October 19 to 31

The 61st Viennale celebrates its official closing this Tuesday with the gala screening of Quentin Dupieux's film YANNICK.

This year's festival can be called a particularly successful one. An exceptionally good presale already indicated what, to our great delight, was to come true in the course of the 13 festival days: many sold-out screenings not only of so-called "bigger" films, numerous excellently attended screenings of the smaller special programs not only ensured an enthusiastic atmosphere in the cinema halls, but were also expressed in very gratifying attendance figures.

75,300 people attended Viennale film screenings this year, which corresponds to an occupancy rate of 76%.

"We started the festival with a clear awareness of the dramatic events that are shaking and threatening the world around us," Viennale director Eva Sangiorgi reflects on the past two weeks. "We asked ourselves how to deal with this catastrophe from our privileged perspective. For 13 days, the cinema halls were full - at screenings, encounters, talks and discussions. Those who attended the Viennale activities witnessed exceptionally high and enthusiastic audience participation. This is our place of peace and reflection, which I called for on the opening day - a small, thoroughly responsible contribution in this day and age."

The 61st Viennale again had a lot of highlights to offer. Among them was the opening gala in the presence of the producer and the leading actress of the highly political opening film MAGYARÁZAT MINDENRE (EXPLANATION FOR EVERYTHING), Júlia Berkes and Lilla Kizlinger. 

Although the great French actress Catherine Deneuve had to cancel her visit to Vienna at short notice due to illness, the Gartenbaukino was completely sold out on the occasion of the screening of the Raúl Ruiz film LE TEMPS RETROUVE, in which she played the leading role - one of the signs that the joint Viennale and Austrian Film Museum retrospective on RAÚL RUIZ was very well received.

Also in the Gartenbaukino, a very special gala took place on the penultimate evening of the festival: On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the long-time and extremely popular Viennale President Eric Pleskow, his daughter Michelle Abt presented Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi with that Oscar as a gift to the festival, which Eric Pleskow won for the film AMADEUS in 1985, to great applause from the audience.

As expected, the big hits of the festival year were enthusiastically received and ensured sold-out halls and many discussions, including POOR THINGS by Yorgos Lanthimos, ANATOMIE D’UNE CHUTE by Justine Triet, PRISCILLA  by Sofia Coppola or Michael Manns FERRARI, just to name a few.

It is nice to see that even the programs perceived as "smaller" were very well received by the Viennese audience: both Historiographies (JAMES BALDWIN - THE WRITER ON CAMERA as well as DAVID SCHICKELE - BETWEEN THE USA AND NIGERIA) far exceeded expectations and had high occupancy rates. The same goes for KEINE ANGST, the program by Filmarchiv Austria, which took on the Austrian cinema of the 80s and brought back to the screen a true domestic classic in a newly restored version with the film ANGST by Gerald Kargl, which had not been shown in the cinema since 1983.

The Viennale has always held shorts in high esteem. All the more gratifying is the fact that the popularity of short films has never been as great as at this year's Viennale - another reason to maintain and expand the presentation of this format in the future.

It is already a tradition that Austrian film is prominently represented in the festival's main program. This was also the case this year. Major premieres of films such as Nikolaus Geyrhalters STILLSTAND, Jessica Hausners CLUB ZERO, Sudabeh Mortezais EUROPA, Adrian Goigingers RICKERL, but also ADENTRO MÍO ESTOY BAILANDO by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann or DIE ÄNGSTLICHE VERKEHRSTEILNEHMERIN by Martha Mechow attracted increased attention.

The official closing ceremony of the 60th Viennale took place on Monday evening, the penultimate day of the festival, with the gala screening of the film UN BEAU MATIN (One Fine Morning) by Mia Hansen-Løve in the presence of leading actor Pascal Greggory. The festival is happy about the great success of its anniversary edition: 73,700 people attended Viennale events this year, which corresponds to an occupancy rate of 71%.

"This 60th edition was a celebration of cinema and of being together,” said Eva Sangiorgi, delighted about the outcome of her fifth Viennale as festival director. “We all felt it, in the energy of the full cinema halls, in the intense talks between authors and audiences, in the expressions of all the people we shared so many experiences with through the films. We had great expectations – and they were definitely exceeded! The Viennale has shown that it’s a special meeting place for everyone who loves cinema, whether professionals or viewers, and it has consolidated its good reputation among national as well as international film events. Many visitors have already promised to be back in Vienna next October.”

A festival edition of anniversaries has come to an end. The 60th anniversary of the Viennale and the 80th birthday of Werner Herzog were two occasions used to create special, new memories as they can only be created in the context of a film festival, in shared experience and in direct, interpersonal exchange.

Not “just” showing films, but also contextualizing them and making them accessible in the context of current discourse is one of the tasks that the festival has always been committed to. 

The Viennale 2022 had a lot of highlights to offer. These included the opening gala in the presence of the directors of the opening film, VERA, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, and the lead actress Vera Gemma. As in the past two years and because it has been so popular, the film was screened in four Viennale cinemas on opening night.

Three entirely different Monographies, all very well received by Viennese audiences, honored three absolutely outstanding filmmakers at this year’s festival. The works by American director Elaine May shown at the Viennale 2022 reveal the subtle wit and feminist entrepreneurship already in the early history of Hollywood. Med Hondo, an exceptional figure of the pan-African liberation struggle, allows us to look deep into post-colonial traumas in his films. And on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan, the Viennale presented extraordinary (re)discoveries of films that oscillate between prose, poetry and anthropology.

