Discoveries from Austria World Cinema

The mermaid Undine is looking for a man who is worthy of her love.

The fall is so rapid that it seems like a bad dream. Just a moment ago, 16-year-old Nadja was a carefree, cheerful young girl, but shortly afterwards the horror follows: the older boy she falls in love with is a junkie who also drags Nadja into misery. Her wealthy parents learn in an extremely painful way about a world they had previously only known from hearsay: their search for their daughter literally becomes a journey into the underworld.

Adolescents in the amphibious situation between child and adult try to cope with their emotions and their environment. Right there they would need limits, a foothold and hope and yet they signalize the opposite. Between loss, extinct love, parental problems and their own needs the parent generation tries to understand or at least to save something.

An engineer, a musician, and a salesman are heading off on summer vacation in an old VW and a rented caravan. The confirmed bachelors want to enjoy their freedom. But the musician falls in love with a hotel telephone operator, and the engineer with a merchant's daughter. This leads to turmoil, with lots of fun and music!

FOREIGNERS OUT! SCHLINGENSIEFS CONTAINER is a thrilling, insightful, funny chronicle and reflection of one of he biggest public pranks and acts of art terrorism ever committed. Austria 2000: Right after the FPÖ under Jörg Haider had become part of the government, the first time an extreme right wing party became state officials after WW2, infamous German shock director Christoph Schlingensief showed a very unique form of protest. Realising public xenophobia and the new hate politics in the most drastic ways possible, he installed a public concentration camp right in the middle of Vienna's touristic heart, right beside the picturesque opera where hundreds of tourists and locals pass by daily. And it was no concentration camp you had ever feared to return from the old times, but one that cynically reflected our new multimedia culture. Satirising reality TV shows, "Big Brother" especially, a dozen asylum seekers were surveilled by a multitude of cameras, could be fed and watched by.

Car salesman Gerry Schartl is on his way to dream holidays in an all-inclusive club at Cosamera. He´s a smart guy, great in his job, and his life is perfect - well, nearly perfect...

A biography of the composer Johann Strauss.

Dan-Linh, Count Otto's future wife, is kidnapped. He immediately agrees to pay, but when he hands over the money, he finds Dan-Linh dead in the car. The whole family immediately becomes suspects for the two investigators. Envy, hatred and resentment were the feelings that the family had towards Dan-Linh, but which of the dear family was prepared to commit murder?

A sculptor is desperately looking for a model for his latest work entitled New Venus. One day he meets girl who seems like perfect candidate. Soon, they both fall in love with each other.

René desperately needs a new haircut before he flies to New York. When he discovers a mysterious Viennese hairdressing salon, his initial joy is quickly overshadowed by worrying questions: Why was the hairdresser so hesitant to let him in? Why did she lock the front door? Was it wise to ask a stranger for a shave? And who is that pale old man next to him, who neither speaks nor moves?

The head of a fashion school spots a girl on television with exactly the angelic face he needs for one of his pictures. He has no idea that she's his student.

The furniture manufacturer Albert and the doorman Paul could both be Conny's fathers, the result of a long-suppressed affair between both men and the same woman. This is becoming a huge problem, because Conny is demanding unpaid alimony - from 30 years. Paul's marital happiness and Albert's business future are at stake. A large-scale cover-up begins and leads to complete chaos.

Karl and Paula work as specialist divers in Vienna, while their former friend Fred runs a diving school in Croatia. While surveying Vienna's underground, Karl and Paula come across a system of catacombs in which they discover valuable burial objects and a mummified corpse with numerous tattoos. When Karl has an accident during his explorations, Fred is asked for help by Paula. Neither of them suspect what they will soon be involved in.

Explores the mental state of Mozart during production of his final opera "Die Zauberflöte".

The 1791 La Clemenza di Tito (or 'The Clemency of Titus') marked Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's final opera seria. With a libretto by Metastasio (edited slightly by Caterino Mazzolà), the work dramatizes the palace intrigues surrounding emperor Titus's attempts to coronate a new bride and the envious Vitellia's attempts to have Titus assassinated (with the help of Titus's friend Sextus) following the deposition of Vitellia's emperor father. Stage director Martin Kušej mounted Tito in August 2003, at the Felsenreitschule in Salzburg; a film of that live performance now appears in this home video release. The cast includes Michael Schade as Titus, Vesselina Kasarova as Sextus and Dorothea Roschmann as Vitellia. The Wiener Staatsopernchor, under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, provides musical accompaniment; Jens Kilian designed the sets.

After a frank confession by his wife, a doctor is called to see a dying patient. The cause of the night brings him to meet an old friend, a pianist, who tells him of a mysterious ball where he is due to perform. Based on the book "Traumnovelle" ("Rhapsody: A Dream Novel") by Arthur Schnitzler, which was the inspiration for the film Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

When Ovid's “Metamorphoses” meet Vivaldi's music: conceived and directed by Barrie Kosky, an effervescent show presented at the 2025 Salzburg Festival. With Cecilia Bartoli, Lea Desandre, Nadezhda Karyazina, and Philippe Jaroussky, as well as actress Angela Winkler in the spoken role of Orpheus.

