36th Cottbus Film Festival: the programme features 147 films from 43 countries
29 films are in the running across the three competitions: ten in the Feature Film Competition, 13 in the Short Film Competition and six in the GenNext Competition, which is being held for the first time. The new competition showcases films by young directors that focus on the everyday lives and worlds of teenagers and young adults. Their stories explore friendships put to the test, the struggle against prejudice and the desire to forge one’s own path, even in the face of family and societal expectations. In total, the FFC is awarding prize money worth around 52,000 euros.
The 36th FilmFestival Cottbus will open on 3 November at the Staatstheater Cottbus with ESCAPE NET by Dzintars Dreibergs. This Latvian drama is set in Soviet-era Riga and tells the story of basketball player Dzidra Uztupe, who is fighting for her sporting career whilst her brother, living in exile, casts political suspicion on the family and the KGB keeps them under surveillance.
Ticket sales: In advance, a single ticket costs 7.50 euros, a book of five tickets costs 30 euros; the Festival Pass is available for 85 euros. There are special offers for young festival-goers: school pupils receive free admission to all screenings in the GenNext competition on presentation of a valid pupil ID card.
On Wednesday 4 November, the Student Day will take place for the second time. On this day, students can attend all FFC film programmes free of charge upon presentation of a valid Student Identification Card.
From big names to new discoveries
Cottbus Masters presents new films by established figures in Central and Eastern European cinema. Cristian Mungiu, one of the defining voices of the Romanian New Wave and winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is represented with *FJORD*. Also featured are, amongst others, Šarūnas Bartas with *BACK TO THE FAMILY* and Władysław Pasikowski’s black-comedy thriller *OPERATION POPE*, about a planned assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. The Polish actor Bogusław Linda stars in a self-deprecating role to perfection.
‘Hits’ showcases box-office hits that have already taken cinemas by storm in their countries of origin. In *ON DRIVE*, for example, street racers speed through Kharkiv; *THE WEDDING* turns a Croatian-Serbian wedding into a turbulent political family comedy; and *THE SON OF REVENGE: THE STORY OF KALEVALA brings the Finnish Kalevala saga to the big screen as a fantasy adventure.
Spectrum examines contemporary lifestyles and social developments, sometimes seriously, sometimes with humour, and across a range of genres. POST TRUTH by Alkan Avcıoğlu is entirely AI-generated and traces the history of disinformation and fake news right back to the Middle Ages. In doing so, the film asks what can still be considered reality in an increasingly manipulated media landscape. Things get down-to-earth in the Polish comedy HOW TO SURVIVE THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS, which tells the story of shared camping holidays where family life and friendly intentions increasingly spiral out of control.
In EcoEast, seven feature films, documentaries and animated films explore the relationship between humans and nature, and the consequences of one-sided economic interests for the environment and habitats. AYDINLAR – WHERE THE WORLD ENDS, for example, takes us to the almost vanished Aral Sea, where children play amongst shipwrecks. BALTIC UXO turns its attention to another ecological legacy: around 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped in the Baltic and North Seas after the Second World War. The documentary highlights the danger that still lurks beneath the sea’s surface to this day.
For the youngest audience members, the ‘Kids at the Cinema’ programme features three films: DER MAGISCHE DSCHUNGEL takes viewers into the Venezuelan rainforest, whilst KOPFSACHE – DETEKTIVE AUF GANZER LINIE sends a group of young detectives on a quest to find their missing parents. In the fairy-tale film *THE GLASS PRINCESS*, the deaf Hans sets off to rescue a captive princess. On the Sunday of the festival, the film will also be screened in a version featuring English Sign Language.
Lead actor and short film juror Jason Giuranna will be in Cottbus for the post-screening discussion.
In addition, there are the previously announced special sections: ‘Close-Up: Latvia’ with 14 films, ‘View from the Black Mountain: Montenegro Special, the ‘Wende und kein Ende?’ transformation series, ‘Heimat | Domownja | Domizna’, and ‘Don’t Call Me Vintage!’ to mark the 100th anniversary of Andrzej Wajda’s birth.
New: The FFC Compass guides you through the programme
For the first time, the new FFC Compass offers additional guidance on film selection. It brings together thematic recommendations regardless of country or section. To start with, there are two categories to choose from: Crime Nights and Popcorn Cinema.
Crime Nights recommends a crime drama or thriller every evening of the festival. These include, for example, *THE BOG*, in which a decades-old murder case pits a village community against the investigating police officer, and the preview screening of *POLIZEIRUF 110: STALKER*.
‘Popcorn Cinema’ stands for the very best in cinematic entertainment. This includes, for example, the Oscar-winning animated adventure FLOW and the dark Slovak comedy INVALID, in which two friends take on the Mafia with a crazy plan for revenge during the wild 1990s. In future editions of the festival, the ‘Kompass’ section will continue to open up new perspectives on the programme with its ever-changing categories.
