Festivalblog: Saturday

The second last day of the 34th FilmFestival Cottbus has started. Here you can find all the news, information and updates about the festival.

The festival weekend has many highlights to offer. The Łužyca Shorts start at 12 noon in the Gladhouse, followed by the SlowTalk on the future of Sorbian media at 2 pm.

The Ukrainian Day offers free admission for Ukrainian citizens. ZINEMA (UA/LU, 2024, 80 min) is the new film by director Kornii Hrytsiuk, who has often been a guest in Cottbus. The documentary tells how state propaganda works with the help of films and will be shown in the Obenkino from 1 pm. TEEN ANGST (Inga Pylypchuk DE/UA, 2024, 38 min) and I SEE THEM BLOOM (Mykyta Gibalenko DE, 2023, 27 min) will be shown in the Kammerbühne from 4 pm, followed by a film talk. The documentary STORIES FROM THE CELLAR (UA/US, 2024, 81 min), which documents the experiences of five Ukrainian children during the war, will follow at 6 pm. More input on Ukrainian Day can be found in a separate column below.

The world premiere of TASTY (Tetiana Khodakivska LT, 2024, 104 min), a feel-good comedy about friendship and competition in a TV cookery studio, will be screened in the Stadthalle at 6 pm. This film will be premiered simultaneously in Cottbus, Cork and Tallinn. A film discussion will follow.

The final evening is crowned by the after-show party from 9.30 pm in the Bunten Bahnhof - a must for partygoers!

Zum Start ein paar Impressionen zum gestrigen Tag:

The members of the International Festival Jury Anja Matković and Cristina Groşan in conversation at the big jury meeting in the Weltspiegel, where the winners of the competitions were decided.

The daily ‘Radio 3 Talk’ in the Stadthalle. Tip for today: 12.00pm

Film talk with festival guests live with Knut Elstermann from the radioeins Lounge in the Weltspiegel film theatre. Live on location and live on the radio.

 Das Ausklingen des gestrigen Abends im Bunten Bahnhof. Heute ist übrigens nach der Preisverleihung die große Abschlussparty des FFCs. Kommen sie gerne vorbei.

For your information: The exhibition ‘Ukraine - Everyday Life in War’ can be found in the Stadthalle until the end of the festival. In keeping with this, TODAY is also ‘Ukrainian Day’, when more Ukrainian films will be shown. Special: All people with a Ukrainian identity document get free entry.

Weltspiegel Hall 2 10:00:

U ARE THE UNIVERSE / Pavlo Ostrikov, Ukraine, Belgium, 101 min.

Unity in space: Andriy Melnyk works as an astronaut who transports rubbish to alien planets. Two years there, two years back. The company offers him an on-board computer called Maxim. He usually makes stupid jokes, but one day he has bad news: Earth has been destroyed. Then the two come across the voice of a space traveller.

Obenkino 13:00:

ZINEMA / Korniy Hrytsiuk Ukraine, Germany, Luxembourg 77 min.

Films can prepare and justify wars, confirm prejudices and create images of the enemy. Using excerpts from current Russian genre films and television series, Hrytsiuk shows how the media landscape conveys an image of humanity in which Russians are always the better people. Not least to feed the imperial mentality.

Kammerbühne 16:00 - Double screening:

TEEN ANGST / Inga Pylypchuk, Germany 2024, 38 min.

What does it feel like to grow up during a war? In the series TEEN ANGST, nine Ukrainian women between the ages of 15 and 20 talk about their lives during the state of emergency. Each of them captures their own perspective as an (internal) refugee on film. The film is about patience, waiting, arriving and the many question marks and fears.

I SEE THEM BLOOM / Nikita Nikolayenko, Germany 2023, 27 min.

When sisters Yevhenia and Nastia arrive in Munich after fleeing from Ukraine, they are warmly welcomed into a hostel. While one of them blossoms in her new, healthy surroundings and tries to enjoy life, the other still can't tear herself away from the war and the pain of loss - what will happen next?

Kammerbühne 18:00:

STORIES FROM THE CELLAR / Tatiana Khodakivska Ukraine, USA 81 min.

Five Ukrainian children are among the many who experienced absolute horror during the Russian war of aggression, lost their parents, experienced destruction and flight. The documentary film gives them a chance to speak, showing their trauma, their oppression, but also their courage to face life and the creativity with which they defied the war.

Obenkino 19:00 - ein Kurzfilm aus dem MIOB-Festivalnetzwerk:

AS IT WAS / Damian Kokur, Polen, Ukraine 2023, 15 min.

Eine junge Frau geht nach einem Streit mit ihrem Freund nach Hause. Dort spielt sie Klavier, feiert und geht im Morgengrauen spazieren. Alles scheint normal, aber nichts ist normal, denn ihr Zuhause ist Kiew. Ein zärtlicher Film über den Versuch, inmitten des Krieges ein alltägliches Leben zu führen.

Kammerbühne 21:00:

THE GLASS HOUSE / Taras Dron, Ukraine 2023, 97 min.

Victoria is an influential businesswoman and an unmistakable powerhouse. But when her daughter disappears, enmity, false tips and anger become loud on social media. Victoria takes up the search with all her desperate strength. A race against time and her own reputation begins. A visually powerful arthouse thriller.

Young guests from Teplice and Zielona Góra at the 34th FFC

Among the many guests at this year's FFC was a group of students from the Gymnázium Teplice (CZ), with whom the festival has been working successfully for several years. From Tuesday to Friday, the young people watched films from various sections, talked to filmmakers and immersed themselves in the film world of Eastern Europe. The highlights included the opening at the State Theatre, a workshop on the documentary FRANZ KAFKA - LOST IN FAME (dir. Pavel Šimák, CZ, 2024) with the German Cultural Forum for Eastern Europe and a small group meeting with director Ignas Miškinis (SOUTHERN CHRONICLES, LT/EE 2024, feature film competition). With the help of a film diary, our young guests recorded their thoughts, questions and insights while watching the film. They particularly enjoyed the film WAVES (R. Jiří Mádl, CZ/SK, 2024), the opportunity to get to know little-known countries and cultures and to study the many different ways films are made. Two students from the grammar school are also part of this year's U18 jury and will stay in Cottbus until Sunday. There has also been close contact with Zielona Góra (PL) for many years in the area of school education work. On Thursday, as in previous years, a group of pupils from there also visited to immerse themselves in the FFC's film programme.

This article will be updated throughout the day.