After two years with severe restrictions, the 32nd edition of the Cottbus Film Festival (FFC) will be running again this autumn: from November 8th to 13th the festival of Eastern European film will show 219 films from 48 countries. The program will only be shown in seven venues in the city this year, said FFC spokeswoman Jana Gebauer. In the first Corona year 2020, the festival ran exclusively online and last year as a hybrid event.
Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, films from the Eastern European country are a focus of the festival this year. 13 films from and 3 films about Ukraine will be shown. At a “Ukrainian Day” on November 11, there will be film screenings as well as panel discussions with the directors who want to report on the working conditions of the filmmakers and the role of the cinema in dealing with everyday wartime life. On this day, Ukrainian refugees will get free entry to all film screenings of the festival upon presentation of their passport.
In the three competitions feature film, short film and youth film, prizes of almost 70,000 euros will again be awarded. At the “Lausitzer FilmSchau” with short films by young filmmakers in particular, a film idea is awarded a special prize, which is intended to enable the idea to be turned into a short film. The only condition: the use of the Lower Sorbian language.
Film Festival Cottbus
