The Trouble with Being Born

Sandra Wollner : 2020

Somewhere in Central Europe, perhaps in the vicinity of Vienna, in the near future. Ten-year-old Elli is an android, as we soon learn. She takes shape through programming and this turns her into a fantasy figure. Firstly for a man she calls "Daddy" with whom she lies by the pool and for whom she dresses up in the house at the edge of the forest. Elli is the vessel for his memories, which mean nothing to her, but everything to him. Together they drift through the summer. One day he runs after a strange echo and gets lost in the darkness while Elli, who follows him, is picked up by strangers. A new identity awaits her, a new ghostly existence – as a blank screen onto which others can project their loss of the paradise that is childhood. The story of a machine and the ghosts we all carry within us. Sandra Wollner's second feature, her graduation film, was winner of the Special Jury Award when it premiered in the Encounters section at Berlin International Film Festival 2020.

Favourites

Martin Monk : 2019
Favoriten

After falling out with her mother, rebellious Sofia wants to hitchhike to Italy in search of her biological father. When she meets middle-aged Michael, who reluctantly agrees to give her a lift, the strangers develop an unlikely friendship on their shared journey through the south of Austria. Michael, too, seems to be on the run from something intangible. Sofia senses this, and together they drift through a day of driving. A brief encounter suspended in time. But what is their destination? Martin Monk's short premiered in competition in the Cinéfondation selection at Festival de Cannes 2019, and screened in the Student Film Competition Programme at Sarajevo Film Festival 2019.

Garden

Peter Schreiner : 2019
Garten

It seems to be an intermediate world of peace and quiet, the garden and country house where four people look back on testing lives. And forward, to the time they have left. On the one hand, there is regret – on the other, satisfaction. In a way, they are looking forward to the future – but at the same time, a longing for death regularly arises. And who is actually behind the camera? Are we watching actors or real people? Is there really any difference? Garden is full of contradictions – it is not until the credits roll that we realise who these people from very different backgrounds are. Peter Schreiner's experimental feature premiered in the Signatures section at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2019.

The Ground beneath My Feet

Marie Kreutzer : 2019
Der Boden unter den Füßen

Lola is almost thirty. A successful management consultant, she is constantly on the move between the companies she is tasked with restructuring. Her chic apartment in Vienna is more of a mailbox and a launderette than a home. A hundred working hours a week is not uncommon in addition to five sessions at the gym, expensive dinners with clients and nights spent in sterile hotels. Her career, which she is advancing with cleverness, efficiency and ruthless cunning, appears to be unstoppable. Lola applies a similarly disciplined approach when it comes to managing her private life. She keeps her relationship with her boss Elise secret, as well as the existence of her older sister Conny, who has been suffering from mental illness for a long time and who never leaves her apartment. But when Conny attempts suicide, Lola's secrets threaten to explode into the open. As she tries to do what's best for her sister without jeopardising all she's worked so hard for, Lola slowly finds her own grip on reality slipping away. Marie Kreutzer's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2019.

Tracking Edith

Peter Stephan Jungk : 2016

Based on his non-fiction book Die Dunkelkammern der Edith Tudor-Hart, Peter Stephan Jungk explores the secret life of his great aunt Edith Tudor-Hart (born Edith Suschitzky in 1908, in Vienna, died 1973 in Brighton). She was best known in the art world as an iconic photographer. When she wasn't taking photos of Vienna's and London's workers and street children, of poverty and social deprivation she was working as a Soviet agent. Being a secret agent for the KGB doesn't seem to have come naturally to the photographer. She recruited Kim Philby, and was one of the architects of the Cambridge Five, the Soviet Union's most successful spy ring in Great Britain. Edith was Jungk's great aunt, his mother's cousin; the writer/filmmaker tries to unravel the truth about his aunt's life, in Austria, Great Britain and Russia. A documentary about the renowned photographer, about a spy with a conscience and hidden secrets in a family.

