02-07-2019

FNE at KVIFF 2019: Cottbus Team Gathers in Karlovy Vary as Application Deadline Approaches

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    Left to right: Brigitta Manthey (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Andreas Stein (CEO pool production, organizer of FFC), Marcel Maiga (Curator FFC), Bernd Buder (Programme Director FFC), Anne-Kathrin Rensch (PR & Marketing FFC), Anke Donnerstag (Programme Department FFC), Nikolai Nikitin (Senior Consultant FFC), Bettina Möbes (Event Coordinator FFC), Katharina Stumm (Programme Coordinator connecting cottbus) and Mariam Kandelaki (Event Coordinator connecting cottbus) Left to right: Brigitta Manthey (Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Andreas Stein (CEO pool production, organizer of FFC), Marcel Maiga (Curator FFC), Bernd Buder (Programme Director FFC), Anne-Kathrin Rensch (PR & Marketing FFC), Anke Donnerstag (Programme Department FFC), Nikolai Nikitin (Senior Consultant FFC), Bettina Möbes (Event Coordinator FFC), Katharina Stumm (Programme Coordinator connecting cottbus) and Mariam Kandelaki (Event Coordinator connecting cottbus)

    KARLOVY VARY: A larger-than-usual delegation from the Cottbus Film Festival and the granddaddy of CEE pitching forums connecting cottbus were on hand to welcome guests to their traditional summer party at the Karlovy Vary IFF, running through 6 July 2019.

    Speaking with FNE, Cottbus FF programme director Bernd Buder said the festival is still accepting film submissions through 15 July. “We have widened our territory this year to include Greece, Turkey and Finland,” he told FNE. Among this year’s specials there will be a focus on Montenegro and on Lower Silesia, which includes the area around Wroclaw, Poland. The festival will also mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. “We will be reflecting on the transition period, was it too fast, and how did it affect us,” Buder said.

    Among the team at Karlovy Vary were festival CEO Andreas Stein, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg funding advisor Brigitta Manthey, and Nikolaj Nikitin joining Cottbus FF this year as a festival consultant.