One of the world's leading festivals for contemporary filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe is back in the starting blocks: the FilmFestival Cottbus (FFC) is presenting 147 films from 41 (co-)production countries from November 5 to 10. The range is as wide as ever - from Ukrainian science fiction films to Kazakh Easterns, from Czech battle festival grotesques to refugee dramas from Serbia. The opening film will be MY LATE SUMMER (HR/BA/RO/SI/RS) by Oscar winner Danis Tanović (NO MAN'S LAND) - a touching story full of heart, pain and nostalgic feelings in the late Mediterranean summer on a Croatian Adriatic island. The handful of people who meet there get closer to each other faster than they would like. The full program is available on the festival website from today, 16 October 2024.
Three competitions define the festival: the Feature Film Competition, the Short Film Competition and the U18 Youth Film Competition. In addition, there are seven other program sections that focus on the multifaceted filmmaking of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This year, audiences can look forward to a total of 78 premieres, including 12 world premieres and 60 German premieres. In the Spectrum section, Eglė Vertelytė's TASTY (LT) will premiere simultaneously in Cottbus, Tallinn and Cork - a feel-good comedy about two friends who take part in a TV cooking competition. In WHEN WE RETURN (IL) (Specials section), filmmaker Vladimir Nepevny addresses the effects of the Russian war against Ukraine and the division of his own family through Russian propaganda. Another world premiere is the black comedy ETERNITY PACKAGE (BG/IT) (Spectrum), in which a mortician struggles to survive in a corrupt small town. OLIARA (KAZ) is an Eastern by Hungarian old master Tamás Tóth, which shows the brutal upheavals in Kazakhstan in the 1930s and thus sheds light on one of the most dramatic chapters in Kazakh history. This film is part of the new specials series MIDNIGHT MADNESS, in which serious themes are told with blatant genre motifs which results in highly tense stories between folk legend and true core, old people's home and chainsaw, drug lab and nationalism gene.
The FFC presents seven Ukrainian feature-length and short films that represent the Ukrainian film scene with investigative power, everyday awareness, thoughtfulness and poetry, creatively dealing with the past, present and future despite the most adverse circumstances. These include the competition feature film entry U ARE THE UNIVERSE (UA), a sci-fi drama about loneliness in space, and I SEE THEM BLOOM (DE), a short film that provides insights into the lives of young Ukrainian women who have fled to Germany. The documentary STORIES FROM THE CELLAR (UA/USA) deals with the trauma and the will to survive of Ukrainian children in the face of the Russian war. In addition, there will once again be a Ukrainian Day on the saturday of this year's festival, where Ukrainian citizens will receive free admission to all films in the program upon presentation of a valid Ukrainian passport.
In this year's Close-Up section, the FFC is focusing on the film country Armenia. Audiences can look forward to original and courageous stories that address both the country's turbulent history and current social discourse. The feature film AMERIKATSI (AM) by Michael A. Goorjian tells the story of Charlie, who is sent to prison after returning from the USA to the Soviet Union - a melodramatic political tragicomedy characterized by longing, melancholy and black humour. In the animated documentary AURORA'S SUNRISE (DE/AM), Inna Sahakyan, a member of the FFC International Jury, sheds light on the harrowing survival story of Aurora Mardiganian, who escaped the Armenian genocide and then went to Hollywood. In THE WAR DIARY (FR/AM), director Hakob Melkonyan takes his grandfather's war diary on a journey through the conflict-ridden former USSR, linking the past with the realities of war today. The program will be complemented by a master talk with Inna Sahakyan on Armenian cinema between past and present. The Close-Up Armenia section is supported by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.
Another highlight of the festival is the series “The Female Gaze: New Films from the Czech Republic”, curated by Lenka Tyrpáková. Eight feature-length and five short films by Czech female filmmakers will be shown, including the feature film HER BODY (CZ/SK) by Natálie Císařovská, which tells the story of a high diver who switches to the porn industry after an injury. The series offers intimate portraits, animated journeys and humorous mockumentaries - female voices of Czech cinema to keep an eye on. The Deutsch-Tschechische Zukunftsfond supports this series.
In the Eco East section, diverse contributions ranging from feature films and documentaries to science fiction and family dramas will inspire viewers to reflect on the relationship between people and landscape. This will be complemented by the panel “Vacation by the Lake - Rethinking Industrial Landscapes in Brandenburg and the Baltic States”. The documentary film BURIAL (LT/NO) tells the story of the dismantling of the Ignalina nuclear power plant on Lake Drūkšiai on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. After the screening, representatives of the film crews and the city of Cottbus will discuss the renaturation of former industrial landscapes under the moderation of environmental and climate expert Felix Jaitner. In his new film DRY SEASON (CZ/SK/DE), old master Bohdan Sláma also shows how the current dispute over the climate is causing rifts within families.
Sorbian, regional and international filmmaking come together in the Homeland | Domownja | Domizna section. Current feature and documentary films as well as rediscovered treasures from archives are shown here. Well-known names and newcomers explore the meaning of the word Heimat in a variety of ways. Two films by Donald Saischowa invite viewers to reflect on 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It quickly becomes clear that the images shown have lost none of their social relevance. In the short film program Łužyca Shorts, filmmakers tell stories that move Lusatia. The film WUHLO (DE), the third part of the 12-year documentary long-term observation by Maja Nagel and Julius Günzel, will also celebrate its premiere at the FFC.
The familiar Spectrum and Hits sections are also on the program, offering exciting arthouse cinema, in-depth entertainment and comedy with brains. In addition, there will once again be a children's program, including a children's fair and the new fairytale film DAS MÄRCHEN VON DER SILBERNEN BRÜCKE by Cüneyt Kaya on the Sunday of the festival!
The FilmFestival Cottbus is supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the State of Brandenburg and the City of Cottbus.