Viennale audiences were able to immerse themselves in the shady worlds of spy thrillers as part of the Historiography dedicated to Argentine film noir. The retrospective on Kijū Yoshida, curated in collaboration with the Austrian Film Museum and the National Archive of Japan, was also extremely well received.

Austrian films were especially well represented at this year’s festival. Films such as ELFRIEDE JELINEK – SPRACHE VON DER LEINE LASSEN and EISMAYER received standing ovations, among others. The decision to show Ulrich Seidl’s film SPARTA, thus allowing space for a discussion about ethics and production conditions, caused a particular stir.

The Viennale itself was not only happy about enthusiastic reactions in national and foreign media, but also enjoyed to continue its own presence on social media as well as with exciting videos and podcasts this year.

 

 
With the gala screening of the film VERDENS VERSTE MENNEKE (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD) by Joachim Trier, the 59th edition of the Viennale came to an end on Sunday, October 31.

The festival was able to achieve a very nice success in this challenging period with an attendance of 58.200 visitors and an occupancy rate of 74%. The last eleven cinema days have proven that the Viennese audience's joy and interest in seeing a diverse film program together in the cinema was greater than the shyness of packed halls.

"This 2021 edition has exceeded expectations," Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi is pleased to say. "I was very satisfied with this year's program, and I was thoroughly proud of it. Therefore, it was all the more gratifying to experience that the audience showed great enthusiasm for it and that this was also reflected in the number of visitors."

The Viennale 2021 had plenty of highlights to offer. Among them was of course the opening gala in the newly renovated Gartenbaukino in the presence of the director of the opening film L’EVÉNEMENT, Audrey Diwan, and the leading actress Anamaria Vartolomei. Following a nice idea of the previous year, the film was shown in all five Viennale cinemas on the opening night.

A monography was dedicated to the exceptional British director Terence Davies, who was also present at the opening, and which was extremely well received by the Viennale audience. Davies inspired not only with his films, but also with his friendly presence, the interesting and humorous Q&A's after the screenings and the exciting and detailed workshop talk about screenwriting after a screening at the Urania. The fact that Terence Davies is planning to shoot his next film in Austria made everyone involved even happier.

Austrian film was not neglected in this festival edition either. The premiere of Sebastian Meise's internationally award-winning work GROSSE FREIHEIT, which won two further prizes at the Viennale, caused a particular stir.

 

The Viennale itself was not only pleased with enthusiastic reactions in domestic and foreign media, but this year also massively expanded its own presence on social media as well as with exciting video and podcasts.

The retrospective "Film as a Subversive Art - A Tribute to Amos Vogel" in collaboration with the Filmmuseum celebrated Vogel's 100th birthday and invited six curators* from around the world to create programs that, in Vogel's spirit, ask what "film", "subversive" and "art" can mean today.

 

The 58th Viennale came to a close on November 1st with the gala screening of THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

It was an extraordinary Viennale – in a state of emergency, so to speak. We were lucky that we were still able to stage it as a physical festival, and the audience’s reaction was amazing. Despite the shortened duration of the event by three days and the massive reduction in seating capacity, the Viennale welcomed 42,000 visitors in the cinemas. 

“Just a few weeks ago we could not foresee how film lovers in this city would accept our offer in times of a pandemic,” said Viennale director Eva Sangiorgi. “I’m overwhelmed by the audience’s response, which exceeds my expectations by far.”

Here are the figures of this year’s festival: eleven days, ten cinemas, 320 screenings, 52 international and 45 Austrian film guests, plus numerous journalists, critics and representatives from the film industry.

On the opening evening, MISS MARX was shown at all ten Viennale venues. The director of the film, Susanna Nicchiarelli, attended several of the screenings and was thrilled to meet Viennese audiences in our beautiful cinemas. The festival began with the presence and support of many personalities from the world of art, culture and politics at the opening gala in the Gartenbaukino, in particular Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and Vienna City Councillor for Cultural Affairs Veronica Kaup-Hasler, who pointed out the immense importance of culture and events like the Viennale in these challenging times.

 

One of the great highlights of the festival was the Monography dedicated to CHRISTOPH SCHLINGENSIEF, which – starting with Bettina Böhler’s documentary about the artist – allowed us to take an in-depth look at his cinematic oeuvre, including unreleased material such as his first film, shot when he was still a child, his THEATERFILME and the extraordinary SAY GOODBYE TO THE STORY, a great homage to the German actress Irm Hermann (1942–2020).
 

Our Monography dedicated to Isabel Pagliai made it possible to discover a young author capable of capturing the poetry of children and making it accessible to cinema in a previously unknown way.

Domestic cinema played a particularly large and important role this year, as many Austrian filmmakers, authors, producers and actors attended the festival. The AUSTRIAN AUTEURS program by Filmarchiv Austria allowed us to rediscover a number of essential independent works of Austrian film history.
 

In addition, the selection of the Cinematography program DIAGONALE '20 COLLECTION proved to be a necessary synergy in order to stick together in these difficult times and celebrate our cinema together.The retrospective RECYCLED CINEMA, a collaboration with the Austrian Film Museum, emphasized the ability of cinema to create connections between different situations and times, between narratives and authors – something that is particularly impressive these days.

 

One thing was especially remarkable: Although the pandemic has worsened in many countries in the past few days – and also here in Austria – the festival nevertheless continued with a strong feeling of security and solidarity among all participants. 