In an epic tale of good versus evil, Faust sells his soul to the Devil and tries to save Marguerite from an eternity in Hell.

A greater-Vienna seniors' home is run like a prison by the stuck-up female executive and staff. Hippie-type rebel Rochus 'Rocco' Siwak incurs a community service to be spent there as orderly. Sympathizing with seniors who still aspire to some dignity and self-realization, he helps them get around the rules, such as smuggling in contraband, and ends up inspiring them to form a rock band and enter a free podium competition. But it doesn't square with his own last shot as band guitarist.—KGF Vissers

Crazy Roads takes you on roads of the unexpected.

A mad scientist creates a hideous monster to carry out his murderous plans...

A Tyrolean rifle regiment adopt a young baby girl they have rescued and she becomes the "Daughter of the Regiment". In 1811, as a full-grown woman she falls in love with one of the new recruits while the regiment battles French forces during the Napoleonic Wars.

Lena is homeless. She couldn't get a foothold in the big city, she hasn't been at home in the country for a long time and she only knows the big, wide world, which she allegedly traveled as a waitress on a cruise ship, from hearsay. Her grandfather's funeral is now both an occasion and an excuse for her to return to the village in the hope of finding her place in life here after all.

Hans, living in Vienna during the Great Depression, intends to drown himself in the river after losing his livelihood. While there he meets a girl named Anna after pulling her from the river.

Just gotten dumped via text message by her boyfriend, Ottilie Giesecke from Berlin cannot resist her father’s offer to spend a few days holidaying at Lake Wolfgangsee in the Austrian alps. Although the city slicker doesn’t think much of Schlager songs and mountains, she moves into the “Weißes Rössl” inn, where Dr. Otto Siedler immediately courts her. At least in Leopold, Ottilie finds a kindred spirit, because the headwaiter has been hopelessly in love with Josepha, boss of the hotel, for years. While the two cheer each other up, the next problem is already looming: Sigismund Sülzheimer wants to buy the Weißes Rössl in order to blow it up - of course out of heartache.

A divorced father picks up his eight-year-old daughter Lea. It seems pretty much like every second weekend, but after a while Lea can't help feeling that something isn't right. So begins a fateful journey.

Two young girls who live in a small town in Lower Austria dream of America, men and love. They live in Ternitz, they dream of Tennessee.

George Frederic Handel's oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staged version at the Salzburg Festival, was among the highlights of Handel Year 2009. Acclaimed director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her faith, an interpretation captivated with bravura by world-renowned video director Hannes Rossacher. A luminous Christine Schaefer and countertenor Bejun Mehta formed a perfect leading couple altogether suited to conductor Ivor Bolton's vigorus reading.

The story of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, placed in the years right after the Second World War in Germany. A tale about friendship and courage.

Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have become a threat for both environment and human health.

Twelve different episodes of erotic relationships are described as examples of modern love substitute.

In this documentary portrait prepared for the anniversary of Ludwig Van Beethoven's 200th birthday, Leonard Bernstein illustrates his analysis with excerpts from his performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major and the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony.

Madeleine Montana lives in her self-created world and in the fantasy that she is still a famous bestselling author. The taboo-free cynic has a sharp tongue against everyone and everything - including her own son Oliver. When a serial killer terrorizes Vienna, it turns out that the crimes are based on scenarios from Madeleine's books.

An Englishman has been working in the US so long he now speaks with an American accent. He is drafted into the British Army during WWII but is injured and loses his memory. Because he talks like an American, the doctors repatriate him to the States where he is housed with a New York family. After the war they all travel throughout Europe, searching for the women he still remembers in the hope of restoring his lost memory

Falcino, a small town in the south of Italy. No one sees. No one hears. Nobody talks. But everyone knows. And so they all become accomplices of a tragedy against women, against kids, against a family. A story of violence and slavery. Indifference is stronger than their conscience. Maria, a young mother of a family, lives with her husband Gerardo and her two children, Rocco e Carmela, on her father-in-law's farm: "grandpà" Giuseppe. Gerardo decides to emigrate to Austria to earn more money so as to allow a more comfortable life for the family. This absence will be the beginning of a nightmare that will lead Maria and her daughter to be victims of abuse of an unscrupulous ogre (monster).

After the body of a young woman is recovered from Lake Mattsee, the two cops not only face a major professional challenge that takes them into the dark past, but also come into contact with Mattsee's dark history and reach their limits privately.

A 'creative documentary' about an Austrian skier who was known during the 70s. Examined from a biographical / visual standpoint.

David and Chris spice up their stagnant relationship by turning to a gay dating app, but this unwittingly throws their lives into turmoil.