Tracking Edith – trailer (vimeo)

L'Animale

Katharina Mückstein : 2018

Riding their tuned motocross bikes, Mati and her posse of male friends intimidate their neighbourhood and harass the girls. In their village, they rule. But when Sebastian, the leader of the pack, falls in love with Mati and one of the victims of their needling, Carla, unexpectedly turns into a friend, Mati is in danger of losing her standing among her male friends. Meanwhile a deeply hidden secret stands between Mati's parents, and the two of them have a decision to make: what's more important, appearances or reality? A film about the contradictory forces that guide our lives: desire, passion, and reason. Katharina Mückstein's feature premiered in the Panorama Special section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

69 Minutes of 86 Days

Egil Håskjold Larsen : 2017

Slowly we glide over the remains of life-jackets, torn travel bags and discarded shoes at an unnamed shoreline, establishing the tense political framework of this story. From here we pass on to observe groups of fellow travellers, still continuously moving forward. In the midst of the crowd a three-year-old girl, Lean, catches our attention. She is sitting on the shoulders of her father, with a Frozen backpack on her own back. The father is wearing a hoodie, an Adidas backpack and Nike shoes. This is a family like our own; these people are just like our neighbours. The only, but huge, difference is that they have lost their home and are on their way to a new one – one with their relatives who live in Sweden. There are no interviews or voice-overs; the filmmaker follows the family, which also includes Lean's mother and sister as well as her uncles, as they wait at the Macedonian border, then get into a car driven by a Serbian, walk through Hungarian fields, get on a train in Austria, and then board a bus in Germany. But these locations are not identified with narrative titles – the viewer can determine their geographical position only by means of road signs, railway station instructions or the language spoken in some of the scenes. Carefully we are getting into Lean's journey, and we get to know her outstanding character as she slowly makes her way through Europe with her family. She is strong, never cries and seems to grasp the seriousness of these circumstances. This film tells the story about childhood, family relations, hope and a world that is difficult to understand. Egil Håskjold Larsen's documentary, his first feature, premiered at Copenhagen International Documentary Festival 2017.

69 Minutes of 86 Days – trailer (vimeo)

The Wall

Julian Roman Pölsler : 2012
Die Wand

A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside, leaving her isolated in the Austrian Alps. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilisation and ruled by the laws of nature. Told via the voice-over of the woman as she enters her account of daily events in her journal, all the acting is delivered through expressions or actions. An adaption of the best-selling novel by Marlen Haushofer, this beautiful tale of survival and endurance, ultimately about the meaning of humanity, is a moving masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression.

Road-Movie

Martin Jelínek : 2015

Jakub, co-owner of the agency Dolce Travel, leaves Prague and takes a weekend off from work to go back to his hometown Telč and celebrate his mother's birthday together with his family. Here he meets Ilona, an old childhood friend he hasn't seen in many years and with whom he goes on an intense and intimate road trip through Czech Republic and Austria. Their journey is the intersection between Jakub's pragmatism and Ilona's spiritual freedom. During the course of the weekend Jakub's entire life is thrown into confusion and Ilona's explosive love for the simple joys in life forces him to re-evaluate his whole down-to-earth approach. Martin Jelínek's feature directorial debut premiered in competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2015.

Silence is Broken

Hans Steinbichler : 2015
Das Dorf des Schweigens

Things go bad when a woman no one has heard from in decades returns home. Lydia is out for revenge and accuses Christian, the fiancé of her younger sister Eva, of having raped her when she was fourteen, an incident she never recovered from. Gossip spreads throughout the village fast. The accusation hits Eva the hardest. And Christian, who, it seems, will probably lose his job. And then Christian's dead body is pulled out of the river rapids. The police assume it is suicide and want to close the case. But Eva is convinced that her sister has driven Christian to his death and tries to prove it. The more Eva delves into her sister's past, the more realistic the accusations become. What really did happen? Eva starts unravelling the history of the family. Hans Steinbichler's thriller premiered at Filmfest München 2015.

