Tomorrow, on Tuesday May 23rd, the Neisse Film Festival begins for the 20th time. The trinational film festival will once again be officially begun at the Gerhart-Hauptmann Theater in Zittau. Beginning at 7:00 p.m. the festival organizers will set the stage, looking forward to the coming days of the festival and presenting the film program, juries and highlights. The opening film, "Franky Five Star" by Birgit Möller, is a surreal tragicomedy about the search for oneself which takes a swing at the self-optimization craze in our society with a dose of humor and imagination. Afterwards in the theater foyer, DJ Ludmila Pogodina will set the mood musically for the week of festival.

Daily through Sunday approximately 100 films - feature films, documentaries, short films - will be shown in 23 locations across three borders, in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic, in towns such as Grosshennersdorf, Mittelherwigsdorf, Zittau, Görlitz, Löbau, Bautzen, Zgorzelec, Varnsdorf or Liberec. In addition to the films, visitors can enjoy film discussions and other accompanying events. The competitions for the best feature and best documentary films present nine productions each, with three films per category from each of the neighbouring countries. The short-film competition is presenting a total of 34 films of various genres this year - ranging from fictional or documentary in nature to animated or experimental. In the series of "Regionalia" films, local filmmakers and films are being highlighted which are dedicated in particular to life in the region or to Sorbian topics. Three "Country Windows" show current films from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In Centrum Panorama in Varnsdorf you can see film classics in 70mm format. And two films have been selected especially for the youngest guests.

The Focus program of the 20th festival takes a look at "Post Soviet Union" with the social and political legacy of the former Soviet Union. The films in this series reflect many varied aspects of life - whether political, economic or social - from intellectual debates to very real conditions of every-day life. The geopolitical radius of the country which at one time covered the largest land area in the world forms the thematic structure for a many-voiced, cinematic kaleidescope of narratives. Also on this topic, in Grosshennersdorf during the festival is an exhibition entitled "Post-Soviet Living Environments" by the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany.

The awards ceremony will take place on May 27 in Kühlhaus in Görlitz. Here the Neisse Fish, the festival award sculptures, will be presented to the best feature films, documentary and short films, the best acting, best screenplay or best production design. Following the ceremony, the Russian band Pussy Riot will perform an open-air concert.

The entire programme, tickets for films and events as well as current news on the Neisse Film Festival are all available online at www.neissefilmfestival.net.

Photo material on the Neisse Film Festival may be accessed here via Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2pbeipwp67fimhy/AAClFhYy59dRjODXjnIoz2OEa?dl=0