The 64th Viennale officially comes to a close today, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with the gala screening of THE LONELIEST MAN IN TOWN by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel. A festival filled with highlights and memorable moments comes to an end – and does so with resounding success.
With 78,800 tickets sold, this year’s festival even slightly surpassed last year’s strong figures. Of the 330 public screenings, 112 – more than a third – were sold out. Nearly 3,500 people also made their way to the Funkhaus, this year’s festival hub, to join talks and discussions with filmmakers and experts, or to immerse themselves in music and dancing over five nights of concerts and parties.
“I am still overwhelmed by these two exhilarating weeks,” says Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi, looking back with enthusiasm. “It is an extraordinary privilege to be part of it all. The audience’s warm response has once again shown how much the Viennale means to this city, and how highly it is regarded internationally by the many people who travel here to join us. We had the pleasure of welcoming exceptional and immensely generous guests, who were swept up in the enthusiasm in the cinemas.
I feel that this year has brought us even closer together: with our loyal audience, with young and very young people, and with the film industry. Together with our industry partners, we created numerous opportunities for filmmakers and professionals to meet, connect and exchange ideas.”
We are delighted that, year after year, the Viennale continues to captivate Vienna’s cinephile audiences and leave a lasting impression on international guests, as we hear in countless personal conversations and read in press coverage. We see this as a mandate to keep growing, developing the festival and bringing new ideas to life. In this spirit, we are pleased to announce that Managing Director Paolo Calamita’s contract has been extended for a further four years, until 2030.
Finally, we would like to thank the Austrian and numerous international media outlets for their keen interest in this year’s festival and the wonderful response.
We very much look forward to the 65th Viennale in 2027!
Kind regards,
Your Viennale Press Team
Tel. +43 (0)1 526 59 47
Fredi Themel, ext. 30
Hannah Shong, ext. 38
Email: presse@viennale.at
Accreditation:
Leonie Wimmer, ext. 20
Email: akkreditierung@viennale.at
Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi just unveiled the complete program of the 64th edition of the festival, joined by Florian Widegger (Head of Programming at Metro Kinokulturhaus), Michael Loebenstein (Director of the Austrian Film Museum), and Christoph Huber (Austrian Film Museum, Curator of the Robert Aldrich Retrospective).
You can download the press materials HERE, find photos from the press conference HERE, and explore detailed information about the festival and its program on our WEBSITE.
Find more information in the full press statement HERE.
We warmly invite you to the press screening of this year’s Viennale opening film, FOREVER…FOREVER by Johann Lurf:
Thursday, October 15, 2026
at 2:30 PM at the Gartenbaukino
The filmmaker Johann Lurf will be present at the screening and will be happy to answer all your questions afterwards.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Your Viennale Press Team
Tel. +43 (0)1 526 59 47
Fredi Themel, ext. 30
Hannah Shong, ext. 38
Email: presse@viennale.at
Accreditation:
Leonie Wimmer, ext. 20
Email: akkreditierung@viennale.at
We are delighted to announce the opening and closing films of this year’s Viennale. For the first time, two Austrian productions will bookend the festival, which runs from October 22 to November 3.
The 64th Viennale will open on Thursday, October 22, with FOREVER…FOREVER by Austrian filmmaker Johann Lurf. The 21-minute film will be screened in 70mm at the Gartenbaukino and belongs to an exceptionally vibrant Austrian tradition of short and experimental filmmaking that has long been a driving force internationally. With this distinctive choice of opening film, the Viennale deliberately places this cinematic form in the spotlight. Musician Dorian Concept will enrich the evening with his irresistible, eclectic virtuosity.
At its traditional closing gala on Tuesday, November 3, the Viennale will present THE LONELIEST MAN IN TOWN by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel. The film centres on Viennese blues legend Al Cook, who will also join us for this celebratory evening at the Gartenbaukino.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Your Viennale Press Team
Tel. +43 (0)1 526 59 47
Fredi Themel, ext. 30
Hannah Shong, ext. 38
Email: presse@viennale.at
Accreditation:
Leonie Wimmer, ext. 20
Email: akkreditierung@viennale.at
The Viennale is delighted to present the 2026 festival trailer, created this year by US filmmaker Kelly Reichardt.
Kelly Reichardt has a long history with the Viennale; numerous films of hers have been shown at the festival, and in 2020 the Viennale dedicated its own publication to her, TEXTUR #2. Most recently, THE MASTERMIND was part of the 2025 programme – and it is precisely to this film that this year's Viennale trailer can be traced.
Find the full press statement HERE.
In just under eight weeks, the 64th Viennale will begin with its Opening Gala at the Gartenbaukino! A first preview of this year’s festival programme was presented at the traditional Summer Press Conference at Volksgarten Pavillon: Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi, joined by Christoph Huber (Austrian Film Museum) and Florian Widegger (Metro Kinokulturhaus), presented major parts of the programme and unveiled this year’s festival poster designs.
Find the full press statement HERE.