Those Who Fall Have Wings

Peter Brunner : 2015
Jeder der fällt hat Flügel

Time stands still for young and asthmatic Kati, but she has to bid her farewell to move on. The burden on her chest is too heavy for the shoulders of her four-year-old baby sister. A severe loss and the awakening of Kati's sexuality take their toll on the fifteen-year-old visionary girl. But like a sound that merges into silence, Kati attempts to carry her memories to a place of recurring farewell. A soul-searching study, whose title acknowledges inspiration from Ingeborg Bachmann's poetry, it is a cinematically ambitious, symbol-based method of coming to terms with the painful loss of a loved one. Peter Brunner's feature was winner of the Special Jury Prize when it premiered in competition at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015.

Alles wird gut

Patrick Vollrath : 2015
Everything will be okay

A divorced father picks up his eight-year-old daughter Lea. It seems pretty much like every second weekend, but after a while Lea can't help feeling that something isn't right. So begins a fateful journey, leading to an inevitable catastrophe. Patrick Vollrath's short had its international premiere in competition at the Semaine de la Critique at Festival de Cannes 2015.

In der Stille der Nacht

Erich Steiner : 2014
In the Still of the Night

On a rainy autumn night, a storm approaches. Three children are waiting for their father, once again late from work. When the father comes home, he looks tired and sad but he brought gifts, and the children's eyes shine. Tension can be sensed between the parents: only the grandmother is loving as always but the eldest daughter is suspicious – deep inside she feels that her family is hiding something. Erich Steiner's film was winner of the Award for Best Actor at Cluj Shorts International Short Film Festival 2014, and screened in competition at International Film Festival Tofifest 2014.

Walking on the Beach

Caspar Pfaundler : 2013
Gehen am strand

Anja is getting nowhere. Neither her academic career nor her private life are making any headway, and listlessness turns into depression. She has retreated to finish her master's thesis, but as much as she tries, she is stuck in her work. This situation seems to repeat itself with her relationship to her boyfriend Paul. When her grandmother dies and the family gathers at the funeral in The Hague, Anja flees to the seafront to come to terms with her loneliness. Walking the beach she feels her solitude and starts to see herself in a different light. From the intensity of her emotions there emerges a new self-perception. Caspar Pfaundler's second feature premiered at Diagonale Graz 2013, and screened at Belgrade International Film Festival 2014.

Autumn Blood

Markus Blunder : 2013

High in the Tyrolean mountains, on a secluded farm, a widowed mother dies leaving her two children alone and orphaned. Fearing being taken away and split up, they keep their mother's death a secret and survive off the land with no one to rely on but each other. Maria, the sixteen-year-old sister is one with nature, innocent, and unaware of the evils that exist in mankind. Her ten-year-old brother, Peter, is traumatised and mute from witnessing a disturbing incident years earlier: the death of his father, shot by the town's Mayor. As the girl transitions into womanhood a harsh brutality destroys her innocence when savage hunters follow orders issued by the Mayor's son to attack and rape her. A social worker from a distant city arrives to investigate but ultimately it is the siblings who must come of age to protect each other and survive. Markus Blunder's feature directorial debut premiered at Oldenburg International Film Festival 2013.

Talea

Katharina Mückstein : 2013

When Jasmin's mother Eva is released from prison, the 14-year-old wants to use this chance to build a new relationship with her after years of separation. Whilst Jasmin's foster family is packing their bags for their summer holiday by the sea, the young girl has convinced the almost unknown woman to travel with her for several days across the country – preferably to where her grandparents lived, as Jasmin wants to discover more about her family background. A shared cigarette, a dance at the village disco and forest walks – with a little apprehension, the two slowly become closer, sometimes like friends, then back to mother and daughter. But soon they realise that their hopes and expectations are not the same. Eva's desire for freedom is in the way of Jasmin's long-nurtured wish for love and proximity. This becomes apparent when a man catches Eva's attention, and the growing harmony between mother and daughter is disrupted. For the moment, neither Eva nor Jasmin seem up to the task of fulfilling each other's quest for identity and support. Katharina Mückstein's first feature premiered at Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis 2013.

