This post is also available in:
Italiano (Italian) 
Deutsch (German)
by Philipp Jedicke
grade: 7
Vienna Calling is an exciting journey into pop, underground Vienna. A film in which music and words go hand in hand, in which we can finally ‘peek behind the scenes’ and get to know the most important artists of the contemporary music scene better, while also sharing with them moments from their private lives. At the Diagonale’23.
Vienna and its music
Voodoo Jürgens, EsRaP, Der Nino aus Wien, but also Lydia Haider, Gutlauninger, Kerosin95 and Samu Casata. These are some of the most important names in Viennese pop music culture of recent years. Each with their own style and background. Each able to enter the hearts of the public with their own, unique way of approaching music. But what would happen if these personalities all came together in a film? Soon said. Director Philipp Jedicke has, in fact, decided to dedicate a sparkling and colourful documentary to them all, showing us the colours and music of modern-day Vienna. We are talking about Vienna Calling, presented as part of the programme of the Diagonale’23.
Vienna Calling, then, is an exciting journey into pop, underground Vienna. A film in which music and words go hand in hand, in which we can finally ‘peek behind the scenes’ and get to know the most important artists of the contemporary music scene better, while also sharing with them moments from their private lives.
Voodoo Jürgens is about to paint a picture and then accompany us to the cemetery where he worked. And while for some it would seem impossible to have to leave Vienna to move to Italy (‘who would understand me if I continue to sing in Viennese dialect?’), there are also those who know secret routes where they store equipment and musical instruments for their next concert.
Philipp Jedicke, for his part, immediately opted for a classical and linear narrative structure on the one hand, and a completely unconventional one on the other, ensuring that his Vienna Calling would find its ideal form in a mix of colours, interviews, images and music. And so we immediately think of another famous feature film in which music played a central role: Berlin Calling, directed by Hannes Stöhr in 2008. Here, however, the personal drama of Martin, a world-famous DJ in the midst of a creative and personal crisis, was staged. The mood is different, although through the music itself we get a comprehensive picture of a piece of Berlin life. Here, the drama gets the better of everything and, unlike in Vienna Calling, we find a decidedly pessimistic approach.
In his sparkling documentary, on the contrary, Jedicke has opted for a predominantly light-hearted atmosphere, in which a constant pleasant irony is the leitmotif. The audience is delighted to learn more about the most important artists of the moment and, at the same time, feels personally involved in the cheerfulness and ferment that such a reality is able to awaken. Vienna Calling is an electrifying, engaging, exciting work. A journey into Viennese pop culture that we wish would never end.
Original title: Vienna Calling
Directed by: Philipp Jedicke
Country/year: Austria, Germany / 2023
Running time: 85’
Genre: documentary, musical
Screenplay: Philipp Jedicke
Cinematography: Max Berner
Produced by: Amour Fou Vienna, Fruitmarket