The 7th Odessa International Film Festival discusses how film festivals can invigorate civil society dialogue in Eastern Europe during a network meeting that has been jointly organised with the FilmFestival Cottbus. The event is supported by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In Eastern Europe, also, the medium of film reflects on social and historical taboo issues, thereby promoting civil society dialogue. However, this can on occasion lead to political pressure being inflicted on film makers, but also on film festivals, which perceive themselves as forums for social dialogue. Representatives of renowned Eastern European film festivals now meet to evaluate the situation: what can film festivals contribute to civil society dialogue? What are the problems arising from this? To what extent do economic and political framework conditions impact on festival programme planning?
In parallel, select films in the festival programme illustrate how civil society values may be conveyed. At the same time, the event promotes networking between the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova) and Russia. The network meeting in Odessa thus establishes a context for sustained exchange regarding content between film festivals and film festival initiatives in Eastern Europe.
Bernd Buder, Programme Director of the FilmFestival Cottbus, hosts the panel discussion within the scope of this project: “We are delighted that this meeting gives us the opportunity for intensifying the cooperation and content-related exchange with film festivals in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia.” The majority of film festivals perceive themselves as a go-between and understand film to be a medium that provides audiences with independent insights into a society’s current situation. The conference promotes social and transnational dialogue and strengthens cooperation in the film industry. It may be seen as a reaction to the politically charged situation in Eastern Europe. The second part of the network meeting will take place in the context of the 27th FilmFestival Cottbus (7 to 12 November).
The 27th FilmFestival Cottbus receives substantial support from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the City of Cottbus, the German Federal Foreign Office, the European Union’s Creative Europe programme and the German Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship.