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Cottbus Film Festival: 'Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day' wins!
On November 8th, 2025, prizes were awarded at the 35th FilmFestival Cottbus, including for “Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day”.
Cottbus Film Festival: 'Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day' wins!
The 35th FilmFestival Cottbus awarded its main prizes on Saturday evening and the winning film is none other than “BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY” by the talented Ivona Juka. This international co-production from Croatia, Montenegro, Poland, Canada, Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina impresses not only with its emotional storytelling, but also with its thematic depth. The film explores the treatment of sexual minorities under totalitarianism and was awarded both the main prize of 15,000 euros, donated by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and the coveted audience prize of 3,000 euros. This is reported by the Niederlausitz Aktuell website.
“Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day” impresses with its gripping narrative structure that combines personal trauma with collective memory. The jury praised the emotional power of the work, which was reflected in the excitement and great interest during the festival screenings. Goran Stanković received the special award for best director for “OUR FATHER,” whose theme deals with the challenges of life in a Christian Orthodox rehabilitation facility. This prize was endowed with 7,500 euros.
Winners and prizes at a glance
The awards night was an impressive event that highlighted some of the film industry's outstanding talent. Here's what we celebrated:
- Bester Spielfilm: „Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day“ – 15.000 Euro
- Publikumspreis: „Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day“ – 3.000 Euro
- Spezialpreis für beste Regie: Goran Stanković für „Our Father“ – 7.500 Euro
- Herausragende darstellerische Einzelleistung: Emir Hadžihafizbegović für „Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day“ – 5.000 Euro
- Bester Kurzfilm: „PEOPLE & THINGS“ von Damian Kosowski – 2.500 Euro
- U18-Wettbewerb: „PROMISE, I’LL BE FINE“ – 5.000 Euro
- DIALOG-Preis für Verständigung zwischen Kulturen: „HOW COME IT’S ALL GREEN OUT HERE?“ – 2.000 Euro
- FIPRESCI-Preis der internationalen Filmkritik: „WROOKLYN ZOO“
- Ökumenischer Jurypreis: „MAYFLIES“
- Lobende Erwähnung: „IDA WHO SANG SO BADLY EVEN THE DEAD ROSE UP AND JOINED HER IN SONG“
The festival was considered very successful by managing director Andreas Stein as it attracted around 17,500 visitors. For program director Bernd Buder, the positive outcome was one of the highlights. The festival program included 138 films from 41 countries, which shows not only the diversity but also the breadth of topics and stories that this year's festival offered.
Looking into the future
There are still 44 films on the program on festival Sunday in the coming days, which increases the anticipation of another exciting day. Which film will be the next big hit? That remains to be seen. One thing is clear, however: “Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day” has already secured a place in the hearts of the audience with its impressive performance in Cottbus. This message is also impressively underlined by Nordkurier.