Press Release 10/2016
Cottbus, 21 October 2016
U18 Youth Film Competition now tri-national
The 26th FilmFestival Cottbus welcomes the Czech Republic joining the U18 Youth Film Competition. This will be the first time Polish, Czech and German films will feature in this section's programme.
In five feature films and three short feature films, the directors offer with openness and curiosity a direct insight into the life of adolescents today. For instance, the Polish film WAVES tells the story of how two teenage girls training as hairdressers try to escape the daily grind and challenges of family life - or what is left of it. The German production VIKTORIA sees a Paralympic winner developing a moral conflict when she experiences the miracle of regaining her ability to walk. In ROAD-MOVIE from the Czech Republic, a young man and a young woman, friends from school days, embark on a journey from Prague to Austria in an old Ford Taunus. Also in the U18 Youth Film Competition: the screen adaptation CENTER OF MY
WORLD based on the bestselling novel of the same name by the successful author of books for children and young people, Andreas Steinhöfel. All film screenings will be followed by an opportunity to talk to the directors, screenwriters and actors.
A jury of six Polish, German and Czech pupils from Zielona Góra, Cottbus and Teplice in North Bohemia will decide on who will take home the prize for Best Youth Film. The award is endowed with EUR 3,000 donated by the Verein für Film- und Medienpädagogik Cottbus e.V. (Association for Film and Media Education Cottbus) in the context of a project funded by the Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung (Brandenburg State Institute for Political Education).
In addition, a student meeting will take place from 9 to 11 November during the 26th FilmFestival Cottbus with more than 50 grammar school pupils from the above-mentioned three cities. Jaroslaw Godlewski, coordinator of the student meeting explains: "The pupils will watch films from the U18 Youth Film Competition and the series 'Searching for traces: German-Czech-Polish history in a state of flux', will discuss these and exchange their views. The adolescents will bring with them many emotions, experiences and stories from their respective countries. By meeting and talking to each other, they as a young generation can build new bridges and further consolidate the existing ones."
The section U18 Youth Film Competition is organised in cooperation with the Verein für Film- und Medienpädagogik Cottbus e.V. and funded by the Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung.
For the 26th time, from 8 to 13 November 2016, the FilmFestival Cottbus will be the most important stage for Eastern European cinema. The FilmFestival Cottbus receives significant support from the Federal State of Brandenburg, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, the City of Cottbus, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. For further information as well as for broadcast- and print-quality images, please feel free to contact our PR and Marketing Managers Jenni Ellwanger, Anne-Kathrin Schöler-Rensch and Maria Tschanter. Telephone: +49 (355) 4310714/-26/-13; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
List of titles U18 Youth Film Competition
BABY BUMP | BABY BUMP | BABY BUMP: KUBA CZEKAJ, PL 2015, 90 MIN
DIE MITTE DER WELT | DIE MITTE DER WELT | CENTER OF MY WORLD: JAKOB M. ERWA, DE/AT 2016, 115 MIN
FALE | WELLEN | WAVES: GRZEGORZ ZARICZNY, PL 2015, 78 MIN
ANI VE SNU | NICHT MAL IM TRAUM! | IN YOUR DREAMS!: PETR OUKROPEC, CZ/SK/BG 2016, 76 MIN
ROAD-MOVIE | ROAD-MOVIE | ROAD-MOVIE: MARTIN JELÍNEK, CZ 2015, 88 MIN
halblangXdrei 3 Kurzfilme, DE/PL 2015-2016, 87 MIN
GEWITTERZELLEN | GEWITTERZELLEN | STORM CELLS: JAKOB SCHMIDT, DE 2015, 31 MIN
ADAPTACJA | ADAPTATION | ADAPTATION: BARTOSZ KRUHLIK, PL 2016, 25 MIN
VIKTORIA | VIKTORIA | VIKTORIA: MÓNICA LIMA, DE 2015, 31 MIN
