In its 31st edition, the FilmFestival Cottbus will present a total of 61 films from 33 (co-)production countries by and about women. The films bear witness to a world in which women can make equally sensitive films about men as men can make subtle films about women.
Thematically, the contributions of the 31st FFC revolve around strong women and their everyday, sometimes dramatic stories. One experiences heroines, but also anti-heroines. Often the focus is on overcoming archaic and patriarchal pecking orders, but also on the invisible private sphere and the confrontation with one's own fears, right up to the turbulent patchwork romcom about the consequences of the lesbian coming out of a family mother, which became a box office hit in Catholic Poland of all places.
In the Feature Film Competition, two teenage girls in LOOKING FOR VENERA (KO, MZ) by Norika Sefa search for their individual freedom in the patriarchal environment of the Kosovar province between the ruins of war and the remnants of tradition, while Peter Kerekes in 107 MOTHERS (SK, CZ, UA) sensitively portrays the stories of mothers in a women's prison in Odessa, Ukraine, on the border between fiction and fact. In a series of interviews, real prisoners provide insights into their mental lives, motherhood and the motives for their actions.
In the Hits section, HIVE (KO, CH, MZ, AL) by Blerta Basholli will be screened, the first feature film ever to win all three main tours at the renowned Sundance Film Festival. Based on true events, Basholli tells the success story of a Kosovar women's collective of war widows who, between personal loss and the struggle for survival, set up their own ajvar production, accompanied by the mistrust of the patriarchal village community.
In the section Spectrum, FIRE (KZ), by Kazakh director Aizhan Kassymbek, follows the touching story of a survival artist in a mix of quirky soap and carefully arranged visual dramaturgy. In the Close Up TR section, the 31st FFC presents IT'S ALL ABOUT PEACE AND HARMONY (TR) by Nesimi Yetik, an arousing, brilliantly pictorial ensemble film between direct cinema and American independent film about a sisterly war of the roses and the impossibility of breaking away from her ageing mother. From the indomitable outcast to the intrepid leader, the women in the films at this year's 31st FilmFestival Cottbus stand for a world full of diversity that is in upheaval.
Advance ticket sales are on now at filmfestivalcottbus.de and at all Reservix advance sales points. Tickets for the 31st FFC cost between 4.00 EUR and 7.50 EUR. For FFC lovers there are 5-ticket passes and festival passes once again. For the first time, the FFC also offers an online FestivalPass..
The latest information on the festival can be found at filmfestivalcottbus.de
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For accredited national and international representatives of the press and industry, the FFC is setting up online access to almost the entire festival programme.
Accreditations are now possible online and are free of charge for the reporting press.
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