V'08 FESTIVALINFO

Due to a larger number of screenings, the capacity sank from 79.20% in 2007 to 76.80% at the Viennale 2008. Out of a total of 332 film screenings, 116, i.e., approximately a third, were sold out. The capacity of feature films and documentaries in this year’s program was more or less at the same level, a circumstance that has been a distinctive feature of the Viennale for years.
TRIBUTES & SPECIALS Among the tributes and special programs, the program dedicated to Franz Schwartz, featuring films of the Stadtkino distribution from the last 27 years, was a surprise hit.
The Bob Dylan tribute presenting a series of great music films that were screened at Gartenbaukino partly did not quite meet our expectations.
The special evenings that the Viennale dedicated to its guest of honor, Werner Schroeter, can be considered one of the highlights of this year’s festival. These included the screening of Malina in the presence of leading actress Isabelle Huppert, the gala evening at Gartenbaukino presenting Schroeter’s latest film, Nuit de chien, and not least the sold-out Ingrid Caven concert at Akademietheater.

A fixed feature in the Viennale program is the annual retrospective, realized in collaboration with the Austrian Film Museum. This year’s retrospective, «Los Angeles – A City in Film», was curated by American filmmaker and author Thom Andersen and was a big success with the audience: with about 4500 visitors it was one of the most successful film programs of recent years.

Another important feature of this year’s Viennale were two films commissioned especially for the festival: the Viennale-Trailer Une catastrophe by Jean-Luc Godard and the video project Empires of Tin by Jem Cohen.