Editor

Where Polish eco-zombies meet Estonian kung-fu fireworks and extraordinary arthouse cinema in November.

 

The FilmFestival Cottbus is one of the world's leading festivals for current filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe. From 7 to 12 November, the 33rd FFC presents 150 films from 40 (co-)production countries. For six days there will be the colourful, melodramatic, exciting, shrill, crazy, humorous, experimental and highly political world of Eastern European cinema.

The genre diversity ranges from Inari Niemi's sensitively staged rollercoaster of love between two teenage girls in LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT (FI), which has its German premiere at the FFC, to the documentary RUSSIA VS LAWYERS by Masha Novikova (DE/NL), in which a team of human rights lawyers takes on the repressive Russian state, to the German premiere of the Estonian King-Fu comedy THE INVISIBLE FIGHT (Rainer Sarnet, EE/GR/LV/FI), in which border guard Rafael ends up in an Orthodox monastery of a somewhat different kind.

"This year we are more diverse than ever before," says programme director Bernd Buder about the programme of the 33rd edition of the festival "from the fascinatingly empathetic Georgian auteur film BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY (Elene Naveriani, GE/CH), the story of a woman between the urge for independence and later first love, to the Romanian political thriller, LIBERTATE (Tudor Giurgiu, RO/HU), which reflects the uprising against the Ceauşescu regime from all sides."

Also celebrating German premieres are Poland's first zombie film APOKAWIXA (Xawery Żuławski, PL), CHILD MACHINE (Rain Rannu, EE), a sci-f adventure film that points out the dangers of artificial intelligence, and the search for meaning by two skateboarding brothers in a stylish black-and-white hipster look in BROYS by Marcin Filipowicz (PL).

At the centre of the FFC are the three competitions for the best feature, short and youth film. In eight other programme sections, the 33rd FFC provides an overview of current filmmaking in Central and Eastern Europe.

This year's FFC programme includes competition entries from Ukraine, which show that Ukrainian cinema continues to be one of the most creative film landscapes in Europe. FOREVER FOREVER by Anna Buryachkova (UA/NL), provides a rare glimpse into the complex emotional world of growing up among post-Soviet "90s kids" in Kyiv.  The short film AS IT WAS (Damian Kocur, Anastasia Solonevych PL/UA) is also set in Kyiv, a tender film about an attempt at everyday life in the midst of war.

The Close up: Kazakhstan offers an overview of the unexpected diversity of Kazakh cinema. From Rachid Nougmanov's Cannes classic THE NEEDLE about a rock star (played by legendary KINO frontman Viktor Tsoi), drugs and Kazakhstan in the 80s, to the small-time gangster road movie THE START (Yernar Nurgaliev), in which an athletics coach recognises the running talent of two brothers on the run from the police, to THE VILLAGE, in which director Serik Aprymov reflects urban-rural contrasts with subtle humour. The Close Up shows films from a country that, geopolitically situated between the Russian Federation and China, is in search of its own identity. Kazakh filmmakers participate creatively, between artistic reflection and exciting entertainment. Two panel discussions complete the programme.

In EcoEast, for the second year in a row, films on ecological themes and sustainability will be shown, ranging from forestry in the Ukrainian Carpathians in BARTKA (Volodymyr Bakum, UA) to the eco-thriller VOICE OF THE GLACIER (Yadykar Ibraimov, KZ) about the melting Tujuksu glacier in Kazakhstan.

How did the people of Eastern Europe revolt against the communist dictatorships? The film series What Remains of History explores this question. Modern classics such as GOOD BYE LENIN! by Wolfgang Becker meet Andrzej Wajda's THE MAN OF IRON, which won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1981, and WEHE DEN BESIEGTEN - der 17. Juni 1953 (Andrea Ritterbusch GDR 1990), which tells the story of one of the darkest days of the GDR with archive footage and eyewitness interviews. Also included is JOHNNY&ME: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME WITH JOHN HEARTFIELD (Katrin Rothe DE/AT/CH 2023) an animation and documentary film about the photo collage pioneer John Heartfield, a visually powerful journey through ideologies and contemporary history. All films offer an exciting insight into the history of resistance against communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. Highly relevant in the face of resurgent totalitarian structures.