“The spirit of the Viennale 2020 really celebrated the sense of community,” said Viennale director Eva Sangiorgi. “A sense of community among people who work in the cultural field and particularly in cinema, people who love culture and cinema and live off it. Our special thanks go to the audience – for their passion and trust.”

 

 

The 57th Viennale closed with the gala screening of the film MARTIN EDEN in the presence of director Pietro Marcello. With one day less than last year, the festival posted yet another great success, with the attendance figure of 92,100 (2018: 93,200).

“It was a fantastic edition, with exceptional resonance from our audience and the international guests,” said Viennale directorEva Sangiorgi, happily. “I have the feeling that the Viennale is a family that constantly grows.”

One of the first highlights of this years’ festival, the second under the artistic directorship of Eva Sangiorgi, was the brilliant opening gala in the Gartenbaukino, with the impressive speeches by Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, Vienna Executive City Coun-cillor for Cultural Affairs and Science Veronica Kaup-Hasler, and Eva Sangiorgi in the presence of the actress Adèle Haenel, andwith an emotional moment of remembrance for the late Viennale president Eric Pleskow.

The festival program of the past 14 days evoked extremely positive reactions from the local audience as well as from international guests. One highlight among many was the CINEMA LIVE evening in the Austrian Film Museum, with a double projection and the live scoring of films by Silvia das Fadas. The artist, filmmaker and musician Luke Fowler also presented a program especiallycreated for Vienna, with new films, and live music at the Viennale Headquarters. The premiere of Sabine Derflinger’s DIE DOHNAL, the film about the legendary Austrian feminist politician and minister for women during the 1970s and the 1990s, developed into a particularly thrilling evening.

A great success emerged from the Monograph on Angela Schanelec. The filmmaker, who has won prizes at the Berlinale, person-ally presented her films and would have been pleased with the enormous, ever growing reception over the course of the festival. Cecilia Mangini, an icon of Italian cinema, delighted the audience with her films but especially also with her unbridled energy and strong political stance.

From the festival’s perspective, especially pleasing was the fact that many visitors also made their way to the demanding talksand discussions in the Viennale Zentrale – as was the case with the talks featuring Angela Schanelec, the discussion about threat-ening conflicts and imminent wars, as well as a round table discussion on the topic of film critiquing.

The Retrospective O Partigiano! Pan-European Partisan Film, organized in conjunction with the Film Museum, garnered a great deal of attention – also international – with attendance figures reaching around 4,300, projected over the entire length of the program.

 

The 56th Viennale comes to an extremely successful close today with the gala screening of the film EL ÁNGEL by Luis Ortega. The number of visitors increased to 93,200 compared to 91,700 in 2017. 

“I’m overwhelmed by the energy and warmth of this Viennale edition, which is very special to me because it’s my debut as director of the festival”, says Eva Sangiorgi. “This special atmosphere that all our guests have talked about creates lasting ties with the city and the festival. And it’s contagious.”

For the first time, this year Eva Sangiorgi was in charge of the Viennale, which featured an accentuated program as well as a series of beautiful innovations. So, for example, cinema fans, filmmakers and guests from the industry and the press were able to chat in a relaxed atmosphere at the “Aperitivi” events in the festival center and students were able to purchase discounted daytime tickets. For the first time, the Austrian Film Museum not only presented films of the Retrospective, but also features from the regular festival program and was very well utilized. Also excellently received was a special screening for pupils and apprentices that filled Vienna’s Gartenbaukino to the last seat.

Many of the 315 screenings were either sold out or well attended; the premieres at Gartenbaukino attracted a particularly large number of film fans to the cinema on Vienna’s Parkring this year. The program dedicated to Roberto Minervini turned out to be a great success and the director personally presented his films with great passion.

Among the highlights of this year’s Viennale was the program at the festival center in the Kunsthalle Wien in the Museumsquartier, which proved to be extremely varied and exciting with its mix of relaxed aperitivi, interesting film talks and book presentations, parties and DJ lines as well as exquisite concerts.

The retrospective The B-Film – Hollywood’s Low-Budget Cinema 1935-1959, organized in collaboration with the Austrian Film Museum, attracted a great deal of (international) attention. Running until December 5, it’s estimated to receive a total of 4,500 visitors.

 

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2017

The Viennale 2017 came to a successful close with the gala screening of the film LA VILLA by Robert Guédiguian. Despite fewer screenings in 2017 the total number of 91,700 visitors (as compared to 92,300 in 2016) has remained almost the same. The percentage of seats sold increased slightly to 82.6%. A bit more than a third of the screenings at the Viennale 2017 were sold out.

“Of course, I’m really happy about the absolute numbers and increased utilization, but what’s even more important to me is the audience’s enthusiastic response to the program. I’m convinced that this enthusiasm will have a positive effect on the next cinematic year,” says Franz Schwartz, the interim artistic director of the Viennale.

Among this year’s special programs the homage to Hans Hurch was a huge success. The program Napoli! Napoli!, devoted to new Neapolitan cinema, also clearly succeeded our expectations.

Highlights of this year’s festival included, in addition to the great premieres at Gartenbaukino of a series of new Austrian films, the opening film LUCKY, shown in the presence of director John Carroll Lynch, who, following the screening, also captivated the audience at a discussion in the Viennale festival center. As expected, the visit of the Austrian Hollywood star Christoph Waltz on the occasion of a tribute dedicated to him at the Viennale triggered enormous interest among the media and the public. In addition, the appearance of the iconic British actress Vanessa Redgrave and the great French actor and director Mathieu Amalric were real festival highlights.

