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09.02.2024 12:48:12
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Locarno77: World premieres of MOND and DEAR BEAUTIFUL BELOVED
Wonderful Austrian presence at the 77
th
Locarno Film Festival:
· Kurdwin Ayub’s MOND will celebrate its world premiere at the International Competition
· Juri Rechinsky’s DEAR BEAUTIFUL BELOVED at Semaine de la critique
· Jessica Hausner is the president of the international Pardo d’Oro jury 2024
· Two projects at tjhe co-development platform Alliance4Development
Four early Michael Haneke films restored
THREE PATHS TO THE LAKE (1976)
LEMMINGS 1 – ARCADES +
LEMMINGS 2 – INJURIES (1979)
THE REBELLION (1993)
All the four of them, early works by Michael Haneke, were recently restored and will celebrate their first appearance on the big screen.
Austrian films at international festivals
Participations
July 2024
Austrian films on international screens
Theatrical releases
October 2016 – July 2024
Award Winners 2024
Awards + Nominations 2024
starting in January 2024
INTERVIEW
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«
Spaces are opening up in between
.»
Lilith Kraxner, Milena Czernovsky
Two young protagonists and everyday life. Being alone at home. Being alone in public, outdoors. Sometimes looking for a connection – only to retreat again soon afterwards. In their second feature film, BLUISH, Lilith Kraxner and Milena Czernovsky explore an intangible state of being in-between after a period of social isolation. While their sensory images trace the vague moods of their characters, the fluid boundaries at the edges of the frame initiate a multi-layered encounter with other media and art forms.
INTERVIEW
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«At this very moment they are all alone.»
Ulrike Kofler
What Gina wants more than anything else is for them all to remain a family. The nine-year-old girl is already taking care of her younger brothers. She’s also prepared to look after the baby that’s on the way. She does her best to keep an eye on her mother, who is in the later stages of pregnancy and suffers from alcoholism. In GINA, filmmaker Ulrike Kofler looks at three generations of a family where failure is perpetuated inescapably, addressing the delicate issue of what happens when the private sphere urgently needs help from outside.
World premieres at
FID Marseille and
Munich IFF
There are two Austrian world premieres on the festival schedules this week:
b l u i s h, second feature by Lilith Kraxner & Milena Czernovsky will show at the FID Marseille (June 25 to 30) as an International Competition entry.
GINA, also a second feature by Ulrike Kofler, is a contender at the Cinevision Competition at the Munich IFF (June 28 to July 7)
JESSICA HAUSNER: Jury president at Locarno 77
Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner will be the president of the Golden Leopard-jury at the 77
th
Locarno Film Festival (August 7 to 17, 2024).
Artistic director Giona Nazarro states:
A vital and restless filmmaker, Jessica Hausner has created a diverse body of work reflecting the most hidden aspects of contemporary society with extraordinary depth.
INTERVIEW
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«It's about humanity and being human.»
Mo Harawe
Mamargade has no experience of long-term prospects; given the conditions of life in his Somali village, they are simply out of the question. But considering the consequences of his actions would also be against his nature. People here help each other wherever possible, fighting to get by from one day to the next. When his son's school closes, he has to make a decision to provide the boy with a better future. In his feature film debut THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE, Mo Harawe develops a gentle tone to tell of family and a solidarity that ensures survival in an unforgiving world.
INTERVIEW
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«A sensation of being adrift.»
Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter
Moscow's inhospitable streets and the stray dogs there have once again inspired Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter. In DREAMING DOGS, Dingo and his homeless mistress Nadja form an inseparable team; the filmmakers accompanied them over three years of an unstable existence. Against the harsh background of financial collapse and loss of livelihoods, a narrative emerges which engages fully with the animal and its impulses, attempting repeatedly to shake off customary connotations.
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE@Cannes | Un Certain Regard
Reviews
There's a strong sense of authorship in every scene, every decision.
Screen Daily
an impressively masterful first feature
Les Inrocks
a poignant debut
Variety
visually striking and masterfully told
The Film Verdict
Mo Harawe's THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE in Cannes
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE is part of the
Un Certain Regard
selection at the 77th Cannes festival (May 14 to 25).
Mo Harawe's feature debut is produced by Vienna-based FreibeuterFilm in collaboration with France, Germany and Somalia.
