If we think of Austrian animation cinema, particularly significant is artist Stefan Stratil’s statement “Austria is a nation of animation films without animation films”. In short: of all possible film genres, animation is the least explored in Austria today. At least apparently.
With a running time of about thirty-five minutes, Von Stufe zu Stufe, the first Austrian film in film history, directed by Heinz Hanus, was first screened in 1908. Yet, it is still a mystery today. That, in fact, this film has unfortunately been lost is something one can easily imagine. Yet, in spite of what Heinz Hanus himself and others have told us, there are, to this day, no testimonies in the newspapers of the time concerning these screenings.