The new Viennale Festival Center at Kunsthalle Wien im Museumsquartier proved to be a success among visitors. It absolutely won over the audiences, both as a place for in-depth talks and discussions as well as a location for concerts and parties.

Organized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the great retrospective UTOPIA AND CORRECTION: Soviet Cinema, 1926–1940 and 1956–1977, showing until November 30, will have an estimated total of 3,600 visitors.

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2016

This year’s Viennale comes to a successful close today with the gala screening of the film LA LA LAND. The festival, which was one day shorter than previous editions and did without the early- morning program in the Gartenbaukino, offered about 8,000 tickets less than last year. In view of this, the total number of 92,300 visitors, as compared to 94,100 in 2015, marks a great success for the Viennale 2016. Although the number of visitors slightly decreased, the utilization of available seats clearly increased from 76.4% in 2015 to 82.3% and so did the number of sold-out screenings, from 123 in 2015 to 154.

All in all, it can be said that the Viennale 2016 was a great and gratifying success and that the reduction of the program and offering only had an insignificant impact on the figures.

“This year’s festival, which marked my 20th anniversary as director, was a very special gift for me,” says Viennale director Hans Hurch. “I don’t know to whom we owe it, but seldom has a Viennale edition received such positive and partly enthusiastic feedback from both audiences and international critics.”

Among this year’s special programs the tribute to Peter Hutton was an extremely positive surprise, as was the mini-tribute to Kenneth Lonergan. In addition, the retrospective of Filmarchiv Austria on the émigré filmmaker Robert Land met with great interest.

Highlights of this year’s festival included the opening film, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, screened in the presence of director Kenneth Lonergan, the great premieres in Gartenbaukino of a number of new Austrian films, and the visit of the American artist Patti Smith, who dedicated a photo exhibition to the festival and performed an outstanding concert in the sold-out Gartenbaukino.

Furthermore, it should be noted that this year’s Viennale saw the attendance of an unusually large number of important, international filmmakers, who presented their works at the festival. These included Terence Davies, Luc Dardenne, Olivier Assayas, John Carpenter, Abel Ferrara, Albert Serra, Julien Temple, Bertrand Bonello and Cristi Puiu.

Organized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the great retrospective A SECOND LIFE – THEMES AND VARIATIONS IN FILM, showing until November 30, will have an estimated total of 5,400 visitors.

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2015

The 53rd Viennale came to an end with the film ANOMALISA by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson. With a total of 94,100 visitors, the 2015 festival couldn’t quite reach last year’s record figure of 98,200. The utilization of available seats decreased from 81.7% to 76.4%. From a total of 377 screenings, 123 were sold out.

“As in previous years, the Viennale was once again special proof of the diversity and quality of Austrian and international cinema,” says Viennale director Hans Hurch. “The fact that the number of visitors can’t be increased arbitrarily from year to year probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone. We do, however, consider it important to continue developing the Viennale’s distinctive feature of being a city and audience festival and an internationally acclaimed film event at the same time.”

Among this year’s special programs, three were particularly popular with audiences. The most successful Viennale 2015 Special was FLESH AND BLOOD, a program on Austrian genre cinema, realized in collaboration with Filmarchiv Austria. There was also great interest in GREECE – ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, a selection of contemporary Greek films and, finally, the tribute to the young Uruguayan filmmaker Federico Veiroj.

The program IDA LUPINO – HARD, FAST AND BEAUTIFUL and the homage to the Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, who passed away this year, didn’t quite meet our expectations.

Highlights of this year’s festival included the visit of the great American actress Tippi Hedren and the screenings of Alfred Hitchcock’s MARNIE and THE BIRDS in her presence; the Austrian premieres of a number of outstanding national productions and the world premieres of films by Billy Woodberry, Jean-Marie Straub and Klaus Wyborny.

Organized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the great retrospective ANIMALS – A SMALL ZOOLOGY OF CINEMA, showing until November 30, will have an estimated total of 5,400 visitors.

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2014

The Viennale came to an end with the screening of TURIST by Ruben Östlund after a festival span of fifteen days for the first time. The increase in the number of visitors this year to 98.200, compared with 97,400 in 2013, is remarkable because the total number of available tickets decreased compared to the previous year. – It was necessary to compensate the former festival cinema Kino am Schwarzenbergplatz by the smaller Eric Pleskow Saal at the reopened Metro Kinokulturhaus.
The percentage of available seats sold increased from 77.8% to 81,7%.
The number of sold out screenings increased from 116 to 131.
Organized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the John Ford Retrospective, showing until November 30, will have an estimated total of 5000 visitors.
Uncommon and risky special programs like SPECIAL: REVOLUTIONS IN 16MM, IN FOCUS: TARIQ TEGUIA and SPECIAL: FRITZ KORTNER surprisingly received most of the good public response.
Among the festival’s highlights were the visit of Abel Ferrara, who presented his most recent film PASOLINI, the Austrian premieres of several local productions, the world premieres of movies by James Benning, Jean-Marie Straub or Klaus Wyborny, as well as the presence of the british musician and PULP guitarist Jarvis Cocker who presented THE BIG MELT and PULP: A FILM ABOUT LIFE, DEATH AND SUPERMARKETS himself on November 6.

