occasion and with the thematic focus „Everything remains different – the wild 90s“ the FilmFestival Cottbus and goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden (April 10-16, 2019) take a look at the cinema of the 1990s. goEast shows six films that make it possible…
01. April 2019
Panel and reception at „Meeting Point – Vilnius“
In co-operation with the Film Festival Cottbus, connecting cottbus and the Medienboard Berlin- Brandenburg the international audiovisual industry event “Meeting Point – Vilnius” (April 2-4, 2019) invites to the panel „Bridging the gap – European cinema between festival and audience film”. With moderator Bernd Buder (FFC Programme Director), the panelists Andrė Balžekienė (Cinema "Pasaka", exhibitor), Alessandro Gropplero (head of the co-production market When East Meets…
22. March 2019
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 2019
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 2019 + FFC reglement with new eligible countries Cottbus looks for new feature and short films from Eastern, East Central and South Eastern Europe From November 5 to 10 November 2019 the 29th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus is scheduled to take place. Featuring a total of up to 180 films from more than 30 countries over the course of six action-packed days, the…
The FilmFestival Cottbus and the „Kozzi Film Festiwal. Festiwal Filmu i Teatru“ in Cottbus' Polish twin town Zielona Góra have extended their long-standing cooperation. The main focus is on the cooperation within the framework of this year's festival edition "Kozzi-Czyżewska-Fijewski". FFC and Kozzi, which is organised by the Public Regional and City Library C. Norwid in Zielona Góra, have agreed mutual consulting on artistic ideas,…
13. February 2019
GWFF Award for Larisa Glebova
As part of the East European Brunch of the FilmFestival Cottbus and the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus, Larisa Glebova from Russia received the 4,500 EUR prize of the Münchener Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film und Fernsehrechten mbH (GWFF).Larisa Glebova is a production student at the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. She is a producer of BEDROOM TOWN (Director: Stanislav Malkov), which was…
13. February 2019
FFC + coco – kick-off into the new festival year
The FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) and the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (coco) celebrated the official start of a new festival year with their traditional East European Brunch at the 69th Berlinale. The international industry meeting serves as stage for presenting the GWFF Promotion Prize and the Special Pitch Award, as well as a preview of the upcoming 29th edition of the festival (5 to 10…
22. January 2019
Three Oscar nominations for COLD WAR
On January 22nd, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 91st Oscars nominations. The Polish film COLD WAR by Paweł Pawlikowski – opening film at the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus and winner of two awards (Audience Award and “From Cottbus to Cinema” – Distribution support prize for a festival film) – has the chance to win an award in three categories: Best foreign…
16. December 2018
COLD WAR wins big at the European Film Awards
At the 31st European Film Awards awards ceremony on Dec 15, 2018 in Seville Paweł Pawlikowski's film COLD WAR won the European Film Prize in the categories Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (for Joanna Kulig). In mid-November, the European Film Academy also announced the prize for Best Editior (for Jarosław Kamiński). COLD WAR was the opening film of the 28th FilmFestival…
12. December 2018
European Shooting Stars 2019
The European Film Promotion (EFP), the pan-European network for the promotion of European films and talent, has announced the European Shooting Stars 2019. Three of the ten freshly nominated actresses and actors, will be well known to the audience of the FilmFestival Cottbus: Blagoj Veselinov, Milan Marić and Dawid Ogrodnik, all starred in films during the last three editions of the festival. Blagoj Veselinov, Macedonia…
15. January 2019
Save the date: 29th FilmFestival Cottbus
Save the date: The 29th FilmFestival Cottbus will take place from November 5 to 10, 2019. The Cottbus FilmShow will kick off the festival week the day before (Nov 4th). FFC Programme Director Bernd Buder and the curators of the various programme sections are already on research for the new festival year.At numerous international film festivals, the team is watching the latest works of Eastern…
16. November 2018
Film festivals discuss politics and civic values at the FFC
During the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC), representatives of well-known Eastern European film festivals as well as film makers and journalists from the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia met in the context of the network meeting ‘Film festivals between politics and civic values’ to exchange views regarding the situation in their respective countries. The film festivals meeting at the FFC perceive themselves as social spaces within…
FEDOR'S JOURNEY THROUGH MOSCOW AT THE TURN OF THE XXI CENTURY, winner of the Main Prize of the Short Film Competition 2015, is now available at the online platform "Short of the Week". The soulfully narrated tale complemented by an absurd sense of humour and wonderful photography, accompanies the headstrong Fedor through today’s Moscow. Fedor temporarily finds home with a hitherto unknown aunt. Whilst the world…
12. November 2018
Impressions of 28th FilmFestival Cottbus
The 28th FilmFestival Cottbus begins with the opening ceremony on November 6th at the Großes Haus of the Staatstheater Cottbus. One day before the Cottbuser FilmShow at the Filmtheater Weltspiegel will give the "little" kickoff into the festival week. During the festival week you will find impressions of the 28th FFC right here.
