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    The film year 2020 in review

    It’s easy to forget that 2020 started like a completely normal year. Sundance, Saarbrücken and the Berlinale even gave cause to hope it would be an extraordinary one for Austrian films. Until Corona imposed drastic changes on our calendars and customs in March. The international festival schedule became completely unpredictable and set us the challenge of extracting the very best for each individual film one step at a time. Have a look at the facts and figures of the film year 2020.
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    Austrian films at international festivals

    Participations November 2020 - January 2021

    Austrian films on international screens

    Theatrical releases
    October 2016 – December 2020

    Festival Calendar + Corona Update 2021

    Festivals online, postponed, or cancelled? We're keeping you posted

    42nd Max-Ophüls-Prize festival launches online edition

    From January 17 to 24 the 42nd Max-Ophüls Prize Festival puts the spotlight on young German language cinema. Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann’s documentary DAVOS and Arman T. Riahi’s fiction feature FOX IN A HOLE will be vying for the Max Ophüls Prize in the respective competition sections. Luna Jordan as Samira in FOX IN A HOLE is nominated for the Best Acting Talent Award.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Like an extended prison.»

    By the middle of March only 21 of the scheduled 32 shooting days for Sebastian Meise’s second feature film GRAT FREEDOM Freedom, with Georg Friedrich and Franz Rogowski in the leading roles, were in the can when everything was shut down. But at the end of June FreibeuterFilm was the first production company to resume filming, and they finished the shoot. A conversation with the producers about their current feature film GREAT FREEDOM, Stefan Ruzowitzky’s HINTERLAND and the new approach to production, in zones and on Zoom.

    Šumadija Audience Award to RUNNING ON EMPTY

    The last festival award of the year 2020 garnered by an Austrian film production went to Lisa Weber’s documentary RUNNING ON EMPTY. Her acclaimed second feature film won the Audience Award at the Šumadija International Film Festival in Serbia.

    Austrian Films REVIEW /2020/

    Our annual catalogue AUSTRIAN FILMS REVIEW 2020 is ready for download.
    "A snapshot of the troubling time of Corona", as AFC-managing director Martin Schweighofer has put it. Read more

    IDFA 2020 with Masters and Best of Fests from Austria

    The prestigious Amsterdam documentary platform has conceived an online/on-site festival for its 33rd edition from Nov 18 to Dec 6. The IDFA Masters and Best of Fests selections include Hubert Sauper’s EPICENTRO, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s Berlinale award winner NOTES FROM THE UNDERWORLD and Pavel Cuzuioc’s PLEASE HOLD THE LINE; two co-productions will also be on the festival screens: ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA and LOVE, IT WAS NOT.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «It’s a concoction like no other.»

    Hubert Sauper
    Hubert Sauper‘s films are voyages of discovery in the global present. While he exposed the networks rooted in colonialism from an African perspective in Darwin’s Nightmare and We Come as Friends, he has adopted a new focus in EPICENTRO. His new film is a multi-faceted essayist encounter with the Caribbean island of Cuba. In it the filmmaker explores the historical background to the many connotations surrounding power and longing here, a story which proceeds in a spiral of liberation and conquest. A dynamic which is driven in no small part by the powerful medium of cinema itself.

    LILLIAN: Best Film at the 38th Uruguay IFF

    “Lillian’s journey is a silent road movie that captivates by its striking beauty and reminds us of the migratory nature of the human being”, stated the jury that selected Andreas Horvath’s LILLIAN as the Best Film of  the 38th Festival Cinematográfico Internacional del Uruguay.

    Gijón awards NOTES FROM THE UNDERWORLD

    Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel's black-&white journey into the Vienna's gangster milieu of the late 1960s won the Special Jury Award of the Albar Competition at the GIJÓN International Film Festival.

    SPACE DOGS wins at the IsReal and the Zagreb Subversive Festival

    The IsReal – Festival di Cinema del Reale at the Italian town of Nuoro honors Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter’s feature debut  with its First Prize, highlighting the “the courage, originality and intelligence interwoven in the work of the directors”. On top of that, SPACE DOGS took the Wild Dreamer Award for the best documentary at the Zagreb Subversive Festival.

    Special Distinction to THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN

    The 20th New Horizons festival at Wroclaw honors Sandra Wollner’s main competition entry THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN with a Special Distinction.