World Sales: Totem Films
In a windy Somali village, a newly assembled family must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Love, trust and resilience will power them through their life paths.
INTERVIEW
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«Democracy doesn’t exist because of some law of nature.»
Eva Spreitzhofer
In her comedies, Eva Spreitzhofer aims to make people laugh together in the cinema about things that are harming society. And the issues have multiplied: global warming, Covid denial, social media addiction, transgender discussion... The filmmaker has extended Wanda's patchwork family from What Have We Done to Deserve This? as well as enlarging the complex state of public debate, ensuring that in HOW DO WE GET OUT OF THIS? the ideological sparks fly on Christmas Eve and yet a joint celebration is possible.
INTERVIEW
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«A silent heroine of everyday life»
Harald Friedl
They are all invisible. The old people no longer able to cope with everyday life without assistance – and also the women who live under the same roof to provide them with the necessary care, which entails leaving their own homes for an extended period. In 24 HOURS, Harald Friedl observes a Romanian nurse during the course of one care cycle, focusing attention on an activity that is performed every day without receiving public perception or social recognition.
INTERVIEW
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«Live your best possible life»
Kat Rohrer
The filmmaker Kat Rohrer has lived long enough in Vienna and New York to know that something is missing both here and there. In Austria, it was the startlingly low visibility of queerness in narratives on screen, which provided her with a good reason to do something about it. Her romantic comedy WHAT A FEELING is carried by the contrast between two families, the incomprehension between two women and the desire to admit, though briefly, a world that is both happy and whole.
INTERVIEW
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«Move out of our bubbles.»
Friedrich Moser
For many years now, Friedrich Moser's documentary focus has been on the worldwide web. What once seemed to connect us all has now developed into a diffuse space where doubts and wedges are driven into societies in an increasingly targeted manner. HOW TO BUILD A TRUTH ENGINE addresses the issues of disinformation as a weapon, the call for a new journalism and the urgent need for democratic societies to find a mode of coexistence inside and outside the net.
Berlinale Awards to THE DEVIL’S BATH and FAVORITEN
Wonderful outcome for Austrian filmmaking at the awards ceremonies of the 74th Berlinale:
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
to Martin Gschlacht, DoP of THE DEVIL’S BATH by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala +
Giuseppe Becce Prize
for Best Dramaturgy
Peace Award
to FAVORITEN by Ruth Beckermann
Teddy Award to German production
Teaches of Peaches
by Austrian co-director Philipp Fussenegger
INTERVIEW
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«Beauty is often on the outside, hell on the inside.»
Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Agnes is a young woman. Extremely sensitive and quiet, she feels at one with nature. Not the best prerequisites for someone from modest circumstances in the 18th century who marries into a peasant family which relies primarily on a young workforce. Agnes is one of countless women who found an escape from her sense of alienation in a world defined by harshness, austerity and fear of God. Inspired by historical records of interrogations, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala employ the power of beauty and cruelty in THE DEVIL’S BATH to tell a story of confinement and liberation.
INTERVIEW
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«These children are the future of our society.»
Ruth Beckermann
Favoriten is Vienna's 10
th
district, and for about 40% of the people living in this, the most heavily populated district of the capital, German isn’t their mother tongue. Over the course of three years, Ruth Beckermann accompanied an elementary school class and their highly motivated teacher through everyday life: sometimes happy, sometimes very demanding. FAVORITEN provides explosive food for thought about the social relevance of elementary education for coexistence and cohesion in a big city.
INTERVIEW
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«Stupid coincidences and messy lives.»
Josef Hader
Andrea really tried her best: a police career in her own village, a husband with a penchant for strong liqueur, a mother-in-law under the same roof and a father in the early stages of dementia. She was willing to make every compromise to create a life for herself in the countryside. Until at some point, enough is enough – and this is when fate steps in. In his second feature film, ANDREA GETS A DIVORCE, Josef Hader tells the story of a provincial existence where there’s no escape from the flat landscapes and low houses.
INTERVIEW
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«America is the force field of the film.»
Alexander Horwath
America is always waiting to be rediscovered. In his essay film HENRY FONDA FOR PRESIDENT, on the works of the eminent Hollywood star, Alexander Horwath embarks on a wide-ranging journey of exploration into well-known and lesser-known territories. He interweaves the family history of the Fondas, the body of work created by one of their most prolific offspring and excerpts from the past and present of the United States, creating a polyphonic and at the same time very personal homage to a multifaceted country and the uncountable versions of itself that emerge from the dream factory.
