Two documentaries - ATTENTION - A LIFE IN EXTREMES by Sascha Köllnreitner and WHAT WE DON’T SEE by Anna Katharina Wohlgenannt are heading for their first meeting with the international audience. On top of these two international premieres, the 48th Hof festival program includes five more Austrian films: THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE by David Ruehm, GOODNIGHT MOMMY by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, THE LAST DANCE by Houchang Allahyari, FAREWELL by Ludwig Wüst and HOMME LESS by Thomas Wirthensohn.

ATTENTION – A LIFE IN EXTREMES by Sascha Köllnreitner (AdriAlpe Media)
Attention -  a Life in Extremes, which is based on the stories of three extraordinary sportsmen,
will give an unusual perspective on the conditions and forms of expression that define our modern society. We will follow wingsuit flyer Halvor Angvik, apnoe freediver Guillaume Néry and ultra cyclist Gerhard Gulewicz in their ambitious struggle to reach the top in their field in the sports world.
International premiere
www.attentionalifeinextremes.com


WHAT WE DO NOT SEE by Anna Katharina Wohlgenannt (Plan C Filmproduktion)
In the beginning there was a vision – a vision of a wireless, free flow of information which would connect all humanity. Today this idea has become reality; the wireless technology and more than seven billion cell phones sold worldwide make our modern metropolises literally pulse. It’s a dream come true for many, but not for all. What We Don’t See is the story of those who will soon no longer have a place in our world.
International premiere

 

GOODNIGHT MOMMY by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala (Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion)
In the heat of the summer. An isolated house in the countryside between woods and corn fields. Ten-year-old twins wait for their mother. When she comes back, her head wrapped in bandages after plastic surgery, nothing is as it was before. Stern and distant now, she shuts the family off from the outside world. Starting to doubt that this woman is actually their mother, the boys are determined to find the truth by any means.

with: Susanne Wuest, Elias and Lukas Schwarz
International sales:   Films distribution



THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE by David Ruehm (Novotny & Novotny Filmproduktion,
Hugo Film (CH))
Vienna, early 30’s: Viktor, a young painter, often argues with his girlfriend Lucy. He earns a small income working during the day for Sigmund Freud, who at night treats a mysterious Lord suffering from depression, without knowing that he in fact is a Vampire. As soon as the Lord meets Lucy, he instantly falls in love with her and Viktor now has to fight back for her love in order not to finally lose her.
with: Tobias Moretti, Jeanette Hain, Cornelia Ivancan, Dominic Oley,
International sales:  Picture Tree International


THE LAST DANCE by Houchang Allahyari (Houchang Allahyari Filmproduktion)
One morning police storm into the house where Karl lives with his mother to arrest the young man. Whatever the charge is, it seems to be something nobody has the slightest understanding of. Months before: Karl is working in a hospital. He is fascinated by a strong willed old lady. A friendship develops with this patient becoming more and more romantic. One night the two of them get closer, closer than allowed.
with: Daniel Sträßer, Erni Mangold, Marion Mitterhammer
www.derletztetanz.at


FAREWELL by Ludwig Wüst
A visit between girlfriends is captured in real-time: sparkling wine, cigarettes and a lack of communication that is implicitly humorous. Suppressed feelings reach their tipping point and burst forth when triggered by something seemingly peripheral, which poses a genuine emotional test. Parallel to this, the camera proceeds to close in on the scene and the protagonists in a near imperceptible zoom. Coming to terms with one’s past as a structurally composed, cinematic experiment. Consistent, raw, compelling.
with: Birte Schnöink, Christian Friedel, Stephan Grossmann
International sales: sixpackfilm


HOMME LESS by Thomas Wirthensohn (Filmhaus Wien Universa Filmproduktion)
Homme Less is about the underbelly of the American Dream, the hidden backyard of our society. Mark’s life stands as a metaphor for the struggle of the vanishing middle class in America. But it’s also a film about the relationship between New York City and one of its residents. New York is not simply a beautiful backdrop for this story. She’s the antagonist that dictates the direction Mark’s life is going in. The joy and pain, the love and hate, the success and denial New York is teasing him with, the hardship he is going through in order to stay in her grace and the inventiveness he comes up with to be with her are all unique.