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2013

As the Viennale came to an end with the screening of LOCKE by Steven Knight, the Viennale is happy to announce an increase in the number of visitors this year to 97,400, compared with 96,900 in 2012. At the same time, the percentage of available seats sold slightly decreased from 79.6% to 77.8%, mainly due to additional 11 pm screenings at Vienna’s Gartenbaukino.

The total number of film screenings this year was 356, 116 of which were sold out.

The special programs Wild Ethnography: The Work of Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab, Asian Delights and The Raw and the Cooked received a surprisingly good public response, while the program on the Filipino filmmaker John Torres and certain short film programs did not quite meet our expectations.

Organized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the Jerry Lewis Retrospective, showing until November 24, will have an estimated total of 4,600 visitors.

Among the festival’s highlights were the Austrian premiere of LE DERNIER DES INJUSTES in the presence of director Claude Lanzmann, the great gala evening dedicated to and featuring Jackie Stewart, and the presentation of the opus magnum OUT 1 – NOLI ME TANGERE by Jacques Rivette in the presence of the cinema legend of the nouvelle vague, Jean-Pierre Léaud. Tonight’s gala evening at the Gartenbau cinema in the presence of our tribute guest Will Ferrell, and the closing film of the Viennale 2013 festival, LOCKE, will be two further exceptional events.

“For me, this year’s Viennale has been one of the most attractive and successful festivals in recent years, not only in terms of the numerous guests, but also the films, special programs, and extremely positive reactions from both audiences and international film critics,” says Viennale director Hans Hurch.

 

14 days, 345 screenings and 96,900 visitors

OUTCOME OF THE VIENNALE 2012

Coming to an end with today’s screening of the closing film L'INTERVALLO by Leonardo di Costanzo, Viennale 2012 recorded an attendance of 96,900. As compared to last year’s 96,700, the festival thus saw a slight increase in the number of visitors. On the other hand, the overall attendance slightly decreased from 79.9% in 2011 to 79.6% in 2012.

The number of film screenings remained more or less the same as last year’s, with a total of 345 screenings, 114 of which were sold-out.

As in previous years, the 2012 festival largely owes this stable result to the program in the spacious Gartenbaukino, but also to the success of individual tributes and special programs. The Tribute to Michael Caine received great public response, and so did the Filmarchiv Austria program Vienna – Moscow, while the special program They Wanted to See Something Different and the first comprehensive international presentation of Alberto Grifi’s body of work – somewhat surprisingly – did not meet our expectations.

Realized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the Fritz Lang retrospective, still showing at the Filmmuseum until November 29, scored a great result and will have an estimated total of 6,500 visitors.

Undoubtedly among the festival’s highlights were the gala evening with Michael Caine, the event Monument Film with Peter Kubelka and the exclusive performance by American artist Patti Smith at the Metrokino.

The new Viennale festival center in the former headquarters of the Austrian federal post office at Dominikanerbastei turned out to be the liveliest and most popular festival center in many years – and a special attraction for the numerous national and international Viennale visitors.

BALANCE OF THE VIENNALE 2011

Coming to an end with a screening of the closing film THE IDES OF MARCH by George Clooney, the Viennale 2011 continues on its path of success. With an attendance of 96,700 at the 2011 festival as compared to 2010, the Viennale saw a slight increase in the number of visitors, less so than in previous years but at the same time an important and wonderful confirmation of the Viennale’s steadily growing popularity. The festival’s overall attendance figures also rose slightly from 79.80% in 2010 to 79.90% at the Viennale 2011. The number of film screenings remained more or less the same as last year’s with a total of 347 screenings, and so did the number of sold-out screenings, which totaled 120 this year. Contributing significantly to the 2011 festival’s success were the numerous fully booked screenings and gala events at the spacious Gartenbaukino, the almost completely sold-out special program Home Run featuring new Austrian films, and the unexpected popularity of films such as ALPIS, TERRI, DRIVE, TOMBOY, TAKE SHELTER, SUBMARINE, HESHER, BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA, AMERICANO and BÉ OMID É DIDAR to name but a few.

 

TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS

While the Tribute to Harry Belafonte was extremely successful, as expected, the first international homage to Soi Cheang did not quite meet our expectations.

RETROSPECTIVE - Chantal Akermann

Realized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, this year’s retrospective was dedicated to Chantal Akerman and was a huge success with 4,500 visitors.More than 500 viewers enjoyed the premiere of Akerman’s most recent film at the Gartenbaukino.

“In summary, we can once again point to the Viennale audience’s exceptional curiosity and zest for discovery. They received the festival’s cinematic complexity and wide variety of extremely different works, styles, genres and stories with great interest and incredible openness,” says festival director Hans Hurch. “This is wonderfully promising for the great 50th anniversary of the Viennale in 2012.”

With the Tributes and Special Programs, the program dedicated to the American director Larry Cohen was one of the most successful in recent years, featuring a number of sold-out screenings. A positive surprise, also last year, was the outstanding attendance at the special on Austrian silent films of the 1920s organized by Filmarchiv Austria. The tribute to the French cameraman William Lubtchansky, on the other hand, did not quite meet our expectations.

Realized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, the annual Retrospective was dedicated to Eric Rohmer this year and scored a great outcome with almost 4,700 visitors.

Spontaneously organized together with the ORF, an additional matinée managed to fill the Gartenbaukino on Sunday morning. More than 700 viewers enjoyed the film Scheitern, scheitern, besser scheitern with Gert Voss and Harald Schmidt in the leading roles.

The extremely comprehensive short film program at the Viennale 2010 met with great public response, and the short film program shown for the first time this year at Gartenbaukino also proved a success.

For the second time running, the Badeschiff at Vienna’s Danube Canal served as the Viennale’s festival center. Among the highlights were the performance by John Turturro, the enlightening Discussion on Vienna and the DJ-Line with the German designer Bernhard Willhelm. The very well-attended events on the Badeschiff clearly show that the location was even better received by festival-goers than last year.

“We appreciate the fact that we have succeeded to establish a mutual relationship between the festival and its audience over the years,” says Viennale director Hans Hurch. “It is a relationship based on trust, also allowing for more risky programming, which is honored by the audience – seen in the great success of this year’s extensive short film program and the tribute to Larry Cohen. In this respect, the Viennale can be regarded as a love story between the cinema and the audience.”

BALANCE OF THE VIENNALE 2009
With a total of 94,800 Viennale-goers, the 2009 festival scored a considerable increase in the number of visitors.
The festival’s attendance figures rose from 76.80% in 2008 to 79.60% at the Viennale 2009.
While the number of film showings more or less remained the same with a total of 345 screenings, the number of sold-out screenings rose to 124. This means that more than a third of the screenings was sold out.
As for feature films and documentaries in the 2009-program, the capacity remained approximately the same, which proves how equal the Viennale considers these two film genres.   TRIBUTES & SPECIALS As expected, the most successful program among the tributes and special programs at this year’s Viennale was the one dedicated to actress Tilda Swinton. A surprise success, on the other hand, was the outstanding attendance at the special program on early Austrian cinema organized by Filmarchiv Austria. However, despite its great success with international film critics, the tribute to Filipino filmmaker Lino Brocka did not quite meet our expectations.  

RETROSPECTIVE - The Unquiet American – Transgressive Comedies from the U.S.
The annual Retrospective, realized in collaboration with the Filmmuseum, was a big success again this year. About 6,000 viewers saw the films of the program The Unquiet American – Transgressive Comedies from the U.S., curated by Jonathan Rosenbaum.

”For me this year’s Viennale was one of the most beautiful and successful editions to date,” says Viennale director Hans Hurch. “I therefore consider it as encouragement and the task of the festival to continue taking an individual, and at times obstinate, path with all necessary changes in the years to come.”

 

MAIN PROGRAM
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.
  RETROSPECTIVE - Los Angeles. A City in Film

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.

 

COMMISSIONED WORKS

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.

 

Balance of the Viennale 2007: 12 days, 321 screenings and a new record attendance...

MAIN PROGRAM
With a total of 91,700 Viennale-goers, more people than ever before have visited the festival. In comparison, we had 88.900 visitors last year.
Out of a total of 321 film screenings, 126 were sold out. The total capacity increased from 78.40% in 2006 to 79.20% at the VIENNALE 2007.
In this regard it is interesting to compare topical feature and documentary films. While they were at the same level last year, the capacity of feature films came to 84.3% and documentary films to 76.7% in 2007.

TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Among the tributes and special programs, the personal tribute to Jane Fonda was a huge success with the public, and so was the special program dedicated to American filmmaker Stephanie Rothman.
Realized by Filmarchiv Austria, the program “Proletarisches Kino in Österreich” (“Proletarian Cinema in Austria”), of which a large number of screenings were also sold out, can be regarded as a surprise hit of this year’s Viennale.
The hopes we had put into the special program dedicated to Danny Williams, consisting of films by and about the filmmaker, did not quite come up to our expectations.

RETROSPECTIVE – The Way of the Termite

A fixed feature in the Viennale program is the annual retrospective, realized in collaboration with the Österreichische Filmmuseum. The extensive and demanding program “The Way of the Termite – The Essay in Cinema 1909 – 2004” was curated by filmmaker and critic Jean-Pierre Gorin and accompanied by a series of selected lectures. With some 4000 visitors this retrospective scored a considerable success.

12 days, 313 screenings, 119 film guests from all over the world, extraordinarly high interest in the documentary film program and the short films, great attendance at the Peter Whitehead Tribute and the Retrospective Demy/Varda, as well as a repeatedly filled Uranie rooftop at the Viennale Zentrale with a lot of discussions and party nights - this was the Viennale 2006!

MAIN PROGRAM
The Viennale 2006 is again drawing a very positive and successful balance this year. With 88,900 visitors, more people than ever before have attended the film festival. For comparison: last year’s figure was 86,200. Of the total of 313 screenings 114 were sold out.
Especially outstanding and by now doubtlessly a specificity of the Viennese film festival is the extraordinary high audience interest in the comprehensive documentary film program. With a final ratio of 79.40% the documentary film program could catch up to the figures of the Viennale feature film program for the first time this year.
The situation is similar regarding short films. This near-balance of interest in the most diverse forms and formats of cinema proves the great curiosity and openness the visitors of the Viennale are bringing along.
Within the series of Austrian documentaries, which were numerously represented at this year’s Viennale, practically all screenings and second screenings were completely sold out. This again proves the lively interest for local cinema within the framework of the festival.

TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS Among the Tributes and Special Programs of the Viennale 2006 the tribute to Peter Whitehead, as well as the birthday special for Elfriede Jelinek with the author’s selection of her favourite films were especially successful.
Yet, the tribute “Sisters Act” and some of the films on the big screen of the Gartenbau Cinema - Gone with the Wind, Night of the Hunter, or Cobra Woman – fell a bit short of the festival’s expectations.

