Current issues
No other European festival is better positioned than Cottbus to measure the depth and range of the current film revival in Central and Eastern Europe. Abetted by the smart programming skill of festival director Roland Rust, the 14th FilmFestival Cottbus (2-6 November 2004) – aka the 14th Festival of East European Cinema – was again a must-visit event for critics, cineastes, and fest directors interested in keeping apace with the hundred or more important productions released annually in filmlands stretching from the former German Democratic Republic to Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
The 2004 Locarno International Film Festival took place 4 to 14 August in one of the most rain-filled 10 days of its 57 years. The outdoor evening screenings in the Piazza Grande...
In the most dense and concentrated manner imaginable, the Russian director Andrej Swaginzew tells the story of the battle between authority and rebellion, of the conflict between a father and his two sons. The film that has been awarded several prices – among others two Golden Lions in Venice, for the best debut and the best film respectively, and the John Templeton European Film of the Year Award 2003 (awarded by the churches) – is now shown in German cinemas. “The Return” is also Film of the Month (April 2004), chosen by the Protestant film jury.
Roland Rust, as astute a film critic as he is festival director, hit the nail right on the head when he chose Russian cinema as the focus of the 13th Cottbus Festival of East European Films, scheduled 4-8 November 2003. All three of the competition awards for feature films went to Russian directors, in addition to a special prize in the short film competition. And both the FIPRESCI (International Critics) and the Ecumenical Juries doubled up on the same opinions of the International Jury...
On the occasion of the church reception in Cottbus 2003, Hans Werner Dannowski, INTERFILM's Honorary President, talks about the development of the relationship between church and film in Germany
Ron Holloway reports on a film seminar organised by INTERFILM, WACC and SIGNIS in Iasi, Romania, with the support of the Metropolitan of Moldova and Bukovina. The event took place as part of the series "Europa eine Seele geben - Giving a Soul to Europe".
Robin Gurney reports on the 2nd International Content Summit at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival focussing on the topic "Film, Values, and Society".
