THE COTTBUS FILM FESTIVAL ENDED ON NOVEMBER 12

21.11.2023

On November 12, the Film Festival Cottbus ended.

Film Festival Cottbus is one of the world's leading contemporary film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe.

The film «Forever - Forever» by Anna Buryachkova, created with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, won the main competition at the international film festival.

Congratulations to the film team on their victory!

«Forever – Forever» is a story about survival and love at the same time, about shame but also carefree, about freedom and dependence on your body. It's about desperation, tenderness, pain, pleasure, and the search for yourself and the right decisions. It's also a film about the youth of those who are now over 30, those who have become the most passionate and dedicated fighters for freedom in modern times.

The German premiere of the film «Lessons of Tolerance» directed by Arkadii Nepytaliuk, created with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency took place in the «Spectrum» section.

According to the film’s plot – an ordinary Ukrainian family agrees to participate in the European integration program Lessons of Tolerance to cope with financial difficulties. But among other challenges, they are also worried about what their neighbors will say.

The world premiere of the documentary film «Bartka» directed by Volodymyr Bakum, created with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency took place in the «EcoEast» section.

The film tells the story of Vasyl Pavlovych, a forester from the Ukrainian Carpathians who has been cutting down wood all his life and periodically suffers from floods. The hero believes that the floods are caused by global warming. Where is the truth?

Also, in the short film competition the film «As It Was» by Anastasia Solonevych and Damian Kocur took part.

On November 11, during the Ukrainian Day, free screenings of the following Ukrainian films were held, which belong to the section «Spotlight: Ukraine»:

«Sashenka» by Alexander Zhovna (created with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency);

«How Far is Close» by Inga Pylypchuk;

«Smouldering: The Tree of Life» by Nadiia Mykolaienko;

«Photophobia» by Ivan Ostroсhovsky and Pavlo Pekarcik;

«You Know It’s Going to Be About War» by Olga Tsybulska.

The Cottbus Film Festival (FFC) was founded in 1991.

Today, it is one of the most internationally recognized film festivals in Eastern Europe.

This year's Film Festival in Cottbus was held from November 7 to 12.