INTERVIEW
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«Wrestling with the world.»
Anja Salomonowitz
Fame, international recognition, high prices on the art market. By the end of her life, 95-year-old Maria Lassnig had achieved everything she’d so much desired. It had been a long road. Anja Salomonowitz moves along Lassnig's life story to permeate into her processes of perception and creation, creating in SLEEPING WITH A TIGER a portrait of an artist which engages with the internal and external worlds of this fascinating painter.
THE DEVIL'S BATH @Berlinale: Reviews
a gripping psychological study
The Hollywood Reporter
Plaschg is a magnetic presence
Screendaily
FAVORITEN @Berlinale: Reviews
Straightforwardly enjoyable.
Variety
Endearing, and often surprisingly insightful
.
Screen
ANDREA GETS A DIVORCE @Berlinale: Reviews
a sunny to cloudy picture of rural temperaments and customs
Die Presse
Hader's view of Lower Austria is almost sociological in nature
Der Standard
HENRY FONDA FOR PRESIDENT @Berlinale: Reviews
I have no hesitation in stating that it is one of the most beautiful biographical (and not only) documentaries seen in recent years. A highly cultured film and actually also light and entertaining.
Close Up
Deserved acclaim for a near unique piece of cinema.
Filmuforia
SLEEPING WITH A TIGER @Berlinale: Reviews
The view on Lassnig becomes exquisitely hers.
Cineuropa
Superb Maria Lassnig biopic
Der Standard
74
th
Berlinale with five Austrian world premieres
It’s such a pleasure to share an amazing line-up for the 74th Berlinale! No less than 5 films to celebrate their world premiere:
Competition
: THE DEVIL’S BATH by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Encounters
: FAVORITEN by Ruth Beckermann
Panorama
: ANDREA GETS A DIVORCE by Josef Hader
Forum
: HENRY FONDA FOR PRESIDENT by Alexander Horwath
Forum
: SLEEPING WITH A TIGER by Anja Salomonowitz
PANDORA’S LEGACY by Angela Christlieb at IFFR Rotterdam
Angela Christlieb’s complex mosaic on a fascinating family history unveilling G.W. Pabst’s multi-talented wife Trude celebrates its world premiere in the Cinema Regained section of the 53rd Rotterdam Film Festival. Two more brand-new Austrian films are screening at the IFFR Harbour program: GOD BETWEEN US by Rebecca Hirneise and VENI VIDI VICI by Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann.
INTERVIEW
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«I advocate conversation.»
Rebecca Hirneise
At some point, Rebecca Hirneise had to get away. Far away from her family, where religion held the thoughts and lifestyle of children and adults alike in an oppressive straightjacket. Many years later, the desire for connection and understanding led her back to her Swabian hometown. In GOD BETWEEN US
she records her attempts to clear away the mutual alienation in her own family circle, where there’s plenty of prayer but not much discussion.
INTERVIEW
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«Well-kept secrets come to light.»
Angela Christlieb
G.W. Pabst's grandchildren are extraordinary personalities with extraordinary professions. A chance encounter with Daniel, the youngest of them, prompted Angela Christlieb to explore a rather neglected subject and find out more about Trude Pabst, wife of the famous film director. In PANDORA'S LEGACY the filmmaker has created a mosaic, interspersing Trude's letters, records of her dreams and other writings with excerpts from Pabst's films and encounters with his descendants, thus exploring the traces left by a genius in his own family history.
INTERVIEW
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«Who is going to stop these people?»
Daniel Hoesl
In their cinematic works, Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann consistently focus attention on capital and the way its power derails efforts to achieve social equality. Their protagonist in VENI VIDI VICI is an elegant billionaire, a devoted family man, a cold-blooded killer. In the world he has created for himself, there is nothing to prevent him from maintaining a permanent, shining appearance – because laws that apply to everyone have been suspended for him.
VENI VIDI VICI by Daniel Hoesl & Julia Niemann at Sundance
This is the first out of eight world premieres of Austrian films to come within the next four weeks. VENI VIDI VICI the pungent new satire by Daniel Hoesl & Julia Niemann kicks off the amazing series of new Austrian films scheduled on the festival screens in January and February. VENI VIDI VICI celebrates its world premiere as a contender of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.