In recent years, the increasing number of international and national awards for productions by female directors is evidence of a positive trend in the international festival landscape. Nevertheless, the struggle of female filmmakers for promotion and recognition continues to be determined by numerous and differently motivated obstacles. In the film series Polskie Horyzonty: The Female Gaze, the FFC is showing a selection of very different films by Polish women directors. The focus is on the still young work of Agnieszka Smoczyńska: her debut film and genre crossover of musical, romantic comedy and modern fairy tale THE LURE (PL 2015), the profound portrait of a mother in FUGUE (PL/CZ/SUI 2018) and THE SILENT TWINS (PL/USA/GB 2022), the fate of twin sisters who are committed to a clinic after years of silence and teenage rebellion. With AUTUMN GIRL (PL 2021), Katarzyna Klimkiewicz staged the emancipation story of Kalina Jędrusik, who was considered the "Marylin Monroe of Poland" in the 1960s. VIKA! by Agnieszka Zwiefka (PL/DE 2023) brings the true story of Poland's oldest DJane (84) to the big screen.

In the Heimat | Domownja | Domizna section, the "Lange Nacht der kurzen Lausitzer| Dłujka noc krotkich łužyskich filmow | Dołha nóc krótkich łužiskich filmow" will be held for the first time. Those contributions that take up the themes of the Sorbian/Wendish people and include the Sorbian language compete for the special prize of the Foundation for the Sorbian People. In the section Heimat | Domownja | Domizna, the Sorbian future will be discussed in SERBSKA UTOPIJA by Erik Schiesko, and VOM SUCHEN UND FINDEN (Luka Golinski, Mira Dubian) is the first Lower Sorbian coming-out film in the programme. In addition, LET THE RIVER FLOW (Ole Giæver, NO), set during the environmental protests against the Alta dam project, tells of the displacement of the Sàmi minority, a film that shows many parallels to the Sorbian experience in Lusatia. To mark the 60th birthday of Cottbus filmmaker Donald Saischowa, the FFC is also showing a selection of his works.

The FFC programme also features the already familiar Spectrum sections with films ranging from historical reflections to wacky comedy, hits that sell out cinemas in their countries of production and Kids at the Movies, this year with the Sunday film THE TALE OF THE MAGIC FLUTE (Marvin Litwak DE 2023), in which Jessica Schwarz plays the Queen of the Night. The FullDome programme once again offers a unique opportunity to be captivated by a 360-degree projection at Cottbus' Spaceflight Planetarium.

The opening film of this year's festival is the new documentary by Grit Lemke BEI UNS HEISST SIE HANKA / PLA NAS GRONJE JEJ HANKA / POLA NAS RĚKA WONA HANKA, a documentary reflection on Sorbian - the pressure from outside, the feeling of "we" from within and current reinterpretations.

On the Sunday of the festival, POLIZEIRUF 110: COTTBUS KOPFLOS (Christoph Schnee) will also celebrate its world premiere in the Stadthalle. At prime crime time at 8.15 pm.
 
 
Complete film lists of all sections and matching film stills for each film can be found in the PressLogin on our website. The login is available on request.
 
Accreditation for the festival week is possible online here and is free of charge for the reporting press.
 
The complete programme is expected to be published online on 17 October, when the festival magazine will also be published.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

The FilmFestival Cottbus is largely funded by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the City of Cottbus as well as the Media Programme of the European Union.
The CLOSE UP: KAZAKHSTAN section is supported by the Federal Agency for Civic Education. The film series WAS VON GESCHICHTE ÜBRIGBLEIBT is funded by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, the film series DER WEIBLICHE BLICK by the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation.