The young director Christina Hadjicharalambous was awarded the Cottbus Discovery Award of the 22nd FilmFestival Cottbus, endowed with 4,000 Euro and sponsored by Synchro Film, Video & Audio, Vienna. Her feature film debut LOVELESS ZORITSA (Serbia, Poland, Cyprus, Greece 2011), directed together with Radoslav Pavković, saw its successful German première in Cottbus during the past festival issue.

The connecting cottbus (coco) Special Pitch Award went to Maria Sadowska, director of WOMEN'S DAY (Poland 2012), the main award winner of the 22nd FilmFestival Cottbus. Sadowska accepted the award in person. The coco Special Pitch Award enables the film-maker to pitch her new project during the next issue of the East-West co-production market, which will take place for the 15th time in 2013.

In addition to the award ceremony and première of the new festival trailer, the brunch offered first insights into the programme of the 23rd festival issue. The >FocusRetrospectiveLocation Lusatia series is on Srbian-Wendish film-making.

After the East European Brunch, the evening continued in the premises of the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin (.CHB). There, the FilmFestival Cottbus and coco, together with the .CHB, hosted the "Cottbus Lounge".

The 23rd FilmFestival Cottbus will take place between 5th and 10th November 2013 and connecting cottbus is scheduled for 7th to 9th November 2013. In the past year, a total of more than 150 films from 36 countries were screened during the six festival days and more than 19,500 visitors constituted a new record as regards audience numbers.

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