    OSKAR & LILLI: Best Feature Film at the Olympia Film Festival

    The Greek IFF for Children and Young People awards Arash T. Riahi's moving feature about two young refugees in Vienna searching to reconnect with their mother with its main prize. This is the tenth international distinction for Arash T. Riahi’s feature since its world premiere at the MOP Festival Saarbrücken earlier this year.

    Festival L’Europe autour de L’Europe: two main prizes to films from Austria

    The Paris-based festival L’EUROPE AUTOUR DE L’EUROPE awarded two of its three main prizes to films from Austria:  The Prix Sauvage to DIE KINDER DER TOTEN by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liška, the Prix Présent to WELCOME TO SODOM by Florian Weigensamer and Christian Krönes

    Double prize to OSKAR & LILLI at Zagreb KinoKino festival

    Unanimous consent among the younger and the older audience of the KinoKino Festival in Zagreb: OSKAR & LILLI by Arash T. Riahi wins the Audience Award as well as the Children Jury Award. So far, the film has garnered no fewer than eight international awards.

    Duisburger Filmwoche honors Lisa Weber with Young Talent Award

    Lisa Weber, director of the Berlinale Panorma entry RUNNING ON EMPTY garners the Carte Blanche – Young Talent Award of the State NRW, that comes with a prize money of € 5,000 and the possibility of developing the next project with the mentorship of an experienced filmmaker. The film impressively succeeds in depicting the statics of social dynamics, pointed out the Duisburger Filmwoche jury intending to encourage the filmmaker to continue on the path she’s taken.

    Audience Award to GLORY OF THE QUEEN

    Tatia Skhirtladze and Anna Khazaradze’s documentary about four legendary female chess players from Georgia who revolutionized women’s chess across the globe is the Audience Award winner of the  Free Zone Film Festival – Slobodna Zona that took place at Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš (November 5 to 10, 2020).

    Filem’On Teen Screen Award to OSKAR & LILI

    The TEEN SCREEN AWARD of the Brussels Filem’On IFF for Young Audiences went to Arash T. Riahi’s OSKAR & LILLI. The young jury accounts for its choice: "The best film had the best camera work and the choice of actors made the film experience very real. The movie portrayed themes like deportation and foster families beautifully. Even though it touched upon heavy themes it still had it’ pleasant moments. It was a close call with another movie but we still choose this one."

    THE FEVER by Katharina Weingartner awarded Best Film at the BIFED IFF

    "THE FEVER portrays with craftmanship and excellent filmmaking skills a pressing and relevant issue that affects and kills hundreds of thousand women and men and children every year ..., stated the jury of the Fethi Kayaalp Grand Awardassigned to film director Katharina Weingartner at the BIFED International Film Festival for Ecological Documentary on the Turkish island of Bozcaada. Read full the statement

    World premiere of FOX IN A HOLE by Arman T. Riahi at the Warsaw FF

    Inspired by an outstanding teacher in a Viennese prison, Arman T. Riahi developed FOX IN A HOLE, the story of adolescents who have come into conflict with the law, a system that locks them up in order to make them better citizens and two idealists committed to open up doors into their future. FOX IN A HOLE is starring Aleksandar Petrović, Maria Hofstätter, Luna Jordan, Sibel Kekilli, and Andreas Lust.

    THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN is the Cinema Extraordinaire-winner at Bergen

    “A thought-provoking and controversial sci-fi fable from a new Austrian talent”, noted the jury. THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN, Sandra Wollner’s directorial debut, launched at the Berlinale Encounters, earlier this year is the winner of the Cinema Extraordinaire competition at the Bergen International Film Festival.

    Evi Romen’s WHY NOT YOU is one of the Zurich Golden Eye Award winners 2020

    Evi Romen’s directorial debut WHY NOT YOU wins the Golden Eye Award of the Focus Competition of the 16th ZURICH Film Festival."With its variety of themes WHY NOT YOU takes a risk that the main actor Thomas Prenn knows how to master at every point.”, stated the jury. A Special Mention went to the documentary WOOD by Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Michaela Kirst and Ebba Sinzinger.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Isolation is not a good solution.»

    Arman T. Riahi
    Inspired by an extraordinary teacher in a Vienna prison, in FOX IN A HOLE Arman T. Riahi tells the story of young people who have come into conflict with the law, a system that locks them up in order to rehabilitate them, and people who want to keep the teenager’s future open for them.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Ambiguity is the most important language in a village.»