The mayor would like to snatch the Moosburg Castle under the nail so that he can move his club "Paradies" and the "Damen" there. But the Reverend has other plans: he wants to build a children's home in the castle. Only the rightful heir, the young pediatrician Dr. Seefellner can help him.

The story of a mother who, due to extreme poverty and unemployment, is forced to give up her child to be raised by a wealthy family.

Great feelings about a selfless young doctor on the wrong path of passion: On the eve of the First World War, Ernst is betrayed and betrayed by the two women to whom he gives his heart. He serves in World War I, gets injured, gives himself up. His love for a Polish countess saves him. But the lover dies in childbirth and the supposedly common daughter is not his. His world finally collapses when even his beloved father robs him of the glory of a medical discovery. And yet he finds the strength to continue the fight for his happiness.

A film for scatterbrains. Everyone's constantly forgetting something – the daughter the little dog, the father the files, the chauffeur forgetting to close the roof of his taxi when it's pouring rain and his passenger gets soaked. Everyone rushes through life and doesn't even have time for themselves. Then a "young" student (Hans Söhnker) returns to his hometown. He receives a lavish welcome and, at 34, is probably one of the oldest students in German film history. He has three fathers who support him financially and studies on their money. Interminably. Now he has to accept that his fathers have run out of money for his studies. So he rolls up his sleeves, forgets about the expensive degree, and switches to a trade. He does hair, he drives, he assembles film, he shaves, and he pins seams. There he meets a young lady, has time to serenade her, and then learns that his biological father is a millionaire, who now lends him a hand and distributes cash to the other cash-strapped fathers.

Pino Gambassi is a child suffering from haemophilia and is animated by an unbridled desire for freedom and boundless courage: he decides to start his adventure in the world and to show everyone that he can live his life like a normal kid.

On the trail of a runaway wolf, wolf guardian Hannah reluctantly visits her grandmother's native Czech village, close to the Austrian border. Hannah's mother lives here and is treated as a social outcast due to her attempts of coming to terms with the traumatic family history. Hannah, too, can no longer escape the hushed-up past. It is time to break the silence.

Lower Austria in the 80s. Anna helps out in her uncle's tavern to fund her studies and meets handsome Kurt who casts an eye on her. But when the local factory closes, life in the valley changes. Anna learns that Kurt is going to marry. Then a terrible accident occurs. The film conveys the rural society's changing self-conception and outlines the conflict between staying or leaving for the city.

The fact that Rudolph Moshammer is a dazzling figure and the most prominent fashion designer in Munich is no longer enough for his silent partners and financiers. So it happens that he is looking for a seductive woman to sell and - to the horror of his mother - brings on the young pedicurist Evi from Augsburg, of all places. With Evi's help, Mosahmmer wins the hearts and purses of the truly rich - if it weren't for his mother, who is scheming in the background. A fictional story that tells of beauty and money, but also of the friendship of two outsiders in Munich in 1983.

Bobby Henrey, the amazing juvenile star of The Fallen Idol, is here cast as 7-year-old musical genius Sebastian Giro. Mistreated by his avaricious adult manager, Sebastian runs away to a remote Alpine village. He then falls into the hands of a gang of kidnappers, led by the basically sympathetic Jack.

Jonas's father expresses his enthusiasm about Conchita Wurst's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Hence, his 18-year-old son works up the courage to come out as a homosexual and introduce his boyfriend to his parents unexpectedly, his father's euphoria about the tolerance and open-mindedness displayed at the Song Contest comes to a sudden end.

After many successful years, Hans loses his job overnight - and with it the stability and meaning in his life. Undecided what he wants to do with himself and his future, he drives through Vienna and ends up in the "Südpol", a pub on the other side of the city.

Italy gives sponsors the choice between banishment and prison. Mario Adorf decides to go into exile.

Three directors open their personal gates to hell and let us glimpse into the abyss of the human soul.

A girl from a boarding school finds a baby and has to keep it because she seems to be the real mother to everyone.

Four men, one woman and a cat in a room. The men drink and discuss. Things get a bit violent. The masochist acts out his desires by himself. Random fuss and sex occurs. Suddenly the woman gets her baby to change diapers. Odd things around the child. The cat gets abused. This is Otto Muehl going Fassbinder.

An Austrian earl learns that he has inherited land in Arizona, in the American wild west. The count and his friend journey to America to claim the inheritance. There, they encounter danger, desperados, and the none-too-friendly daughter of the local sheriff.

A grumpy old white man enlists the help of an Afghani migrant to bury his dead dog, and as the two dredge through prejudices to find common ground, their day takes an unexpected turn.

Although director Olga Kosanović was born and raised in Austria, she is not allowed to be Austrian. Her first attempt at naturalization failed. One contemptuous social media comment summed it up: “If a cat gives birth in the Spanish Riding School, that doesn’t make the kittens Lipizzaners.”What notion of identity underlies a legal system that divides society into “us” and “them”? A film about belonging — and about a second attempt.