21-10-2019

Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz supports the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus as Patron

    The FilmFestival Cottbus presents its complete programme, which this year includes 210 films from 45 (co)producing countries. With the Georgian film GORI | PIG by Giga Liklikadze, the FFC presents another world premiere in the Feature Film Competition. Patrons of the 29th edition of the FilmFestival Cottbus are Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, and traditionally Dietmar Woidke, Minister President of Brandenburg.

    "The end of the so-called Iron Curtain was the beginning of the FilmFestival Cottbus, which since 1991 has developed into one of the world's leading festivals of East European cinema. Since then, the films of the 29 editions have also reflected the enormous transformation in the East European states. They take us into the reality of life on site. And let us feel through their characters what change means for each and every individual“, says Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, patron of the 29th FilmFestival Cottbus.

    FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
    In particular the 29th FFC's Feature Film Competition shows this reality of life and change – in the most unusual places, with a lot of emotion and a multitude of genres. 
    The coming-of-age story TOPAL ŞÜKRAN'IN MACERALARI | THE ADVENTURES OF SUKRAN THE LAME (2019) by Onur Ünlü is brightly coloured, in silent film format, cheeky and subversive. The first Turkish competition entry in the history of the FFC challenges: After an accident Sukran has to master her young life with a stiff leg. But she doesn't let this get her down, dreams of love, physical closeness and security. But something goes wrong again and again and sometimes ends deadly.
    MIN URDUBER KYUN KHAHAN DA KIIRBET | THE SUN ABOVE ME NEVER SETS (Lyubov Borisova, RU 2019) brings us to a tragicomic scenery on a Yakutian island in the Laptev Sea. Sent there by his father for fox farm keeping, the young YouTuber Altan meets the old hermit Baibal, who believes he will have to die soon. 
    Antonio Lukich's bizarre comedy MOYI DUMKY TYKHI | MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT (UA 2019) accompanies Vadim, who collects animal voices for a video game and who in search of the song of a rare bird is accompanied by his devoted mother. 
    In the dystopian psycho-drama JESTEM REN | I AM REN (PL 2019) Piotr Ryczko balances between horror and science fiction. Protagonist Renata is mother and wife – or a REN, a Regenerative Emotive Neuro-Being? The service agency detects a malfunction, a shut down is imminent. Hope is still there, but isn't family therapy already the final visit to the technician?
    With her film SHPIA E AGËS | AGA’S HOUSE (KO/HR/FR/AL 2019), Lendita Zeqiraj makes visible the fates of women and children: After the Kosovo War, five women live in a wasteland cut off from male influence. Tragedy and trauma are revealed only gradually. Nine-year-old Aga - the only man in the house - is looking for a father figure.
    The second world premiere in the Feature Film Competition (besides PUN MJESEC | FULL MOON, Nermin Hamzagić, BA 2019) is the feature film debutGORI | PIG by Giga Liklikadze (2019) from Georgia. The director shows this land of longing of many travellers away from the tourist streams, where the young Bachana roams aimlessly and falls into the hands of two petty criminals. They want to extort 100 euros from his family for his release, but can only offer them a pig. 

    With unexpected stories, pictures and main characters, all of the FFC's competition and other programme entries trigger unforeseen thoughts and feelings. 
    "This compassion, this listening to each other, in light of the increasing populism that causes a social division, I consider to be particularly important. In Germany, across the borders of Eastern Europe and throughout Europe. The films of this 29th festival year will make their contribution to this," emphasises patron Olaf Scholz.

    INTERNATIONAL JURY
    The four prizes in the Feature Film Competition (main prize for the best film, special prize for the best director, prize for an outstanding actress and an outstanding actor) will be awarded by the International Jury: 
    Sergey Dvortsevoy - Russian director, 2018 at FFC with AYKA winner of the main prize for best film
    Luli Bitri - Albanian actress (ALIVE!, AMNESTY, HOLY BOOM)
    Péter Muszatics - Hungarian film historian and curator
    Marija Perović - Montenegrin director, professor, chairman of the board of the Herceg Novi Film Festival - Montenegro Film Festival; the 29th FFC shows Perović‘s film GRUDI | BREASTS as International Premiere in the section SPOTLIGHT: MONTENEGRO 
    Peter Badel - cinematographer and until 2019 professor of camera studies at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF

    CLOSING FILM
    Following the award ceremony on Saturday, 9 November 2019, the FFC will present the Polish submission for the "Best Foreign Language Film" 2020: BOŻE CIAŁO | CORPUS CHRISTI by Jan Komasa (PL 2019). A young man who is difficult to educate dresses in a priestly garment, reconciles a divided village with his unorthodox view of Christian mission and sets – not without sacrifices – a sign of hope.

    Title list Feature Film Competition 
    Original title | German title | English title

    MOYI DUMKY TYKHI | DIE GEDANKEN SIND FREI | MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT
    ANTONIO LUKICH, UA 2019, 104 MIN
    German Premiere

    SHPIA E AGËS | AGAS HAUS | AGA’S HOUSE
    LENDITA ZEQIRAJ, KO/HR/FR/AL 2019, 107 MIN
    German Premiere

    OSTRÝM NOŽOM | MIT EINEM SCHARFEN MESSER | BY A SHARP KNIFE
    TEODOR KUHN, SK/CZ 2019, 90 MIN
    German Premiere

    JESTEM REN | ICH BIN REN | I AM REN
    PIOTR RYCZKO, PL 2019, 75 MIN
    German Premiere

    GLAS | DIE STIMME | THE VOICE
    OGNJEN SVILIČIĆ, HR/RS/MK 2019, 76 MIN
    German Premiere

    GORI | DAS SCHWEIN | PIG
    GIGA LIKLIKADZE, GE 2019, 81 MIN
    World Premiere

    NÁRODNÍ TŘÍDA | NATIONALSTRAßE | NATIONAL STREET
    ŠTĚPÁN ALTRICHTER, CZ/DE 2019, 90 MIN
    German Premiere

    REŽI | LOVE CUTS | LOVE CUTS
    KOSTA ĐORĐEVIĆ, RS/HR 2019, 80 MIN
    German Premiere

    SESTRA | SCHWESTER | SISTER
    SVETLA TSOTSORKOVA, BG/QA 2019, 98 MIN
    German Premiere

    PUN MJESEC | FULL MOON | FULL MOON
    NERMIN HAMZAGIĆ, BA 2019, 85 MIN
    World Premiere

    MIN URDUBER KYUN KHAHAN DA KIIRBET | DIE SONNE ÜBER MIR GEHT NIE UNTER | THE SUN ABOVE ME NEVER SETS
    LYUBOV BORISOVA, RU 2019, 108 MIN
    German Premiere

    TOPAL ŞÜKRAN'IN MACERALARI | DIE ABENTEUER VON SUKRAN DER LAHMEN | THE ADVENTURES OF SUKRAN THE LAME 
    ONUR ÜNLÜ, TR 2019, 80 MIN
    German Premiere

    Download film stills: www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/press

    About the FilmFestival Cottbus
    The 29th FilmFestival Cottbus will take place from November 5 – 10, 2019. In four competitions and eleven side sections, the FFC will show more than 200 films competing for prize money of more than EUR 75,000 and the coveted prize sculpture LUBINA (Sorbian: the Lovely). 
    Over 22,000 spectators attended the Festival of Eastern European Film in Cottbus in 2018.
    The 29th FilmFestival Cottbus is decisively supported by the Federal State of Brandenburg, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, the city of Cottbus, the Federal Foreign Office and the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
    Accreditation possible
    Reporting press can now be accredited online here:
    www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/accreditation