Competition Feature Film
Main prize for the best film - WHEN THE PHONE RANG (Iva Radivojević, RS/USA, 2024)
The main prize, endowed with EUR 15,000, is donated by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. The International Festival Jury of the 34th FFC consists of Anja Matković, actress and screenwriter from Croatia, Sonora Broka, Artistic Director of the Riga International Film Festival, Cristina Groşan, Romanian-Hungarian filmmaker, and Xavier Henry-Rashid, Franco-British sales agent and former Executive Director of the Raindance Film Festival.
Special Award for Best Director - U ARE THE UNIVERSE (Pavlo Ostrikov, UA/BE 2024)
The special award for best director is sponsored by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) and is endowed with 7,500 EUR.
Prize for an outstanding individual performance: Eva Samioti in RIVIERA (GR/FR 2024)
The prize for an outstanding individual performance is sponsored by Sparkasse Spree-Neiße and is endowed with EUR 5,000.
Short Film Competition
Main prize for the best short film - BURNING SUN (Nutsa Tsikaridze, GE, 2024)
The main prize for the best short film, endowed with EUR 2,500, is donated by Druckzone from Cottbus.
The jury for the short film competition consists of the Hungarian director and author Szilárd Bernáth, the Bulgarian director Magdalena Ilieva and Eglė Vertelytė, Lithuanian screenwriter and director.
Special award to a director- AGE OF THE DRAGON (Marcell Farkas, HU/AT, 2024)
The special prize for a director is sponsored by Tiede+ and is endowed with EUR 1,500.
U18 Youth Film Competition
Prize for the best youth film - WET MONDAY (Justyna Mytnik, PL/EE/CZ, 2024)
The prize for the best youth film is endowed with EUR 5,000 and is donated by the city of Cottbus.
The jury consists of students from the Ludwig-Leichhart-Gymnasium Cottbus, the Niedersorbisches Gymnasium Cottbus and the Gymnázium Teplice.
Overall Programme
DIALOG Prize for understanding between cultures 1,500 EUR donated by Rotary Club Cottbus
ZINEMA (Kornii Hrytsiuk, UA/LU, 2024)
Jury: Inga Pylypchuk (director), Daniel Abma (director) and Tamás Tóth (director)
Prize for the best debut film EUR 3,000 donated by the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
78 Days (Emilija Gašić, Serbia, 2024)
Jury: Prof. Dr Susanne Eichner (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF), Mimi Zak (director of FFC trailer) and Prof. Dr Stefanie Kiwi Menrath (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg)
FIPRESCI Prize of the Féderation Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique
WHEN THE PHONE RANG (Iva Radivojević, RS/USA, 2024)
Jury: Armando Russi, Silvia Bahl and Jana Bébarová
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury donated by SIGNIS and INTERFILM
GOOD CHILDREN (Filip Peruzović, HR, 2024)
Jury: Christian Olding, Gabriella Rácsok, Ines Gil and Dr Katrin Rudolph
Audience Award 3.000 EUR donated by the Lausitzer Rundschau
U R THE UNIVERSE (Pavlo Ostrikov, UA/BE, 2024)
Jury: Audience of the FilmFestival Cottbus
Förderpreis der Stiftung für das sorbische Volk/ spěchowańske myto załožby za serbski lud endowed with EUR 3,000
Maja Nagel
Akcija! -the film prize/filmowe spěchowańske myto endowed with EUR 3,000
Nestor Grishin
PICK A STORY – Audience Logline Award endowed with EUR 1.000 by the Film Center Serbia
Simon Albin