Currently:
AUSTROSCHWARZ by Mwita Mataro & Helmut Karner
A NORMAL LIFE by Inès Khannoussi
Austroschwarz accompanies musician Mwita Mataro on a journey through his home country of Austria. In a unique combination of essay and playful animation, he talks about being Black in Austria, about identity, community and art as activism.
Set against the backdrop of post-war displacement, this film delicately captures the daily lives of four Bosnian women who, after fleeing the devastation of the Yugoslav Wars, have rebuilt their lives as cleaning women in Vienna. A Normal Life teems with raw, vulnerable glimpses into the lives of these women - their work, their unique paths to healing, and the resilience they’ve cultivated to overcome trauma.
In the 1980s, a single mother who fled communist Czechoslovakia has to return to her homeland in order to pay an old debt. The risky trip is upset by unexpected events that bring secrets into the open.
Matthias leads a succesfull rent-a-friend agency but as soon as his girlfriend Sophia breaks up with him, his life spirals into absurd chaos.
A personal essay about the United States, viewed through the life and work of a movie actor. Henry Fonda and the roles he played merge into a dazzling and conflicted figure. A very private man who thought he had “no good answers to anything” becomes the unlikely motor of a parallel history. His voice, recorded during his last interview in 1981, and his onscreen avatars guide us through America’s past and present – on a road trip from the village of Fonda, NY, across the Midwest to the Pacific; from 1651 to the 1980s and the presidency of another movie actor.
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.
Sarah, a former professional kickboxer from Vienna, accepts an offer to work as a personal trainer for a rich family in the Middle East. She finds herself in a foreign world, in a palace behind walls and cut off from the internet, where the sisters are under surveillance around the clock. They have no interest in learning to box. So why has Sarah been brought here?
Favoriten is one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in Vienna and the starting point of Ruth Beckermann’s latest documentary, in which she accompanies a class of pupils from the age of seven to ten. Their ambitious teacher, Ilkay, is determined to create an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for the kids. The majority of children don’t speak German at home, some families are wounded by war experience and many face discrimination. Despite few resources from the educational system, Ilkay gently navigates her class through daily adventures, defeats and victories.
The Maynards and their children lead an almost perfect billionaire family life. Amon is a passionate hunter, but doesn’t shoot animals, as the family's wealth allows them to live totally free from consequences.
18th century Austria. Villages surrounded by deep forests. A woman is sentenced to death after killing a baby. Agnes is marrying her loved one and candidly prepares herself for a spouse life. Soon after, her head and heart start to feel heavy. Day after day, she is increasingly trapped in a murky and lonely path leading to evil thoughts. Maybe not just thoughts…
Erich „Rickerl“ Bohacek is a likeable loser who on the one hand tries to build up a music career and on the other still wants to be a good father for his little son.
Sleeping with a Tiger is a hybrid film about the Austrian painter Maria Lassnig. A film about her struggle in the male dominated art world and the quest to find her own personal artistic way of expression in which she brings her inner pain on canvas. And of course a film about her great artistic success.
In spring 1912 recently widowed Alma Mahler, "Grande Dame" of Vienna's high society gets involved with the "Enfant Terrible" of Vienna's art scene, Oskar Kokoschka. After some time their affair, the lust and desire for one another starts threatening both of their existence to the extent of no return.
Ewald moved to Romania years ago. Now in his 40s, he seeks a fresh start. Leaving his girlfriend, he moves to the hinterland. With young boys from the area, he transforms a decaying school into a fortress. The children enjoy a new, carefree existence. But the distrust of the villagers is soon awoken. And Ewald is forced to confront a truth he has long suppressed. Sparta is the brother film to Rimini, and the conclusion of Ulrich Seidl's diptych about the inescapability of the past and the pain of finding yourself.
At the beginning of World War II an introverted young soldier finds a wounded fox cub who he looks after like it was his own child and takes with to the occupied France. Through this strange friendship with the animal his own past, from which he has always run away, slowly catches up with him.
