Events

FilmFestival Cottbus – Festival of East European Cinema takes place each year in November.

The FilmFestival Cottbus is the oldest and the only festival worldwide with the approach to offer a representative overview of feature film production from the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. Its main objective is to raise awareness for the cultures and the customs of our neighbours in Eastern Europe, to encourage involvement in civil societies and to promote the exchange between East and West. Founded in 1991, the festival in the energy metropolis of Cottbus has developed into the region’s most important cultural event and an internationally recognized centre of competence for East European cinema. The annual attendance by 600 professional visitors, including more than 100 representatives of the national and international press, bears evidence to this. The Oscar-winning Hungarian director István Szabó has been acting as honorary president of the festival for many years.

Over 120 films from all Central and East European cinematograhies are shown in five venues over six days, of which around ten feature films and shorts each in the two competitions and films from other sections are competing for prizes with a total value of 77,500 Euros.

The Retrospective will be dedicated to the German reunification under the (working) title: Here and There – Two German film schools from East and West. Support programme will include workshops, lectures, exhibitions, live music and parties with East European background.