Program Director Bernd Buder and Deputy Joshua Jádi are at the Berlinale for us.
(This blog will be updated)
How was the Berlinale Bernd Buder?
"The people were there, the cinemas were filled, the need for exchange between filmmakers and audience was enormous, the Q and A's were very emotional, often very concentrated, the dialogue was in the foreground, even notorious self-promoters listened.
At the end of the pandemic and during a war, it proved how important cinema is as a place of social interaction and collective reflection, both in political, less political and very personal films.
For the FilmFestival Cottbus, the Berlinale and the European Film Market are very important opportunities to get information about fresh trends and current films from Eastern Europe in conversations with old and new colleagues.
The many events on the situation and commitment of Ukrainian filmmakers showed how intertwined politics and film are. Here, it was not only about cinema as a place of reflection, but also of initiative - frequently thematized, also by many Central Asian filmmakers, were, for example, the discourses on decolonization that were conducted even more passionately after Russia's attack on Ukraine than before.
Also worth mentioning is the founding initiative for an independent Belarusian film academy, which has set itself the task of promoting artistic and cultural-political exchange between oppositional Belarusian filmmakers, most of whom now live and work outside their homeland. Or the talks with oppositional Russian filmmakers who are trying to make films in exile in Kazakhstan, Turkey or Western Europe, with which they critically question the current state of their society.
The fact that despite and with all politics, it's always about good films shouldn't be forgotten - here the Berlinale has once again proven how fascinating and diverse cinematic journeys around the world are, artistically and culturally."
How was the Berlinale Joshua Jádi?
"It was an absolute pleasure to be back at the European Film Market and the Berlinale at full capacity!
The buzz and energy of the event was electrifying and it was great to meet so many sales agents and film institutes from different countries again in Berlin.
The excitement of attending film premieres and exchanging ideas with the industry at networking events was an unforgettable experience. And also a super opportunity to network and learn more about the latest trends in the world of film.
In total, we had over 40 meetings and saw over 50 films during the EFM and afterwards."
Saturday 25.2.
The Awards and Jury oh the Berlinale ShortsThe members of the INternational Short Film Jury 2023 - Cătălin Cristuțiu, Sky Hopinka and Isabelle Stever - award the following SPECIAL MENTION:
It's a Date
by Nadia Parfan
Jury Statement:
Instead of Parisian parks, we see improvised metal garages. Army roadblocks take the place of the Arc de Triomphe. French hotels are replaced by abandoned buildings and a church surrounded by cannons takes the place of the Basilique de Sacre Coeur. The filmmaker manages to liberate a farcical short from 1976 and transform it into something complex, where the urgency has a reason; it has to do with war and not a macho whim, all the more so because the Ukrainian soldier on home leave is himself a woman. This year's honorable mention goes to "It's a Date" by Nadia Parfan.
In 2014 and 2021, Nadia Parfan was a guest at the Cottbus FilmFestival.
Here you can find all awards and orewinners* of this year's Berlinale.
Friday 24.2.
Meetings, networking, watching films = Berlinale :)
Program Director Bernd Buder and Amos Geva, T-Port Market
Wednesday 22.2.
connecting cottbus (coco) is the co-production market of the FilmFestival Cottbus. Here filmmakers meet with potential producers and present their projects. Films that are then produced are screened at international festivals. At the Berlinale, connecting cottbus is of course also represented, as here at the Berlinale Co-Production Market party. Here, too, networking is in the foreground. Click here to visit the coco website.
Tuesday 2/21.
Cinema King Knut Elstermann is awarded
On the occasion of the 73rd International Film Festival, AG Verleih honors Knut Elstermann with the Honorary Award of Independent Film Distributors.
As a journalist and film critic, Knut Elstermann has put his heart and soul into promoting arthouse cinema, artistically and socially outstanding films, for over 30 years, giving them important visibility and relevance.
Knut Elstermann has also been reporting from the FilmFestival for radioeins for years. On Fridays and Saturdays, he traditionally broadcasts live from the radioeins Lounge in the Stadthalle.
After studying journalism at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig, Knut Elstermann worked for the daily newspaper Neues Deutschland, the GDR cinema magazine Filmspiegel, the youth radio station DT64, the radio station MDR Sputnik and ORB, later RBB, among others. "12 Uhr mittags - Das Filmmagazin" on Radio Eins as well as his weekly film tips every Thursday (also on MDR) have become a permanent institution for all film and culture lovers thanks to "Kino King Knut". Knut Elstermann is also the author of numerous books and features for radio and television, especially on the history of DEFA.
The Honorary Award of Independent Film Distributors has been donated by AG Verleih since 2017 and is awarded to individuals who have explicitly championed the interests of independent filmmakers and have earned special merit in doing so.
((Source: AG Verleih))
Saturday/Sunday /18/19.
Close Up: Kazakhstan
We're excited to feature the film country of Kazakhstan at this year's FilmFestival Cottbus. Close-Up Kazakhstan, that's what the film series will be called.
"In Central Asia, Kazakhstan is the country with the quantitatively strongest film production. However, the local film scene has long since abandoned the - impressive - landscape films that put Kazakh steppe landscapes in the picture-perfect light. Today, Kazakhstan's cinema is both rich and diverse. The Close-Up Kazakhstan series therefore not only shows the range of current Kazakh cinema between social criticism and national epic, but also explores the role of the current Russian diaspora inKazakhstan and reflects on how the filmmakers there see the future of their country between the suppression of opposition protests at the turn of 2021/22 and the government's tentative departure from its Russia-friendly course." (Bernd Buder)
Joshua Jádi, Laura Sabanbsyeva und Aizhan Kassymbek, Bernd Buder
Meetings, meetings, meetings
Program Director Bernd Buder meets with the Slovenian Film Center
Friday 17.2.Presentation of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy
Claudia Roth, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, was invited as a speaker.
The goal of the Academy:
Belarusian filmmakers living under state censorship and control have long sought ways to unite. The unprecedented mass repression during and after the protests against the falsified results of the 2020 presidential elections made collective solidarity immediately palpable and convinced us to oppose any form of state collaboration. The idea to create an organization was born after the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022. More than 130 Belarusian filmmakers signed a joint statement on March 1 condemning Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. Since then, we all continue to face the challenges we have as filmmakers. We believe that we should unite in solidarity and form a common front. All this prompted us to create a legal structure that can speak with one voice on behalf of Belarusian independent filmmakers.
Source: Belarusian Independent Film Academy
Vlada Senkova will also be there, she won the Discovery Script Doctoring Award 2016 and has already been to the FFC with several films.
Bernd Buder: "A piece of film history was written there ...great!"
Donnerstag 16.2. European Film Market
Of course, our colleagues from the festival network MIOB will also be there. Here you can see from left to right Bernd Buder, Guillaume Calop (Les Arcs) and Joshua Jádi.
The days are filled with screenings in the festival cinemas, always looking for the best films for the FilmFestival Cottbus in November.
Bernd Buder has already met with Arturas Jevdolcimovas and Ringaile Lescienskiene from Lithuania, among others, at the EUROPEAN FILM MARKET (see photo). At the "Meet the festivals" event, meetings between filmmakers and festival organizers are made possible quickly and easily. Making and deepening contacts, thats the Berlinale.