A first preview of this year's festival edition by Viennale-director Eva Sangiorgi

For a long time now, I have been seeing the Viennale through the eyes of a follower, of someone who feels curiosity for it, of someone who is unwaveringly loyal to it. My glance has been the glance of someone who has felt a part of it right from the beginning; of someone who – together with the Viennale, and through the Viennale – has shared thoughts, opinions, conversations, and cups of coffee; of someone who has participated in it through hours, nights, and days; of someone who has celebrated films and encounters at the Viennale; of someone who, through it, has also cultivated relationships. I feel a part of the Viennale family and of its discourse. That’s why I come to this festival with the energy of passion. And I receive its spirit, that flame.

How could my perspective towards the festival – the festival that has been a point of reference for me, almost a monument – change in order to now imagine it from the inside? The answer lies in the perspective of time, in respecting the sediment of its history, the experience that the Viennale has contributed to shaping  through decades of work and exchanges. But also, on the other hand, I am exposed to the zeitgeist of cinema , through an exquisite recollection of both expected and surprising works, and to the zeitgeist of festivals, with which the Viennale now shares a wave of changes, restructurings, reimaginings. The festival is still a distinctive event that brings us together at the end of October, when the year has matured, to make a point about what has happened throughout a year of cinema and to devote some time to it. To live up to expectations, this edition will also be the fruit of research, searching, and – again – of time. That’s where the power to transform things lies. So that the Viennale will be connected and shaped out of this time of cultural connections and critical perspective.

Eva Sangiorgi

MAIN PROGRAM
As announced previously, the main program eliminates the separation between fiction and documentary films in an attempt to go beyond the injustice – or the imprecision of categories – that in our contemporary times fails to honor the complexity of a language – the filmic language – shared between different registers. Many filmmakers will be relieved and the audience will find some gratifying surprises that will give rise to questions and observations on film expressed through images and sound. Read more about the Main Program

New at the Viennale 2018
The Viennale is pleased to announce that it will significantly expand its collaboration with the Austrian Filmmuseum this year. As one of the Viennale’s venues, the Filmmuseum will not only house the Retrospective but also serve as an additional festival cinema.
“We are happy that the Filmmuseum and the Viennale are able to further expand their long-standing collaboration,” says Viennale director Eva Sangiorgi.
“The Filmmuseum will not only serve as a venue for the Retrospective, The B–Film, but will also show specials and contemporary productions during the festival,” says Michael Loebenstein, director of the Austrian Filmmuseum. “It’s an opportunity for the audience to experience the past, the present and a possible future of the medium of film in the ‘Invisible Cinema’.”
The Viennale Festival Center will move into the KUNSTHALLE WIEN at Museumsquartier and extend its range of events. During the day, an increased number of talks and lectures will give audiences the opportunity to exchange ideas with the filmmakers. At night, as in previous years visitors can look forward to concerts, parties and DJ lines.
Last but not least: To take into account all things new, the graphics and layout of our publications and the Viennale website will also undergo some gentle changes.