Program for 63rd Viennale Unveiled

The spectrum of the 63rd Viennale ranges from Kristen Stewart's directorial debut "Chronology of Water" to the dusty production "Alpha" by Cannes award-winner Julia Ducournau, to Mascha Schilinski's Oscar contender "Looking into the Sun". The program was finally presented by director Eva Sangiorgi on Tuesday evening.

Binoche and Dafoe Come to the Viennale

Like Kristen Stewart, a debutante in the director's chair, the French superstar Juliette Binoche will personally present "In-I In Motion" in Vienna. In it, Binoche documents the creation of the performance "In-I", developed by her together with star choreographer Akram Khan. Other cinema greats who will personally visit the Viennale include Kirill Serebrennikov, who is represented with "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele", and Willem Dafoe, who will be seen in Gastón Solnicki's "The Souffleur", which fittingly takes place at the Vienna Intercontinental - the festival headquarters.

Other works that will shine at the Viennale this year include Joachim Trier's "Affection Value", while Richard Linklater is represented with a double - "Blue Moon" and "Nouvelle Vague". Also, two works by Berlinale winner Radu Jude will be shown - namely "Dracula" and "Continental '25", while Kelly Reichardt has only one new film in the lineup with "The Mastermind".

Strong Austrian Participation at the Viennale

And last but not least, Austrian filmmaking is traditionally given a forum at the Viennale. Othmar Schmiderer presents "Elements of(f) Balance", Markus Heltschl "Lois Weinberger - Ruderal Society", and the duo Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, recently honored in Locarno, their work "White Snail". Not least, Nikolaus Geyrhalter presents his next visual epic "Melt" about the snow.

Among the most pressing issues of the present is undoubtedly the Gaza conflict - and the Viennale does not shy away from it. "We want to express our solidarity with the victims and their families," Sangiorgi reminded on the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and at the same time emphasized speaking out against the Gaza war.

Programmatically, Avi Mograbi's occupation study "The First 54 Years. An Abbreviated Manual For Military Occupation" from 2021 has been specially scheduled again. Afterwards, there will be a conversation between Mograbi and Ruth Beckermann titled "Israel/Palestine". The documentary project "With Hasan in Gaza" by Kamal Aljafari, which uses images from Gaza before the war, also examines the Middle East conflict with a special approach.

But even beyond the Middle East issue, discussions with three female directors are scheduled at the Metro Kinokulturhaus. In this format, Lucrecia Martel (to whom the publication series "Textur" is also dedicated this year) or Eve Neymann, for example, will stop by.

Retrospectives en masse

At the Film Museum, a large retrospective celebrates Jean Epstein's mostly freshly restored films. Until November 27, 23 works by the Polish-French director, who died in 1953, can be seen. In cooperation with the Film Archive, a tribute to Angela Summereder is being designed. The Upper Austrian filmmaker, born in 1958, presents her past as well as her latest works, some of which are freshly restored. Like Summereder, another monograph is dedicated to her Dutch colleague Digna Sinke, who has had a lasting influence on the film of her homeland.

A cinematography deals with the Hungarian avant-garde director János Xantus, who passed away in 2012 and knew how to combine pop, visual arts, and performance in his works. And finally, the documentary essays of the artist duo Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti can be seen.

Party and Drinks on Offer

"A film festival is a fantastic engine for the love of cinema," said Cultural Councillor Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ), whetting the appetite of the cinematic community. And those who like to party after the cinema - or instead of it - can enjoy two Viennale Club Nights, which feature Lars Eidinger and TMNIT as DJs at Club Praterstrasse on October 17, and Lefto Early Bird and Dia (Booster Club) on October 24. And speaking of parties: At the official Viennale Meeting Point, the Intermezzo Bar in the Intercontinental, there are 2 drinks for the price of 1 with a current Viennale ticket.

(APA/red)

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