RETROSPECTIVE - DEMY / VARDA

A highlight of the Viennale was certainly the yearly Retrospective, presented in cooperation with the Austrian Filmmuseum and dedicated to the French filmmaker couple Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda. With its 4,500 visitors it was one of the most successful retrospectives of the past years.

 

12 days, 305 screenings and a new audience record: we are looking back to an eventful festival with great films, interesting guests and exciting supporting programs…

MAIN PROGRAM
All in all, 86,200 film enthusiasts were visiting the Viennale's 5 festival cinemas. Besides some guaranteed box office hits, like the opening film “Matchpoint” by Woody Allen, Miranda July’s “Me And You And Everyone We Know”, which even managed to fill a breakfast screening at 6.30 in the morning, or the new work by the Dardenne brothers “L’Enfant”, and the extraordinary 11-hour Philippine family chronic “Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino” by Lav Diaz, a considerate number of those films which can not score with big names like Scorsese or Clooney found great response: for instance, the German-Indian documentary “Between the Lines”, Aoyama Shinji’s “Eli, eli, lema sabachthani?”, or the Moroccan film “L’enfant endormi”.
 

TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Next to the films of the main program, the Special Programs to the Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa, the Chinese silent film diva Ruan Lingyu, the proletarian cinema and ORF 3, as well as the Tributes to Buenos Aires and, of course, to cult actress Jane Birkin with a great selection of her films, attracted the Viennale visitors.
RETROSPECTIVE - Andy Warhol Filmmaker

Besides his legendary Screen Tests, the comprehensive retrospective to Andy Warhol's filmic work at the Austrian Film Gallery featured a number of films from his time at the Factory.
Accompanying the retrospective, the Viennale presented a series of lectures and discussions with the title “Why Warhol Matters”, dealing with Warhol’s film work, as well as other aspects of the great artist.

 

285 screenings. 81 retro-screenings. 289 films. 78 guests. 540 accredited journalists. 1 Bonus Track Day. An audience of 81,600.

«Every film festival, no matter how well run, usually has a few problems. But in my three years attending the VIENNALE International Film Festival, I still haven’t found any problems at this one – of the dozens of domestic and international fests I’ve been lucky enough to attend, this one tops my list. The VIENNALE is the kind of event tha can erase your cynicism about film festivals an renew your passion for cinema.» (IndieWIRE.com)
 

PREMIERES
A number of world and international premieres took place during the VIENNALE 2004, including:
"13 Lakes" by James Benning, "Fei-Zao-Ju" ('Soap Opera') by Wu Ershan, "Williamsburg, Brooklyn" by Jonas Mekas, "Nicht Ohne Risiko" by Harun Farocki, "Hakoah Lischot" ('Watermarks') by Yaron Zilberman, "Everyone Their Grain Of Sand" by Beth Bird und "Trona" by David Fenster. TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS

The Tributes of the Viennale 2004 were dedicated to the Special Guest Star LAUREN BACALL and to AMOS VOGEL. The Special Programs were dedicated to the japanese director KOREEDA HIROKAZU, the french film-maker JEAN-PIERRE GORIN and the hungarian director PAUL FEJOS.

RETROSPECTIVE - The Grapes of Wrath and Tenderness

The films of Straub/Huillet have long been an important part of the Viennale’s program, and this year the Viennale presented a retrospective in cooperation with the Filmmuseum.
At the invitation of the Viennale Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub have put together a selection of this great director’s work, drawing on their personal experience and years of watching Ford’s oeuvre closely.

VIENNALE ZENTRALE

The Viennale Zentrale on the top floor of the Urania has proved a perfect festival meeting point. Several discussions, audience talks, Jean-Pierre Gorin’s 'Working Class' lectures, parties and other events took place.
'Gonzales' who opened the Viennale with a great performance was the first to attract a great audience. Also, the series of Filmmakers at the Turntables and the 'Von Spar' + DJ Thomas (MiniMonsters of spex) concert were big highlights for our loyal Viennale community.

 

277 screenings. 302 films. 77 guests. 560 accredited journalists. 1 extra day. An audience of 75,200.

A DESIRE FOR INNOVATION

At no other film festival in the world is there such an intense feeling of experiment and subversion, the desire for innovation. (Fritz Göttler, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
The fact that this desire for innovation also gripped the audience is shown by the box-office statistics, including those for the less-popular films. A number of this year’s favorites were unexpected, as was the great interest in current films from Iceland to South Korea. At the same time the program tended to focus on the USA, with many critical views.

PREMIERES The 2003 Viennale also offered a venue for a number of world premieres, including: "Kenedi se vraca kuci" (Zelimir Zilnik), "Shang Shan" (Zhu Chuanming), "James Benning – Circling the Image" (Reinhard Wulf), "Handbikemovie" (Martin Bruch), "Domestic Violence 2" (Frederick Wiseman), "The Cedar Bar" (Alfred Leslie), "Los Angeles Plays Itself" (Thom Andersen), "Awake and Sing" (Lee Anne Schmitt), "Il mare e la torta" (Edgar Honetschläger) and "Die Verwandlung des guten Nachbarn" (Peter Nestler).   TRIBUTES & SPECIAL PROGRAMS

The Tributes 2003 were dedicated to Emile De Antonio, Warren Beatty and the Munich-based recordlabel ECM.
The special programs covered - as usual - almost all types of film genre and several parts of the history of film. The special program dedicated to the work of Vincent Gallo who won the FIPRESCI Award 2003 was enthusiastically affiliated by the public.
The Special Program "Cinematography, Elementary" took us back to the very beginnings of cinema: The Austrian Film Archive presented a number of treasures from its collection of early films. And last but not least: The werkstattkino Munich presented the type of cinema it stands for: a type of cinema which flies in the face of classic categories of genre, taste and art as well as the terms trash, fashion and cult.