Fieber

Elfi Mikesch : 2014
Fever

In the early 1950s, little Franzi is growing up in the small Austrian town of Judenburg. Her oppressive family home is dominated by her feverish and mentally ill father, who is rigid and unpredictable. Her father, who regularly delivers halves of pork for the butcher, spent several years in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco, Algeria and Syria – a period which he partly glorifies but which still also haunts him. Franzi immerses herself in this world by looking at an abundance of beguiling yet disturbing photographs taken during the colonial wars by her father. Her own childish fantasy realm of fairy tales and picture books soon intermingle with nightmares as reality merges with imagination, war, horror and beauty. Decades later, Franziska, now a successful photographer but still overshadowed by her father's memory, undertakes a journey back into his youth. She wants to understand his war trauma and shed light on her family's past. But it soon transpires that her search for the truth has ambivalent consequences. Elfi Mikesch's feature premiered at Berlin International Film Festival 2014.

Risse im Beton

Umut Dağ : 2014
Cracks in Concrete

Ertan returns to his Viennese district after a ten-year prison sentence for second-degree murder. He's thirty-five and has lost all contact with his wife and children. Even his own brother doesn't want anything to do with him, regardless of the fact that he has matured and wants to steer clear of trouble. Teenager Mikail is about to make the same mistakes that put his hitherto unknown father Ertan behind bars. He thinks drug dealing will help fund his future as a famous rapper and spends a lot of time at the youth centre where he plans to record his first demo. To get closer to Mikail, Ertan takes on a job at the centre, and smiles to himself proudly as he secretly listens to rehearsals. Ertan's friends just can't understand where the old tough guy act has gone, but all he wants is to help Mikail get on the right track. Mikail has no clue who Ertan is. How do they both deal with hard realities when Mikail learns the truth? Umut Dağ's second feature is an intimate tale of forgiveness and acceptance in a fearful and lonely world. His film premiered at Berlin International Film Festival 2014.

3096 Tage

Sherry Hormann : 2013
3096 days

On 2 March 1998, ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch is abducted on her way to school. In an instant, Natascha's world has changed forever. She finds herself held captive in a dark, windowless cellar. The only person she sees is her kidnapper, Wolfgang Přiklopil. As the years go by, he plays cruel mind games and mercilessly exploits Natascha, all in pursuit of his dream of creating the perfect woman in his basement prison. But Natascha proves to be resilient. She educates herself and looks for ways to manipulate her relationship with her captor. She records every detail of her brutal existence on scraps of tissue paper, so as not to forget a single thing. Now, she is down to the final sheet – and Natascha knows it has to end. On 23 August 2006, after almost eight-and-a-half years in captivity, she takes her chance and escapes, tasting freedom for the first time. Based on Natascha Kampusch's book detailing her ordeal, Sherry Hormann's sensitively portrayed drama allows us to perceive the world through Natascha's eyes, focusing not on the abuse of the victim but on her thoughts and feelings. The film screened at Berlin International Film Festival 2014.

Oktober November

Götz Spielmann : 2013
October November

In a small village in the Austrian Alps there is a hotel, now no longer in use. Two sisters grew up here. Sonja now lives in Berlin. She has become an actress, very successful, a TV star. She made a career for herself very quickly: she is still only in her early 30s. She has achieved a lot in this short time – but something seems to be missing from her life. Her sister Verena, who is a little older, has never left the village. After their mother died in an accident she, her husband and her little boy moved into the former hotel, which is much too big for them. The father of the two sisters also still lives in the former hotel. Still a patriarch, he has grown old and surly. Then a major heart attack brings him close to death. He survives, but from now on he is a sick man. And for Sonja it is high time to visit her family once again, and the scenes of her childhood. A new chapter begins; old relationships are reconfigured. The reunion slowly but relentlessly brings to light old conflicts between the so very different sisters. The film premiered in competition at San Sebastián International Film Festival 2013.