We are shocked and angered by Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine, by its attempts to usurp or destroy Ukraine's achievements in democratic culture, national sovereignty and cultural core, and appalled by the human tragedies, ecological and cultural catastrophes associated with it and with the increasing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
We have worked continuously with Ukrainian filmmakers over the past few years, making our small contribution to the development of this extraordinary cinematic landscape. Ukrainian cinema has always been an integral part of our festival soul. This year in particular, we hope to showcase Ukrainian cinema as a central part of Ukrainian culture.
The relationship with Russian cinema, on the other hand, has been permanently disrupted by the war. We will continue to stay in contact with those filmmakers in Russia who speak out against the war and share their doubts and criticism of the Putin government. We had planned a special section on Russia this year, the planning of which we abandoned when the war began. The traditional "Russian Day" section will no longer exist. We see the necessity to continue the exchange with partners whose work in dialogue and with mutual respect is against hegemony and for a tolerant coexistence or togetherness.
Within this framework, we will provide a forum for critical Russian voices, but will not celebrate Russian cinema. For the time being, there is no place in our program for false romanticism, escapist existentialism and militaristic war epics from Russia - and there never was before, except in the context of critical analysis.
In doing so, we are following our conviction, which has also been the basis of our content guidelines up to now, namely the promotion of voices that stand up for civil society togetherness.
on behalf of the entire team:
Doreen Goethe and Andreas Stein (Management)
Bernd Buder (Program Director)
Joshua Jadi (Deputy Program Director)
Marjorie Bendeck (Director connecting cottbus)