    Evi Romen
    Mario and Lenz have known each other since they were small. Now they are both 20 and determined to escape the confines of this mountain village. Lenz, son of the local vintner, has clearly been dealt a better hand in this respect than the self-destructive dreamer Mario. However, a tragic turn of events shatters the status quo. Evi Romen’s feature film debut WHY NOT YOU features a village in the 21st-century where the old order is collapsing and yet still dominant, depicting the rollercoaster ride of a young man who is completely disoriented and yet senses there must be a place for him too, somewhere.

    SAFETY123 awarded Best Culture&Nature Film

    The Echo Mountain Film Festival in Skopje honors Safety 123 by Julia Gutweniger and Florian Kofler as the Best Culture&Nature film of their 11th festival edition. “In the film, we can see how enormous efforts are made by environments related to increasing safety in the mountains. We get to know the details and a lot of effort in a very efficiently made film.”, stated the jury.

    World premiere of
    WHY NOT YOU
    by Evi Romen
    at the Zurich FF

    An old village in the Alps is the setting for this first time feature – the story of a young man, Mario, who seems completely out of place. Long time editor and writer, Evi Romen, is presenting her directorial debut at the Fokus Competition of the Zurich Film Festival. WHY NOT YOU produced by AMOUR FOU Vienna is starring Thomas Prenn, Noah Saavedra, Josef Mohamed, Ursula Scribano-Ofner.

    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Don’t argue, listen!»

    Susanne Brandstätter
    Susanne Brandstätter was among the many people for whom 9 November 2016 brought a rude awakening. She too had been planning to watch Hillary Clinton's acceptance address early that morning, only to discover that the country of her birth had chosen Donald Trump as the 58th President of the USA. On the day of his inauguration two months later the filmmaker was already in the swing state of Ohio, to capture the euphoria among Trump voters and ask them about their motives. THIS LAND IS MY LAND is a film that listens.

    Two Best Film awards to LILLIAN

    Andreas Horvath’s "de-accelerated" road-movie is still on the road, garnering Best Feature Awards: LILLIAN won the Best Narrative Feature award at the Dumbo Film Festival in NYC and the Rand Award at the Kassel Randfilmfestival.

    DAVOS: Best Documentary at the Dolomitale

    Daniel Hoesl’s and Julia Niemann’s view on a small town in the Swiss Alps wins the Best Documentary Award in a small town if the Italian Alps. The Dolomitale Film Festival at Val Gardena (September 22 to 27) pointed out DAVOS as the outstanding documentary film of the festival. “Davos becomes a metaphor for our world today”, stated the jury.
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    VIDEO INTERVIEW

    «If you're in silence, you don't exist in a way.»

    Pavel Cuzuioc in a video conversation on PLEASE HOLD THE LINE.

    THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN wins First Step Award

    Sandra Wollner’s directorial debut, produced by Panama Film wins the FIRST STEP AWARD for Best Feature Length Film. “The director has succeeded in creating a very unique, unsettling, but also sensitive film, which inevitably confronts us with the great questions of human existence”, stated the jury.

    Special Mention to PLEASE HOLD THE LINE at the Astra FF

    Pavel Cuzuioc’s journey through four Eastern European countries reflecting on the human need for connection received a Special Mention in the competition for Best Film at the Astra film festival. The jury statement on PLEASE HOLD THE LINE, “This anthropological journey through a region presents a diverse snapshot of current society – one where like-minded habits and interests juxtapose with the devaluation of human communication.”

    QUO VADIS, AÏDA? by Jasmila Žbanić at Venice and Toronto

    Jasmila Žbanić’ new film sets off for two major destinations: After competing for the Golden Lion at the 77th Venice Film Festival (September 2 to 12),  QUO VADIS, AÏDA?, coproduced by Austrian coop99 filmproduktion, will cross the Atlantic heading to its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (September 10 to 19). QUO VADIS, AÏDA? is part of the Contemporary World Cinema selection alonside five other films.

