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It happens in Vienna…
Here we are, finally. The long-awaited Viennale 2019, the most important film festival in Austria and the oldest in the German-speaking world, will soon kick off. Since 1960, it has been contributing to the prestige of the city of Vienna, entertaining audiences from all over the world in the charming cinemas of the city centre.
Once again this year, therefore, the selection of films – including features and shorts from all over the world – seems more appealing than ever. And if this Viennale 2019 – which will take place from the 24th of October to the 6th of November, for the second year under the artistic direction of Eva Sangiorgi – includes films like Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, James Benning’s Two Moons, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, Varda par Agnès, the last documentary by the unforgettable Agnès Varda, Pablo Larrain’s Ema and Corneliu Porumboiu’s La Gomera , as well as the Italian films The Traitor by Marco Bellocchio and La Mafia non è più quella di una Volta by Franco Maresco (just to name a few), certainly presents an equally interesting programme with regard to Austrian cinema.
Impossible not to think, in this regard, of Little Joe, Jessica Hausner’s newest work, which was presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 (where the protagonist Emiy Beecham won the Best Actress Award), as well as one of the most appealing titles of the Viennale 2019 (at least in terms of Austrian-produced features, of course). But that’s not all. If, in fact, we will happily let ourselves be carried away by the adventures of a cute little dog launched into space (during the screening of the documentary Space Dogs by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter), it will be also interesting to discover the works – with a nostalgic touch – by the artist Daniel Spoerri, protagonist of the documentary This Movie is a Gift, directed by Anja Salomonowitz, or even to see how, nowadays, robots are able to replace human beings (even in so-called romantic relationships) in the documentary Robolove, directed by Maria Arlamovsky.
In addition, then, to numerous films from all over the world, particularly noteworthy in this Viennale 2019 Viennale 2019 are the numerous retrospectives and monographies that have been organised for this occasion: from the retrospective O’ Partigiano!to the special mongraphies dedicated to the documentary filmmaker Cecilia Mangini, the Tunisian film director Ala Eddine Slim, the German film director Angela Schanelec and, last but not least, the pioneer of Austrian and world cinema Louise Kolm-Fleck, who, together with her husband Jakob Kolm, was one of the most outstanding figures of Austrian and German cinema in the 1910s and 1920s.
In short, there will be something for everyone at this Viennale 2019. A too rich programme? Probably, the only regret is not being able to enjoy (for natural reasons of timing) all the feature films presented. In any case, it will be a pleasure to let oneself be carried away by all that will happen in the comfortable theatres of the Gartenbaukino, of the Urania Kino, of the Metro Kinokulturhaus, of the Stadtkino and, last but not least, of the Austrian Film Museum.
And now, finally, we will soon get to the heart of this promising Viennale 2019. Soon the lights will go out and numerous stories that we will probably never forget will start on the big screen. Between one story and the next, perhaps we will have a delicious ice cream at Zanoni’s, occasionally looking back nostalgically at the place that was the site of the Satyr Filmwelt video library until a few months ago. Or, thinking back on all the films we have just watched, we can lose ourselves in the quiet avenues of the Prater, a true great symbol of the beautiful Vienna.
Below are the reviews of the Austrian films at the Viennale 2019.
