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 November 2019), which has some innovations in store.
FFC Programme Director Bernd Buder announced at the East European Brunch in the Representation of the Federal State of Brandenburg to the Federation in Berlin, that films from Finland, Greece and Turkey will enrich the festival programme as of this year. "We want to highlight the cultural and historical connections that exist between the countries that have been present at the FFC so far and those that are now being added", explained Bernd Buder. "Expanding the geographical diversity allows us to take a new and closer look at Eastern Europe and its eastern neighbours.“
Once again, an expert team of curators will be responsible of selecting the films for the FFC programme. From this year on, Nikolaj Nikitin will join the team. Since 2002 he has been a delegate of the Berlinale for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Baltic States, the Caucasus republics, Central Asia, Mongolia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In 2013 Nikitin also initiated "SOFA – School of Film Agents", a training project for film mediators. "I look forward to joining the renowned FFC team," says Nikolaj Nikitin. "Over the years, I have closely observed the development of this highly professional festival with a clear profile and for me it is one of the most important, focused meeting points between East and West, not only in the German-speaking area but also in a pan-European context.“
Larisa Glebova from Russia received the EUR 4,500 Promotion Prize of the Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrechten mbH (GWFF). Dr. Gertraude Müller-Ernstberger, Managing Director of GWFF, presented the prize to the 23-year-old production student from the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. Glebova produced Bedroom Town (Director: Stanislav Malkov), which screened in the short film competition of the FilmFestival Cottbus in 2017.
The Special Pitch Award went to Sergey Dvortsevoy. This award enables the Russian director to participate in the 21st East-West co-production market connecting cottbus, where he will pitch his new project. At the 28th FilmFestival Cottbus, Dvortsevoy won the Main Prize for Best Film and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury with his film AYKA.
The 21st East-West co-production market connecting cottbus will take place from 6 to 8 November 2019. Important industry representatives such as film producers, sales agents and distributors from all parts of Europe will come together to inform themselves about new ideas and trends in international co-productions and to promote exciting film projects in their initial stage as well as works in post-production. For the first time there will be an additional official preparation day, where the project participants will receive intensive, tailor-made feedback and advice about pitch, financing, sales and marketing.
About the FilmFestival Cottbus
The 29th FilmFestival Cottbus will take place from 5 to 10 November 2019. In four competitions and numerous side sections, the FFC will show around 200 films competing for prize money of more than EUR 80,000 and the coveted prize sculpture LUBINA (Sorbian: the Lovely).
Over 22,000 spectators attended the Festival of Eastern European Film in Cottbus in 2018.
The 29th FilmFestival Cottbus is decisively supported by the Federal State of Brandenburg, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, the city of Cottbus, the Federal Foreign Office and the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
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