This year's 62nd Viennale officially concludes today, Tuesday, with the gala screening of the film DAHOMEY by Mati Diop.
The final press kit — presenting the highlights of this year’s festival, attendance figures, and the winners of the Vienna Film Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize, the Der Standard Readers' Jury Prize, and the Erste Bank Film Prize.
You can find the full press release with the details of the outcome of Viennale 2024 HERE.
The Viennale is pleased to announce both the opening and closing films of this year’s festival.
The festival will open on Thursday, October 17, with the French film C’EST PAS MOI (IT’S NOT ME) by Leos Carax.
As part of the festival’s traditional closing gala on October 29, the winner of the Golden Bear at the 2024 Berlinale will be screened: DAHOMEY by Mati Diop (France/Senegal/Benin, 2024).
You can find the full press release with details about the films HERE.
The press conference for the 2024 Viennale took place today at the Metro Kinokulturhaus, with City Councillor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler in attendance. Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi presented the complete program of the 62nd Viennale, supported by Florian Widegger (Head of Programming at the Metro Kinokulturhaus) and Michael Loebenstein (Director of the Austrian Film Museum).
The press materials are available for download HERE.
The Viennale is pleased to present the 2024 festival trailer, created this year by the unconventional filmmaker Radu Jude.
You can find the full press release HERE.
At the press conference held at the Volksgarten Pavilion, Viennale Director Eva Sangiorgi presented an initial preview of the program for the 62nd Viennale and unveiled the poster designs for this year’s festival.
You can find the full press release HERE.
On the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday, Hollywood legend Eric Pleskow (* April 24, 1924, Vienna – † October 1, 2019, Westport, Connecticut, USA) is being honored multiple times in his birthplace of Vienna. The Film Archive Austria and the Viennale are hosting a festive gala that will feature a truly special highlight. In the presence of numerous distinguished guests and companions of Pleskow, the Film Archive Austria will receive the original Oscar that Eric Pleskow was awarded for Miloš Forman’s AMADEUS in 1984, which is being handed over by the Viennale. The Oscar will be permanently displayed in a showcase right next to the entrance of the Eric Pleskow auditorium at the METRO Kinokulturhaus. The gala evening also marks the beginning of an extensive retrospective dedicated to Eric Pleskow’s most important film productions.
In addition, the Viennale is dedicating a memorial plaque to its longtime president at the house on Porzellangasse in Vienna’s 9th district, where he lived as a child until he was forced to flee the Nazis in 1939.
Eric Pleskow is still regarded today as one of the most successful film producers in cinema history. Born in Vienna on April 24, 1924, he fled the Nazis in 1939 and emigrated to the United States. As a young officer, he later returned to Europe with the aim of rebuilding the Bavaria Studios in Munich and, with them, the European film industry. In 1951, Pleskow was appointed head of European operations for the US film studio United Artists—a position previously held by none other than Charlie Chaplin. With numerous Academy Awards to his name, including for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (Miloš Forman, 1975), ROCKY (John G. Avildsen, 1976), and ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen, 1977), Pleskow rose to become one of the most successful film producers in the United States.
In 1978, Pleskow founded the production company Orion Pictures, where he served as CEO and was involved in major successes such as AMADEUS (Miloš Forman, 1984), PLATOON (Oliver Stone, 1986), DANCES WITH WOLVES (Kevin Costner, 1990), and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991). These films alone earned him, as the responsible producer, a total of 36 Oscars.
Even after the end of his active career, Pleskow remained closely connected to the world of cinema. In 1998, he was appointed president of the Viennale — deepening his renewed relationship with his native city, a bond further strengthened by the Honorary Citizenship of Vienna in 2007 and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria in 2009.
In 2015, Pleskow took on the patronage of the newly established second cinema auditorium at the METRO Kinokulturhaus. In 2023, his family handed over the Oscar for AMADEUS (Best Picture) to the Viennale. Now, on what would have been his 100th birthday on April 24, 2024, the Viennale is passing the award on to the Film Archive Austria for permanent exhibition at the METRO Kinokulturhaus.