The 34th FilmFestival Cottbus: The competitions at a glance

The 34th FilmFestival Cottbus offers exceptional cinema from Central and Eastern Europe in three exciting competitions from November 5-10.

In the feature film competition, twelve titles from 19 (co-)production countries will compete for the prestigious Lubina prizes, including the main prize for the best film (EUR 15,000, donated by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg), the special prize for the best director (EUR 7,500, donated by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg rbb) and the prize for an outstanding individual acting performance (EUR 5,000, donated by Sparkasse Spree-Neiße).

This year's competition once again showcases the stylistic and thematic breadth of Central and Eastern European cinema. Stories and experiences that reflect the challenges of life between family and society - between hope and grief, nature conservation and “turning point”, historical film and science fiction. Bittersweet screen adventures, realistic and touching, that leave nobody unmoved.

DWELLING AMONG THE GODS (RS/HR/IT 2024) by Vuk Ršumović is a modern-day Antigone drama about an Afghan family in Belgrade. The protagonist Fereshteh is faced with an almost impossible decision: should she continue her journey to the West, to a supposedly better future, or stay and give her brother, who died on the run, a proper burial? Magical suburban realism: in RIVIERA (GR/FR 2024), Orfeas Peretzis' debut, 17-year-old Alkistis faces a summer between loss and a new beginning. In UNDER THE VOLCANO (PL 2024) by Damian Kocur, a family from Kyiv struggles with the news of a war of aggression against their homeland during an involuntary vacation in Tenerife. The sci-film U ARE THE UNIVERSE (UA/BE 2024) by Pavlo Ostrikov tells of a destroyed Earth, togetherness in space and the last hope for a human encounter.

U R THE UNIVERSE

In BIKECHESS (Assel Aushakimova, KAZ/FR/NO 2024), a female journalist is confronted with the limits of freedom of expression and attacks on women's rights in an authoritarian state. In the gripping thriller DEAL AT THE BORDER (Dastan Zhapar Ryskeldi, KG 2024), two smugglers in the mountains of Central Asia help a young woman to escape slavery, putting her own life in danger. GOOD CHILDREN (Filip Peruzović, HR 2024 2024) portrays the difficult emotional journey of a brother and sister who, after the death of their mother, have to break up the family home and come to terms with their past and their estranged relationship. In OUR LOVELY PIG SLAUGHTER (CZ/SK 2024) by Adam Martinec, a rural family tradition becomes the starting point for a sensitive, ironic portrait of morality reminiscent of the films of the Czechoslovakian New Wave.

SOUTHERN CHRONICLES (Ignas Miškinis, LT/EE 2024) is a touching coming-of-age story about two young people from different social classes in the Lithuanian province of the 1990s who fall in love despite all their social differences. The world premiere THE TOWER OF STRENGTH (Nikola Vukčević, ME/RS/HR/DE 2024) is set during the Second World War. A Muslim-Albanian family hides a Christian child and becomes the target of an Albanian SS division - a gripping historical film about courage and humanity. In THE TRAP (Nadejda Koseva, BG/DE 2023), the fierce Yovo fights against environmental destruction in an idyllic river delta, while WHEN THE PHONE RANG (RS/US 2024) by Iva Radivojević takes a deeply moving look at the war years in the former Yugoslavia, when a young girl is confronted with the loss of her grandfather and her country.

UNDER THE VOLCANO

The international festival jury decides on the award winners. This year's jury consists of Sonora Broka, artistic director of the Riga International Film Festival and editor, Cristina Groşan, Romanian-Hungarian filmmaker and director of the film ORDINARY FAILURES, which is screening in the Specials section, Anja Matković, Croatian theater and film actress and screenwriter, who is also the lead actress and screenwriter of the opening film MY LATE SUMMER, Inna Sahakyan, director and producer from Armenia, whose films AURORA'S SUNRISE and MEL are both screening in Close-Up: Armenia, and Xavier Henry-Rashid, French-British sales agent and former Executive Director of the Raindance Film Festival. Rashid is representing, among others, the food comedy TASTY from the Spectrum section, which is celebrating its world premiere at the festivals in Cork, Cottbus and Tallinn.

The short film competition brings a wide variety of films to the screen, from quirky humor to moving fates. AGE OF THE DRAGON (Marcell Farkas, HU/AT 2024) by Marcell Farkas takes us into a dystopian world full of fantasy, while CHRISTMAS DAY (EE 2022) by Alexandra Pärn tells a bizarre Christmas story. ALMOST CERTAINLY FALSE (TR/BG 2024) by Cansu Baydar sheds light on the life of a Syrian refugee in Istanbul. And @TIKTOK_COWBOY (RO 2024) by Anastaseu Ștefan is about a young Roma influencer during the lockdown. All short films in the program can be found here.

@TIKTOK_COWBOY

A main prize (EUR 2,500, donated by Druckzone Cottbus) and the special prize for the best director (EUR 1,500, donated by Tiede+) will be awarded. The winners will be selected by the short film jury, which consists of Szilárd Bernáth (Hungary), Eglė Vertelytė (Lithuania) and Magdelena Ilieva (Bulgaria).

The U18 competition for the best youth film (EUR 5,000, donated by the city of Cottbus) focuses on themes such as identity, freedom and rebellion against social expectations. DORMITORY (TR/DE 2023) by Nehir Tuna depicts the life of a 14-year-old searching for belonging and freedom in an Islamic boarding school, while GOTTESKINDER (DE, 2024) by Frauke Lodders shows the challenges of faith and falling in love for the first time in an evangelical family. TOXIC (LT 2024) by Saulė Bliuvaitė shows two teenage girls fighting for their place in a world characterized by toxic friendships in the midst of bullying and beauty mania. An EXPLANATION FOR EVERYTHING (HU/SK 2023) by Gábor Reisz tells the story of a high school graduate who triggers a national scandal with a small lie - a biting satire on social and political grievances. The U18 jury is made up of students from Teplice (CZ) and Cottbus. You can view the complete U18 section here.

DORMITORY

The FilmFestival Cottbus is supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the State of Brandenburg and the City of Cottbus. We are also very grateful for the support of Creative Europe Media, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Sparkasse Spree-Neiße and the Federal Agency for Civic Education. Our media partners are radioeins, radio3 and the Lausitzer Rundschau.