11. November 2018
The Award Winners of the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus
AYKA wins the Main Prize for the Best Film at the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus On the evening of the 10th of November at the awards ceremony held at the festival centre Stadthalle, the winners of the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus were announced. The Main Prize for Best Film was awarded to AYKA by Russian director Sergey Dvortsevoy. Ivan I. Tverdovskiy won the Special Prize for Best…
11. November 2016
Award Winners and Jury Statements
Wettbewerb Spielfilm | Feature Film Competition Hauptpreis für den besten Film | Main Prize for Best Film AYKA | AYKA | AYKASergey DvortsevoyRussland, Deutschland, Polen, Kasachstan, China 2018 | Russia, Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, China 2018 Der Film lässt uns durch konsistentes Erzählen, eine rastlose Kameraarbeit und intensives Spiel sehr nahe an die Protagonistin herankommen. Wir leben ihr Leben. Mit diesem dokumentarischen Ansatz überqueren wir die…
09. November 2018
connecting cottbus: AWARD WINNERS 2018
Awards of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus go to OCTOBER from Romania, 9TH STEP from Lithuania, MEN OF DEEDS from Romania in the cocoPITCH section and GERANIUM from Turkey in cocoWIP. The 20th edition of connecting cottbus (8-9 Nov 2018), the East-West co-production market at the FilmFestival Cottbus is full underway, amidst some successful days of matchmaking and networking. During tonight’s ceremony, the award…
24. October 2018
One region – many facets: Lusatia at the 28th FFC
The section Homeland | Domownja | Domizna at the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus presents new and exciting insights into and prospects for the region of Lusatia. Two Austrians in particular contribute to this alongside regional artists. By looking into the history of Carinthian Slovenes the FFC addresses a topic that is of equal importance for Lusatia: an ethnic minority’s past during National Socialism. A world première…
22. October 2018
Trailer of 28. FFC
In this year's Festival Trailer (directed by Axel Ranisch) our FFC's award sculpture LUBINA, the lovely one, makes a special appearance. . . . .
22. October 2018
Programme complete: FFC presents its competitions
At its press conferences in Cottbus and Berlin, the FilmFestival Cottbus presents its programme for the 28th edition (Nov 6 to 11, 2018). Cinema fans can expect more than 200 films from Central and Eastern Europe, spread over four competitions and eleven further sections. Eight juries are called upon to award prizes worth around 80,000 Euro in total. "The FFC's programme creates curiosity about the…
05. October 2018
FFC in Eberswalder “Provinziale”-Jury
Films from and about the province are the focus of the "Provinziale" film festival, which takes place for the 15th time in Eberswalde from 6 to 13 October. The programme focuses on 39 films from 19 countries of production in the competition sections for documentary, short fiction, animated and short documentary films. The festival opens with the German premiere of Katarzyna Trzaska's VILLAGE OF SWIMMING…
27. September 2018
Spotlight Georgia at the upcoming FFC
Spotlight Georgia at the upcoming FFC: ‘Georgian Film Is a Completely Unique Phenomenon.’ The upcoming FilmFestival Cottbus will present a selection of feature and short films from Georgia. On occasion of the country’s guest status at the Frankfurt book fair, we will highlight re-discoveries and brand new films like Giorgi Shengelaias book adaption ALAVERDOBA from 1962, Gio Mgeladze’s NO, PAL, an atmospheric arthouse thriller about…
24. July 2018
"It really affects one emotionally."
