“This year, we had an amazing representation of women: over 60% of participants and 67% of directors were women. There were many genre films telling difficult stories. I found them entertaining, and they showed that we can use genre to tackle very challenging topics. That’s what we highlighted this year,” Marjorie Bendeck, the director of connecting cottbus told FNE.

“We’re also happy to see the regional community we’ve created. There aren’t as many outlets for CEE cinema as there used to be, and we bring people together from the Baltics to the Balkans. Audiences and the industry are turning to us as a festival that puts a focus on this. At the end of the day, we’re all neighbours and human beings, and this event celebrates cinema that reminds us of that,” Marjorie Bendeck added.

The cocoPITCH Audience Award, a 1,500 EUR cash prize voted for by industry participants, went to Tongues (Latvia) by director Tīna Zariņa and producer Alise Gelze of White Picture.

This year’s cocoPITCH jury, comprising Adis Đapo (SCCA/pro.ba), Natalia Grzegorzek (Koskino) and Zorana Mušikić (Mayana Films), selected the winners of three further awards.

The Avanpost Award, providing up to 15,000 EUR in-kind postproduction services, went to Svetlana (Estonia), presented by director Vera Pirogova and producer Kristen Aigro of Stellar Film. The jury praised its “brave portrayal of an uncompromising woman caught between cultures and expectations”.

The HAVC Project Development Award, a 5,000 EUR cash prize presented by the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), went to Something Wild (Hungary, Ireland) by director Zsuzsanna Konrád and producers Patricia D’Intino of Good Kids and Maya Korn of MHK Productions. The jury recognised “a project that follows a metamorphosis within a powerful, funny and disruptive family story”.

The Producers Network Award, offering free accreditation for one producer to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film in Cannes 2027, went to White Gypsy (Slovakia, Czech Republic). The project was presented by director and producer Katarína Gramatová of džanes and associate producer Vanessa Biermannová. The jury described it as “a project that uses eclectic storytelling to pull us into the world of a unique protagonist”.

Three projects received MIDPOINT Consulting Awards, each providing an in-depth script consultancy. Announced by MIDPOINT CEO Barbora Struss, the awards went to Teresa (Poland), directed by Jan Bujnowski and produced by Marcin Malatynski of Studio FilmoweIndeks (http://studioindeks.pl/); Tongues (Latvia), directed by Tīna Zariņa and produced by Alise Gelze of White Picture; and Virgin Mary (Armenia), directed by Lilit Movsisyan and produced by Inesa Mkrtchyan of Motif Films.

The 2026 cocoWIP jury comprised Natalia Dąbrowska (New Europe Film Sales), Daria Moheb Zandi (RBB), Lukáš Moudrý (Studio Beep) and Robert Wunsch (D-Facto Motion). The jury selected winners for two awards.

The D-Facto Motion WIP Award, offering 12,000 EUR in-kind postproduction services, went to This Is It, The Apocalypse (Türkiye, France), presented by director Balahan Gürel and producer Aysun Karaman of Rename Media. The jury said it was particularly impressed by a film that “dares to be different”, highlighting its unusual approach, distinctive rhythm, multiple layers and strong characters, which take the audience “far beyond the borders of Earth”.

The Studio Beep Sound Post-Production Award, providing 6,000 EUR in-kind services from the Prague-based postproduction studios, went to Switched Stance (Hungary, CineSuper), presented by director Dániel Füzes and producer Ádám Farkas of CineSuper. Studio Beep’s Lukáš Moudrý said: “We believe this project offers exciting possibilities for creative sound design, and we look forward to helping bring its sonic world to life.”

COCO AWARD WINNERS 2026:

cocoPITCH:

Audience Award (1,500 EUR):
Tongues (Latvia)
Directed by Tīna Zariņa
Produced by Alise Gelze, White Picture

Avanpost (avanpost.co) Award (up to 15,000 EUR in-kind postproduction services):
Svetlana (Estonia)
Directed by Vera Pirogova
Produced by Kristen Aigro, Stellar Film

HAVC Project Development Award (5,000 EUR):
Something Wild (Hungary, Ireland)
Directed by Zsuzsanna Konrád
Produced by Patricia D’Intino, Good Kids; Maya Korn, MHK Productions

Producers Network Award (Cannes 2027 accreditation):
White Gypsy (Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Directed and produced by Katarína Gramatová, džanes
Associate producer: Vanessa Biermannová

MIDPOINT Consulting Awards (script consultancy):

Teresa (Poland)
Directed by Jan Bujnowski
Produced by Marcin Malatynski, Studio FilmoweIndeks

Tongues (Latvia)
Directed by Tīna Zariņa
Produced by Alise Gelze, White Picture

Virgin Mary (Armenia)
Directed by Lilit Movsisyan
Produced by Inesa Mkrtchyan, Motif Films

cocoWIP Awards:

D-Facto Motion WIP Award (12,000 EUR in-kind services):
This Is It, The Apocalypse (Türkiye, France)
Directed by Balahan Gürel
Produced by Aysun Karaman, Rename Media

Studio Beep Sound Post-Production Award (6,000 EUR in-kind services):
Switched Stance (Hungary)
Directed by Dániel Füzes
Produced by Ádám Farkas, CineSuper