The 35th FilmFestival Cottbus concluded on 8 November with the announcement of this year’s award winners during the closing ceremony. Over the course of the week, Cottbus hosted screenings of over 180 films from 40 countries, along with numerous panels, master classes and networking events aimed at fostering dialogue across cultures.

The international festival jury – comprising Kyrgyz producer Sultan Pirzhan, Estonian actress Maarja Johanna Mägi, Ukrainian filmmaker Zhanna Ozirna, Serbian director Nikola Ležaić and Róbert Lakatos, associate professor at the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania – awarded the Main Prize for Best Feature Film, endowed with €15,000 and sponsored by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, to Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day by Croatian filmmaker Ivona Juka. The jury praised the movie for its “courage to address unspoken stories and the platform it provides to those whose experiences are too often unheard”.

Lead actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović also received the Award for Outstanding Individual Performance, accompanied by a prize of €5,000, as the jury was “in awe of this performance, which was deeply touching, and marked by emotional depth and vulnerability. We were struck by the transformation the actor leads his character through over the course of the film: a journey rendered through subtle, raw and deeply human expression.” The film also snagged the Audience Award, endowed with €3,000 by Lausitzer Rundschau, sealing its triple win.

The Special Prize for Best Director, endowed with €7,500 and sponsored by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb), went to Goran Stanković for Our Father [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]. The jury lauded the director for offering “an unguarded, raw and unapologetic window into its character’s life. It reminded us of the transformative power of simplicity, and the courage it takes to let the truth stand on its own. The filmmaker keeps the narrative grounded and relentlessly raw, never shying away from the emotional and physical realities of his character’s journey.”

In the Short Film Competition, the Main Prize was presented to People & Things by Damian Kosowski, and the Special Prize for Best Director went to Claudiu Mitcu for Love Is in the Air. The U18 Youth Film Competition, decided on by a cross-border jury of students from Cottbus, Zielona Góra and Teplice, awarded its Best Youth Film Prize (endowed with €5,000 and sponsored by the City of Cottbus) to Promise, I’ll Be Fine [+lee también:
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The FIPRESCI Award was bestowed upon Wrooklyn Zoo [+lee también:
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Festival managing director Andreas Stein praised the gathering’s strong attendance levels, with approximately 17,500 visitors having flocked through the doors, while programme director Bernd Buder highlighted the “wide range of films, from drama to comedy, which were met with great audience interest and a strong desire for dialogue. The shared experience of cinema enables connection and understanding.”

The full list of winners at the 35th FilmFestival Cottbus is as follows:

Main Prize for Best Film
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day – Ivona Juka (Croatia/Poland/Canada/Cyprus/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Serbia)

Special Prize for Best Director
Goran Stanković - Our Father [+lee también:
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Outstanding Individual Performance
Emir Hadžihafizbegović – Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day

Short Film Competition

Main Prize for Best Short Film
People & Things – Damian Kosowski (Poland, short film)

Special Prize for Best Director
Claudiu Mitcu - Love Is in the Air (Romania, short film)

U18 Youth Film Competition

Best Youth Film
Promise, I’ll Be Fine [+lee también:
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DIALOGUE Award for Intercultural Understanding
How Come It’s All Green Out Here? [+lee también:
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Prize for Best Debut
Promise, I’ll Be Fine – Katarína Gramatová

FIPRESCI Award
Wrooklyn Zoo [+lee también:
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Award of the Ecumenical Jury
Mayflies – Emília Goldberg (Hungary)
Honourable Mention
Ida Who Sang So Badly Even the Dead Rose Up and Joined Her in Song [+lee también:
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Audience Award
Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day – Ivona Juka

MIOB in Shorts Award
Land der Berge – Olga Kosanović (Austria/Germany, short film)

PICKASTORY – Audience Logline Award
Branko Tomović

Sponsorship Award of the Foundation for the Sorbian People
Roman Pernack