Three questions to... Bernd Buder, Programme Director of FilmFestival Cottbus There are about 100 days left until the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus (6. to 11.11.2018). Programme director Bernd Buder already gives a little insight into the current preparations, explains why good films are never boring and gives some valuable advice to the impatient festival fans. The 28th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus is still about 100…
17. July 2018
Network meeting in Odesa
News about Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov being placed under house arrest and the ongoing imprisonment of the Ukrainian film maker Oleg Sentsov dominate the perception regarding the situation of film makers in several Eastern European countries. They illustrate that film makers continue to be under pressure in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia. This is the context in which the FilmFestival Cottbus and the Odesa…
09. July 2018
Impressions and Award Winners of KVIFF
The 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) has come to an end. Programme director Bernd Buder was on the spot and spoke with Markéta Kachlíková on Radio Praha about his impressions and the festival’s development in the past few years. Interview with Bernd Buder on Radio Prague (interview in German, cutout) ( The full interview is available by clicking on the following link: Kino anstatt Heilquellen) The…
04. July 2018
FFC at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
During the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) the FilmFestival Cottbus and connecting cottbus invited together with Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg to the East European Brunch. Programme director Bernd Buder, connecting cottbus director Marjorie Bendeck and Brigitta Manthey (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg) welcomed established or aspiring filmmakers as well as representatives of the media, politics and culture. Among the guests were also former FFC award winners such as Jan…
03. May 2018
Cottbus at the Filmkunstfest MV
The 28th Filmkunstfest MV in Schwerin will once again provide a wide-ranging insight into current German-language cinema from May 1st to 6th. Among the guests of honour are the actor Henry Hübchen, the directors Andreas Dresen and Dani Levy and Heinz Brinkmann, veterans of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania cinema. Georgia presents itself as the guest country. The programme, compiled in cooperation with the Batumi International Arthouse Film…
18. April 2018
FilmPOLSKA and FFC on cinematic discovery
As part of the 13th Polish Film Festival FilmPOLSKA the FilmFestival Cottbus gives a foretaste of this year's Special Silesia. In cooperation with the Polish Institute Berlin, Kino Krokodil, the Cultural Department for Upper Silesia at the Haus Oberschlesien Foundation and the German Cultural Forum Eastern Europe, the FFC is showing the films DAS LOSUNGSWORT and AM ENDE DES REICHES at „Silesia, Śląsk – a…
17. April 2018
Cottbus at the Finále Pilsen
The next Finále Pilsen Film Festival, the biggest festival for Czech and Slovak films, will take place from April 19th to 24th 2018. The festival shows 112 films in five competition sections for feature film, documentaries, non-serial TV and internet production, serial TV and internet production and student films. Several sidebar sections add to the competition sections, among them a series with new German short and…
From April 18th to 26th, the "German Week" will take place in St. Petersburg for the 15th time. The event with its varied programme from the fields of culture, education and science, society and business is this time organised by the Federal State of Bavaria. In the previous years, this series of events has successfully established itself as a platform for a diverse and direct…
03. April 2018
Buder at FIOFA
Bernd Buder, programme director of the FilmFestival Cottbus, will give a lecture on film festival strategies for debut films at the Film Institute - Ohrid Film Academy (FIOFA) in the beginning of April. The FIOFA is a new film academy, situated in Ohrid, Macedonia. It continues is the common project of the Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)…