Polish Films at 27th Cottbus IFF

The lineup of the 27th Cottbus IFF features several films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The festival runs from November 7 through November 12.

Feature Film Competition

Among this year’s twelve films competing for the festival’s grand prize (25,000 EUR and the Lubina statuette) are two Polish entries: Jestem mordercą (I Am a Murderer) by Maciej Pieprzyca and Dzikie róże (Wild Roses) by Anna Jadowska. The festival’s international jury will also award the Special Prize for Best Director (7,500 EUR), Award for Outstanding Actress (5,000 EUR) and Award for Outstanding Actor (5,000 EUR). 

At last year’s edition of the festival, Jan P. Matuszyński’s Ostatnia Rodzina (The Last Family) was voted Best Debut Film, with Dawid Ogrodnik receiving the Award for Outstanding Actor for his performance. Mitja Okorn’s comedy Planeta Singli (Planet Single) received the Audience Award in Cottbus.

Short Feature Competition

This year’s Short Feature Competition lineup features 10 films, including a Polish production called Pola, directed by Edyta Rembała of the Gdynia Film School. The competition jury will award a main prize of 1,500 EUR and a special prize of 1,000 EUR.

Polish cinema will also screen in the festival’s U18 competition, a section for Polish, German and Czech films for young adults.

Polish Films in Other Festival Sections

Several Polish films will screen out of competition in Cottbus. In the Polish Horizons section, the festival will screen six films in collaboration with the New Horizons festival. These films include Zgoda (The Reconciliation) by Maciej Sobieszczański and Opera o Polsce (Opera About Poland) by Piotr Stasik. The festival’s special screenings include Człowiek z marmuru (Man of Marble) by Andrzej Wajda. The Spectrum section lineup features Szatan kazał tańczyć (Satan Said Dance) by Katarzyna Rosłaniec. The National Hits section focusing on the biggest box-office hits in their countries of origin across Eastern and Central Europe features three Polish features in its lineup of eleven films: Wołyń (Hatred) by Wojciech Smarzowski, Konwój (Convoy) by Maciej Żak, and Sztuka kochania. Historia Michaliny Wisłockiej (The Art of Loving) by Maria Sadowska. The Focus section, which shines a spotlight on the life of the Vietnamese minority in Europe, will feature two Polish films: Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s Hanoi-Warszawa (Hanoi-Warsaw), winner of the European Film Award, and Mały palec (Pinky) by Tomasz Cichoń.

The 27th Cottbus IFF runs from November 7 through November 12.

Further details are available at: www.filmfestivalcottbus.de.

Marta Sikorska

Translated by Karolina Kołtun

23.10.2017