Discoveries from Austria World Cinema

Wanda's world has been turned upside down when her teenage daughter Nina suddenly turns up in a hijab. Nina has secretly converted to Islam.

Since the death of her husband, ex-teacher Franziska has had to look after her son David and his disabled brother Bobby on her own. Their new neighbors, Professor Maximilian and his wife Mechthild, bring a breath of fresh air into their lives.

The 16-year-old daughter of the highest dignitary in Hüttenberg is found murdered in the disused mine. For the first time, Muck has to deal with a case of this magnitude.

Max Frisch's famous parable about the cowardice of opportunists: Mr. Biedermann brings two arsonists into his home and pretends that they are his best friends.

The discovery of a horse on the balcony of a neighbour’s apartment one winter’s night completely transforms the life of 10-year-old Mika, who embarks on a series of crazy adventures to save the horse before it’s too late.

The story is set at the beginning of the Christian era on a large terrace of Herod’s palace, during the reign of Herod Antipas. At night, on a terrace of the palace, Salome, Herod’s stepdaughter, is gazed at passionately by Narraboth, captain of the guard. Jochanaan, a prophet, is imprisoned in a cistern for having slandered Herod. He proclaims the coming of Jesus, but his message is met with incomprehension by the guards. Salome hears the prophet. She manages to convince the guards to bring Jochanaan out so she can see him. Both fascinated and frightened by his prophecies, Salome falls passionately in love with this man. Richard Strauss’s opera at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, directed by Romeo Castellucci at the Felsenreitschule. In her debut in the title role, Asmik Grigorian distinguished herself with her talents as a singer and actress.

Max suffers from drunkenness, but gets serious after he falls for the daughter of a circus director - who forbids her romance with an outsider.

Charlotte Bold returns to Cornwall with her 21-year-old daughter Grace after many years. Grace insists on finally meeting her father, who has no idea she exists: Lord James Blixton. Charlotte used to work as a gardener at the Blixton estate and had a passionate affair with James before he married into his class. He is now a widower and lives with his adult children Lilian and Harry at Blixton Manor. On her first evening in Cornwall, Grace meets Lilian's almost-fiancé, Morris Green, while jogging on the beach. They are both fascinated by each other – without knowing who the other is. After his initial shock, Lord Blixton is delighted to see Charlotte again and to meet Grace, and introduces her to Lilian and Harry. Unlike Harry, who is happy about the new addition to the family, Lilian does everything she can to get rid of the Bolds.

In Franz Joseph I's Vienna, Captain Eichfeld publishes a witty satire on imperial Austrian army abuses, using the pseudonym "Spectator." It's popular, but Eichfeld dares not reveal his identity, as he wants the hand of conservative General von Trattenbach's daughter. His race rival blackmails both lovers.

The climate is changing, global temperature is rising. The impacts are already apparent, especially in the mountains but also in the lowlands. The permafrost zone is shifting higher up and the masses of snow melt whooshing from the glaciers to the valleys are already increasing incessantly. Rivers are going to rise up to powerful floods and dwindle down to extremely low waters the next second.

After the violent death of a prostitute, her father tries to find the people who are responsible for the fall of the young woman.

Knox owns half of the Circus Saran and acts as a clown there. He hides his circus life from his daughter and is very embarrassed when his daughter finds out his true profession. Hans Moser, who plays Knox, performs poorly, because the character he plays is simply not funny. Leo Slezak, who owns the other half of the circus, as well as Pat and Patachon perform better. The only really good thing about this film is its music, composed by Robert Stolz; especially the song "Ein bisschen Sing-Sang und gute Kameradschaft" , which can be heard throughout the movie.

Musician Mio from Berlin is astonished when he learns that he is entitled to a handsome sum in compensation for the death of his parents in a terrorist attack several years earlier. All he needs is the signature of his brother Valentin, who lives in Austria, and then the money can start to pour in. However, the project turns out to be more difficult than expected, because as a mountain farmer on the alpine pasture, the brother lives in a world of his own.