 

Viennale 2002: 12 festival days. 244 screenings. 237 films. (Films, that for the most part won´t be shown in the regular film theatres). 76 filmguests and 468 Accreditates. And 70,400 visitors

MAIN PROGRAM
The Viennale programme 2002 is ambitious in a non speculative way. More than ever the Viennale disassociates itself from the every day cinema and its established values by treading on less known filmic terrain. (Claus Philipp)
Film as a medley. That is also Agnès Varda´s principle. She presented „Deux ans après“, a great tribute to potato-pickers and other residue-consumers as well as to those film makers who want to expose what the rest of the world doesn´t want to see.
"One has to get away from the prejudice thinking when one wants to make such discoveries. And above all, one has to get away from two-classes-theory in film history, USA vs. Europe, Hollywood vs. Avantgarde.“ (Fritz Göttler, Süddeutsche Zeitung)

In the special programm series two films received very good reactions: Agnès Varda´s Deux ans après (world premiere) and the first international presentation of the collected works of Zeki Demirkubuz. Also highly acclaimed were the lecture out of the new book, written by Dietrich Kuhlbrodt and the presentation of the two ´Japanese visuals´programms.
Apart from Deux ans après there were some more world premieres: Sulla (Klaus Wyborny), Vaters Land (Nurith Aviv), Im Anfang war der Blick (Bady Minck), Nach dem Tod des alten Roms (Meinhart Ropp), Turhan Bey – Vom Glück verfolgt (Andrea Eckert), Erwachen aus dem Schicksal (Stephan Settele).
The Viennale also was able to present some (in the festival world) important European premieres: Auto Focus (Paul Schrader), Frailty (Bill Paxton), Last Ball (Peter Callahan), Architecture of Riot (Erika Vogt), Battle Stations – A Navel Adventure (Dominic Angerame), Nightingale (Lee Ann Schmitt), National Archive V.1 und An Injury to One (Travis Wilkerson), Une vie nouvelle (Philippe Grandrieux).

 

RETROSPEKTIVE - Das Kino des Jacques Rivette

Jacques Rivette is the most undetected, mysterious and probably also least-known director among the legendary filmmakers of the French “Nouvelle Vague”.
The festival presented the first complete retrospective on Jacques Rivette in Austria, including his seldom-shown twelve-and-a-half-hour series Out 1: Noli me tangere (1970).
The Viennale also succeeded in convincing Jacques Rivette to put together a collection of his favorite films and juxtapose them with his own films.

 

EXHIBITION - YOKO ONO

The “Yoko Ono – FROM MY WINDOW” exhibit, which was shown in the Klaus Engelhorn Galery to a major response from the media, and was personally introduced by the artist herself.
As hoped, an unforgettable event was the result. Unfortunately, it could not be witnessed by the mass of visitors who showed up; the gallery’s window was so steamed up after a short time that even this view from the sidelines was cut off.
Surrounded by hundreds of guests and numerous photographers and camerapeople, Yoko Ono opened her show with a short speech and a poem.
Galerist Klaus Engelhorn and Hans-Peter Wipplinger, the show’s initiator, limited themselves to minimalist versions of their prepared speeches so that the guests both inside and outside the gallery (the latter group included a few international journalists who came especially for this event) could begin their tours of the show as soon as possible. Quiet contemplation of individual works was of course impossible in light of the circumstances, but as the show has been extended to November 20th, there will be sufficient time for that later.

 

68.100 cineasts visited the Viennale 2001 with an average attendance of 72,60%.
 

MAIN PROGRAM A sum total of 64 sold out performances out of 220 screenings was good news for the festival, but less for those who did not manage to get tickets. TRIBUTES UND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Apart from the extensive main program of new films, the Tributes - devoted to the legendary actress Fay Wray and to the German documentary filmmaker Peter Nestler - were met with an extraordinary attention and great reception. As usual, many of the festival favourites came unexpectedly: the new films of the so-called world cinema - ranging from Sri Lanka to Uruguay - found huge interest. So did rare gems of cinema history taken from the vaults of the film archives. The audience’s interest for documentaries – even the most unconventional such as Jonas Mekas‘ four-hour home movie or Frederick Wiseman’s study „Domestic Violence“ –,for experimental shorts, and lengthy cinema epics was equally overwhelming and unexpected.

The varying Special Programs were also attended with great response: most notably the first international presentation of the films of the young director Alain Guiraudie, but also the reading from Ilse Aichinger’s new book „Film und Verhängnis“, and the presentation of the innovative French media research centre Le Fresnoy.   RETROSPECTIVE - From the Heart of the World

The Viennale undertook to take stock and map the cinematographic territory of the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The comprehensive retrospective “Aus dem Herzen der Welt - From the Heart of the World” included recent works as well as films of the “New Wave” mentioned above and a selection of classics, which helped to lay the foundations to the traditions of the cinema of this region. A season of short films largely unknown in the West and a splendid program of rare documentaries organised in cooperation with “Cinéma du reél” formed a central aspect of the retrospective.