Vera lives in the shadow of her famous father. Tired of her superficial life and relationships, she drifts through Roman high society. When she injures a child in a traffic accident in the suburbs, she forms an intense relationship with an eight- year-old boy and his father. But soon she must realize that also in this world she is only an instrument for others.
Vice Lieutenant Eismayer is the most feared trainer and model macho in the Austrian Military and lives as a gay man in secret. When he falls in love with a young, openly gay soldier, his world gets turned upside down. Based on real events.
Empress Elizabeth of Austria is idolized for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sisi’ celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elizabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna.
Marko Feingold (1913 – 2019) was arrested soon after the Nazis seized power and survived six years during the reign of terror in various concentration camps. After the liberation he built up a new existence for himself in Austria, and throughout his long life he never tired of raising his voice to warn against forgetting or denying that period.
Richie Bravo, once upon a time a successful pop star, chases after his faded fame in wintry Rimini. Trapped between permanent intoxication and concerts for busloads of tourists, his world starts to collapse when his adult daughter breaks into his life.
Fei works as a "moneyboy" – which earns him a lot of money, since prostitution is illegal in China. It gives him a way to support his family financially. The experienced moneyboy Xiaolai takes Fei under his wing.
Hans Hoffmann is gay during a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Germany and Austria. Nevertheless he continues his quest for freedom and love, even if he finds it in the most unusual places.
Mario, a young dancer living in a small village has to face the loss of his beloved best friend Lenz, victim of an attack in a gay club.
A love letter to Vienna in the 1960s, and simultaneously a genre film of Austrian postwar history. Viennese folk song singers Kurt Girk and Alois Schmutzer talk about their lives in the Viennese underworld – for which they endured long jail sentences.
Cuba is well known as a so-called time capsule. The place where the New World was discovered has become both a romantic vision and a warning. With ongoing global cultural and financial upheavals, large parts of the world could face a similar kind of existence.
In his new film, Erwin Wagenhofer is looking for the good and beautiful in this world.
A grumpy old white man enlists the help of an Afghani migrant to bury his dead dog, and as the two dredge through prejudices to find common ground, their day takes an unexpected turn.
Ruth Beckermann documents the process of uncovering former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim’s wartime past. It shows the swift succession of new allegations by the World Jewish Congress during his Austrian presidential campaign, the denial by the Austrian political class, the outbreak of anti-Semitism and patriotism, which finally led to his election.
Environmentally friendly electric cars, sustainably produced food products, fair production processes: Hurray! If everything the corporations tell us is true, we can save the world through our purchasing decisions alone! A popular and dangerous lie. In his new documentary film, Werner Boote shows us, together with environmental expert Kathrin Hartmann, how we can protect ourselves. Down with green lies!
18th century Vienna. The true story of Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart’s, who lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor’s innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music.
Based on true events, seven year old Adrian is growing up in the underground drug scene of Salzburg, usually famous for culture and classical music. His mother Helga is torn between her drug addiction and her love for her son. Despite of this Adrian has a happy childhood, the best of all worlds. But it is tested to the limit when the authorities and child welfare services find out about Helga's addiction.
A drama about a family set in Calais with the European refugee crisis as the backdrop.
When Georg loses his job, he conceals the fact from his younger wife Johanna, who wants a child with him. Instead, he embarks upon a campaign of revenge against his former boss and begins to renovate a roller-coaster an old school friend.
At the beginning of the 20th Century Egon Schiele is one of the most provocative artists in Vienna. His life and work are driven by beautiful women and an era that is coming to an end. Two women will have a lasting impact on him - his sister and first muse Gerti, and 17 year old Wally, arguably Schiele's one true love, immortalized in his famous painting 'Death and the Maiden'. Schiele's radical paintings scandalize Viennese society while daring artists like Gustav Klimt and art agents alike are sensing the exceptional.