Documentary tracing the extreme life of outlaw writer, performance artist and punk icon, Kathy Acker. Through animation, archival footage, interviews and dramatic reenactments, director Barbara Caspar explores Acker's colorful history, from her well-heeled upbringing to her role as the scribe of society's fringe.

After a failed career as a musician, Helen returns to provincial life. Here she encounters ghosts of her youth in the shape of former band members, her great love – and a son she never had.

"They never fail." The Glock pistol has been fetishised in films and the arts, and is a regular topseller in the international arms market. For the first time, the filmmaking duo Fritz Ofner and Eva Hausberger tell the story of the rise of the Glock: An Austrian design that became the most sought-after service and murder weapon worldwide. Tracing the web of power, money, violence and politics, the film masterfully portrays the dark sides of globalisation and not least an Austrian tale of willful ignorance.

Laura Sebald lives with her daughter Anna in Berlin, where she runs a small goldsmith's store. Despite all the efforts of her best friend Birgit, the attractive woman has been avoiding every male acquaintance since her fiancé died in an accident five years ago. When she visits the grave of her great love in the run-up to Christmas, Laura meets a mysterious old man who makes her a strange prophecy: all her wishes could come true if she writes a wish list to Santa Claus. Then he suddenly disappears. A short time later, Laura accidentally meets Sebastian Dobel, the owner of the coffee house chain and operator of a chocolate factory in Salzburg, in the Caf' Dobel. It's love at first sight for both of them. But Laura has a powerful rival: the elegant Margot Degenschildt also has her eye on the chocolate manufacturer.

Young Max discovers that grandfather Gustav cannot swim and decides to teach him. But Gustav thinks that it may be too late for him...

Eric leads a carefree life in Berlin. He loves his girlfriend Verena, but family, attachment and responsibility are foreign words for him. When he learns of the death of his brother, who lived as a dairy farmer in Saxony-Anhalt, Eric wants to wind up the insolvent farm as quickly as possible and deport Christoph's children to foster parents. When he realizes that the price dumping of the milk cartels drove his brother to his death he tells the big dairies to fight.

The film tells the story of Laxenburg from 13th century, when it was used for hunting and fishing trips by the imperial Habsburg family, to modern day, a popular summer resort and a bustling international community. Today Laxenburg is also home to IIASA, the Austrian Film Archive, and the International Anti-Corruption Academy. The film will also feature these organizations, their history, and the important work they do in the field of research and diplomacy that goes far beyond Austria's borders.

A fight between two hotels: Schwarzer Rössl vs. Weißer Rössl.

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.

Passionate and unconditionally dedicated, Anna Netrebko makes her Salzburg Festival debut as Aida, alongside Francesco Meli as Radamès and Ekaterina Semenchuk as her rival Amneris. Conducted by none other than Verdi expert Riccardo Muti. This performance of Aida is the first operatic staging by award-winning Iranian filmmaker, photographer and video artist Shirin Neshat, known for her critical explorations of gender roles and religious fundamentalism.

Iris, a 28-year-old studentin a big city, recently left by her boyfriend and too poor to pay her rent, begins to work for a strange old man. He wants Iris to precisely describe the trivial belongings of a dead woman, packed in white boxes, to keep the memory of the woman alive. Iris is disgusted and fascinated at the same time; reflecting on an invisible person's traces, she slowly becomes aware of her own wounds.

An unhappy young photographer is about to make his debut as a journalist. He is to write an obituary about the weapons-crazy mayor of a Lower Austrian village who, it is said, had a tank from WWII. In the course of his research he unearths a conspiracy of wifes murdering their husbands to get an early widowers pension.

Ted Talbot is a prosecutor in Newtonville. In the course of his work, he accuses Jim Conley of robbing a bank and killing the cashier. Ted's wife Jane takes over Conley's defense. When the court sentences the defendant to death, she files for divorce. Beth Conley, the wife, goes to see the prosecutor and asks him to postpone the execution of the sentence for thirty days. When he refuses, she threatens him with revelations. Deputy District Attorney Hal Young witnesses this confrontation...