    Variety on QUO VADIS, AÏDA?: «deeply compelling, harrowing and heartbreaking»

    (...) a perilous balance director Jasmila Žbanić achieves strikingly well in her deeply compelling, harrowing and heartbreaking QUO VADIS, AÏDA?, which reminds us that each of those 8,372 deaths is an individual, exponential multiplication of horror, “ wrote Jessica Kiang on Jasmila Žbanić’s sensitively fictionalized version of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and Venice Lion contender QUO VADIS, AÏDA?. read more
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Nobody could get away from that»

    July 1995, Srebrenica. General Mladic sweeps to power, the UN mission fails miserably, the Bosnian population is massacred.  UN interpreter Aïda is obliged to watch helplessly as a tragedy of unimaginable proportions befalls the city and her family within one day. Filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić, originally from Bosnia, plunges into the epicentre of this crime against humanity in QUO VADIS, AÏDA?, 25 years after the mass murder at Srebrenica, when betrayal and failure led to the deaths of thousands of people. She depicts the terrible force of the collective drama as it strikes each individual character in the film. Vienna-based coop99 filmproduktion is one of the international co-producers on this project, which will be among the 18 competitors for the Golden Lion at the 77th Venice Film Festival. A conversation with the DoP of QUO VADIS, AÏDA?, Christine A. Maier.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «My way was simply different.»

    From law reporter to film journalist to assistant director to screenwriter to Ulrich Seidl’s artistic associate to feature film director and, together with Severin Fiala, to half a genre film writing duo popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Veronika Franz describes the course of her career as a process of constantly daring herself to do more, and since her breakthrough with Goodnight Mommy she appears to have overcome at least two hurdles with every step she takes. Preparations are underway to shoot the next Austrian Franz/Fiala project, The Devil‘s Bath, and the American remake of her debut will start filming soon. The 77th Venice Film Festival has invited Veronika Franz to serve on the jury, which is headed by Cate Blanchett, to decide who wins the coveted 2020 Golden Lion.

    SAFETY123 wins Silver Gentian

    DOK Leipzig winner SAFETY123, the feature debut by Julia Gutweniger und Florian Kofler
    was awarded the Silver Gentian for the best artistical contribution at the TRENTO Film Festival. The prize comes with a cheque for € 1,500.

    LOCARNO 2020 with contributions linked to the future and past of the festival

    The 73rd Locarno FF (August 5 to 15), designed to “gather films and viewers in the great digital Piazza and in local theaters” has included two Austrian contributions to its 2020 hybrid festival program: Mo Harawe’s short LIFE ON THE HORN as a contender in the international Pardi di domani competition, Michael Haneke’s THE SEVENTH CONTINENT as a landmark in the Journey through the Festival’s History selection.

    OSKAR & LILLI awarded at the Taormina Film Festival

    Arash T. Riahi's moving and tender story about two young refugees trying to cope with their harsh reality, has won the Premio Ciak Scuola awarded by the students' jury of the Taormina Film Festival. In total, this makes the fourth award at the fourth festival presence since the world premiere of OSKAR & LILLI at the MOP Saarbrücken.
    INTERVIEW
    DE – EN

    «Tour guides through society»

    Pavel Cuzuioc travelled through Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and the Ukraine, accompanying telecommunications technicians on fieldwork as they went about their task of connecting people with one another and with the world by means of cables and sockets. The working journeys from door to door become voyages of discovery from microcosm to microcosm, and PLEASE HOLD THE LINE emerges as a witty and enigmatic essay about the human yearning for connection, failure of communication and existence in a wait loop.

    International Migration FF awards OSKAR & LILLI actors with Special Jury Award

    Leopold Pallua und Rosa Zant, the two first-time actors in Arash T. Riahi’s OSKAR & LILLI playing two young refugees searching to reconnect with their mother win the SPECIAL JURY AWARD of the International Migration Film Festival in ANKARA  “Their poignantly moving performances are the highlight of the film”, stated the jury presided by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

    PLEASE HOLD THE LINE premieres at Sheffield Doc/Fest

    PLEASE HOLD THE LINE by Pavel Cuzuioc celebrates its world premiere at the online edition of the SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST June 10 – July 10. Pavel Cuzuioc’s second feature documentary is an audiovisual allegory on communication reflecting that despite our countless tools for communication we still inhabit a modern day Tower of Babel.
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    VIDEO INTERVIEW

    «I do understand that for my mother's family communism was a form of religion.»

    Weina Zhao and Judith Benedikt in a video conversation on WEIYENA – THE LONG WAY HOME.
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    VIDEO INTERVIEW

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