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A special edition
Something extraordinary is about to happen in Graz. Soon, in fact, the long-awaited Diagonale 2023 will kick off. The Festival of Austrian Film, in fact, will take place in the picturesque Styrian capital from March 21 to 26, 2023, and this year, as every year, it promises to be particularly full of interesting surprises. On Tuesday, March 21, the festival will open with the Austrian premiere of Patric Chiha’s film The Beast in the Jungle, which has already been presented at the Berlinale 2023 in the Panorama section and will be screened together with Viktoria Schmid’s short film NYC RGB, here at its world premiere.
The feature films selected in the programme of this Diagonale 2023 also include Vera by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, Corsage by Marie Kreutzer, Eismayer by David Wagner and Breaking the Ice by Clara Stern (which were very successful at international festivals last year), Sparta by Ulrich Seidl (also presented here in its “complete” version Wicked Games Rimini Sparta), I am Here! and ABC by prolific filmmaker Ludwig Wüst, Menuett by Hans Broich, Alma & Oskar by Dieter Berner and Die Vermieterin, the most recent work by Sebastian Brauneis, just to name a few.
As usual, great attention will also be paid during this Diagonale 2023 to documentaries, which have always been produced copiously in a constantly socially aware nation like Austria. Among the films in this section, particularly noteworthy will be Feminism WTF by Katharina Mückstein, Matter out of Place by Nikolaus Geyrhalter, The Way You Shine by Evelyne Faye, 27 Storeys by Bianca Gleissinger and, of course, Zoo Lock Down by Andreas Horvath and Emile – Erinnerungen eines Vertriebenen, by renowned Rainer Frimmel.
A too rich programme? But that, of course, is not all! Always particularly productive in terms of avant-garde and experimental cinema, Austria has for years boasted decidedly noteworthy products, constantly in search of new languages and new ways of telling reality. And also in this Diagonale 2023, within the Innovatives Kino section, it will be possible to watch some of the most important, recent works of this genre, including 2551.02 by Norbert Pfaffenbichler and Midas by Edgar Honetschläger.
The most recent films made in Austria in the last year, therefore, together with important works from the past. And so, there is no lack in this Diagonale 2023 of collateral sections and retrospectives aimed at introducing actors and authors who have made Austrian cinema great in the past years. In this regard, the historical specials Finale and Aktion! Action! (in which it will also be possible to watch some films by the unforgettable director and journalist Bernhard Frankfurter, founder in 1989 of the Carl Mayer Screenplay Award), as well as the sections In Referenz, dedicated in particular to actress Marisa Mell (complemented by the exhibition Magica Marisa), and Zur Person, focusing on the works of director Goran Rebić, are ready to offer the audience many new insights.
Further enriched by meetings, debates and exhibitions, this Diagonale 2023 is, moreover, a very special edition. This, in fact, will be the last year in which Sebastian Höglinger and Peter Schernhuber will head the Festival of Austrian Film. The two young directors have been in office since 2016 and, after having brought about many innovations within the programme itself and dealt with a difficult time such as the pandemic with determination and competence, they will hand over their positions to Claudia Slanar and Dominik Kamalzadeh from June 2023. This rich and exciting Diagonale 2023 will be a proper and well-deserved climax to their work.
All we have to do, therefore, is to make ourselves comfortable in the auditorium and let ourselves be transported to many new worlds that will certainly amaze u. This Diagonale 2023, like every year, will not disappoint us and will make the beautiful city of Graz even more alive and vibrant.
Below are the featured films and related articles regarding the Diagonale 2023.