Lost in thought in the midsummer heat, Georg suddenly has only one goal. To make his huge, overgrown garden beautiful again at the weekend. But as he spends his days alone in the house he once shared with his ex-wife Sieglinde, who comes to visit at the end of the weekend, he has to deal not only with the garden, but also with absurd visits, memories, nosy neighbours and himself.

The daughter of a lawyer is abducted. He becomes a hunted man himself.

Peace has returned to Björndal. After his father's death, young Dag succeeds him and strives to build a good relationship with his neighbor von Gall. The young farmer is determined to return the Borgland farm, which his father acquired by secretly purchasing bills of exchange. Dag leaves the old man in charge of the estate and assigns Aunt Elo, a lovely relative of his wife Adelheid, to assist him. He also brings Adelheid's father, Major Barre, to Björndal, where he is to spend his retirement with the young family. According to the Lexicon of International Films, the film is a Heimatfilm of a relatively respectable standard.

A journey to an unknown star, a children's theatre play, an untalented writer and the fear of becoming the worst version of oneself. A mixture of live-action footage and animated scenes. A stream of (un)conscious stereotypes.

A romantic comedy set around a group of Dutch youngsters in Tirol.

Early seventies in a small village in Burgenland, Austria. We are watching a boy of ten being confrontend with two of the most prevalent taboos: death and sexuality. The generally accepted forms of recourse offered by religion and society have cracks, don't work any more, and thus are being ignored, by-passed or interpreted from a child's angle. This film presents subtle views and insight into the life of a boy of ten and looks upon life through his eyes.

48 hours in the life of the Neugebauer family. The May weekend with a small family celebration, which was planned as peaceful and contemplative, turns out to be a kind of Rocky Horror Picture Show in Vienna's municipal housing estate. Just like the other residents, the Neugebauers are preparing for the impending Mother's Day.

A road trip in the truest sense: shifts, irritations, motion at the levels of image and sound, in all directions. Like a distillate of a “best-of” road movie, Billy Roisz and Dieter Kovačič condense cinema to pure trip – moving past colorful image surfaces that fluctuate between abstraction and depiction.

A mixture of documentary, diary and personal fiction, Queer Diaries is a sensitive and philosophical journey. For the starting point of an unfinished film, a filmmaker lives, travels and records his memories in the shape of audiovisual poems and short stories. The result is a political manifesto in favor of queerness. What are the models of family and happiness that we follow? What movies shall we make for the new world?

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.

Adebar is the first of Peter Kubelka's 'metric films', in which every element of the composition is precisely ordered and in relation to the gestalt. The film is made up of single units---13, 26 and 52 frames long---which are subjected to a complex rule-system, including a strict use of positive and negative space, that determines their structure within the film.

Bavarian lawyer Mair lives in a region where spectacular cases look something like this: Mair's best friend, pastor Hubertus, has poured a huge load of manure into the luxury convertible of arch-enemy Altmann. In addition to a lawsuit, he is now threatened with a transfer to the jungle or - even worse - to the North Sea...

Vienna at the turn of the century: The industrialist Friedrich Hofreiter is a vain, self-important man who is used to taking what he wants and who enjoys exercising power. His tender wife Genia increasingly recognizes his deceitfulness. The Russian pianist Alexei Korsakov, a subtle artist, commits suicide because of her. Hofreiter, on the other hand, travels to the Dolomites with his friend and family doctor Dr. Mauer, who is in love with the young Erna. Hofreiter makes her his lover in front of Mauer's eyes. In turn, he provokes Genia's lover into a duel and shoots him. In the end, there is only emptiness. Faithful adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's stage play.

Thank you for Bombing accompanies three correspondents to their working place in conflict areas and gives an insight into their daily routine aside from cameras and satellite phones - somewhere between bombing alarm, laundry and Bach flower therapy.

A film about news, life and death. Before the media became so prevalent, we were concerned about our immediate neighborhood. At the end of the day, news was the subject of our conversations, but now it's possible to converse with someone at the other end of the globe. We do it all the time. It's simple. The world has become one big neighborhood. Now Headline News has replaced the back fence. That's the news service of the eigthies. It's a new idea and a new approach.

Helene was tough as nails in her job. Not only defendants but also some of her colleagues are relieved that the unapproachable judge is finally retiring. One glass too many at the farewell party, a car accident and suddenly Helene's life is turned upside down. On the advice of her lawyer, she takes care of the young woman whose father was injured in the accident. With her spontaneous warmth, Michalina, who has Down's syndrome, appeals to a side of Helene that she herself no longer knows.

In Vienna, the director of a sanatorium is telling writer Kristinus the story of a strange case. The very rich and dandy-esque Baron von Stroom had fallen in love with an actress but could not conquer her. One day he acquired a Chinese clay figure of a Mandarin, a talisman whose possessor is said to be able to seduce any woman he desires. As promised, all women's hearts fall to Baron von Stroom. The first is the actress, followed by the wife of the railway king, and then a Princess. Every time the Baron calls out “Man-da-riiiin”, the statue becomes alive ready to make another woman fall in love with his master. But von Stroom soon begins to feel nostalgic for the times when he would conquer the women he desired. However, his attempts to seduce women without the help of his ghostly servant become utterly unsuccessful. Unable to get rid of his devilish servant... Produced one year before The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Mandarin is a predecessor of German expressionism.

A film about four young women in Pyongyang who share a passion for football. The documentary follows their journey from national team players to retirement, highlighting their friendship and the impact of football on their lives.

In the near future, two lesbian cat-humans break out of their enclosure to roam the world. An eclectic, queer, and post humanist trip in which learning to see through (human) cat-eye slits becomes the first step toward antifascist resistance.

Silent horror film directed by Julius Herska and starring Franz Höbling, Nora Gregor and Lucienne Delacroix. It is an adaptation of the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo.

Overwhelmed student Shido is looking for a way out of his impending burnout. By chance, he meets Roy, who is offering a tutoring session. Although Shido is the only one who signed up, Roy's unconventional approach helps him progress, while Roy's story catches up with him.

The Queen of the Night has begged Prince Tamino to free her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the High Priest Sarastro, who has abducted her. Together with the bird-catcher Papageno, Tamino enters Sarastro's realm to seek her. When he finds her, the two fall in love, but they have to have to undergo ordeals before they can be together. At the end, Papageno is also rewarded with his Papagena.

Pancho Veloso, an old writer of celebrity articles, returns to his hometown of Chilean Patagonia after more than 40 years of having fled. When trying to write "salable" stories about that area so called "the end of the world", he will face his past and leave his imposture.

American cartoons are the starting point for Martin Arnold's new work. Sequences of short films form the basis of a process of fragmentation, deconstruction, dismantling and repetition. Arnold uses fun, family entertainment to create films with open-ended possibilities for association. His pieces, such as Hydra (2013), Charon (2013), Nix (2013) and Self Control (2011), feature characters whose anatomy is no longer recognizable as such, but rather resemble puppets, remotely controlled from the outside. Trembling hands, dancing tongues, blinking eyes and snoring mouths move like ghosts against an abyss-like deep black background, in which bodily elements constantly disappear, only to reappear once more.

At some point in the not-so-distant future, an unnamed European city has evolved into a bizarre dystopian metropolis, whose residents inhabit towering utopian high-rises and work, collectively, in a single compound.

Operetta star Ulrich Hansen wants to return to his original profession as a doctor and announces his engagement to Regine Röders, the daughter of an industrialist, at his farewell performance. His stage partner and former girlfriend, Ilonka, isn't about to accept his decision to marry another woman without a fight. Jealous, she hatches a plan to prevent the wedding. Ulrich and Regine marry as planned and go on their honeymoon to Venice. Ilonka follows the newlyweds to Venice with her new admirer, Gustav Säuerling, and continues to try to break them up.