Barbara Albert

This historical and analytical documentary draws attention to the background of the roots of "New Austrian Cinema" and presents Austria as a film country to be taken seriously. The audience gets to see rare early works by well-known filmmakers as well as shots of landscapes that served as a source of inspiration and locations that have produced important Austrian films since the end of the 19th century.

Ana and Nicolae, a young Romanian couple, travel by bus from Bucharest to Vienna with the prospect of making quick money by handing over a stolen car. As soon as they arrive, however, they are reassured that the car is not yet ready for them. Ana then wants to go back to Romania, Nicolae would rather travel further west. They are stuck penniless in Vienna.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Frustrated, because he is forced to produce bad TV-shows, a manager of a TV-station, enters the station and manipulates the ratings, to initiate a TV-revolution.

A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.

A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.

Africa in the sixties. The Nile perch, a ravenous predator, is introduced into Lake Victoria as a scientific experiment, causing the extinction of many native species. Its meat is exported everywhere in exchange for weapons, creating a globalized evil alliance on the lake shores. An infernal nightmare in the real world that wipes out Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Three stories by three directors, three journeys into the world of teenagers and countercultures. The stories are interlaced with each other. Characters with a small performance in one story will play a major part in one of the other two stories so we will learn more about them, on the other hand central characters appear again in the periphery of one of the other stories. It is done in a casual way, comparable with the situation in daily life when two friends are running into each other by chance. Petra and Nicole in their shrill world of brightness. Loafing around, bumming and teasing guys.

Three stories by three directors, three journeys into the world of teenagers and countercultures. The stories are interlaced with each other. Characters with a small performance in one story will play a major part in one of the other two stories so we will learn more about them, on the other hand central characters appear again in the periphery of one of the other stories. It is done in a casual way, comparable with the situation in daily life when two friends are running into each other by chance. Petra and Nicole in their shrill world of brightness. Loafing around, bumming and teasing guys.

After WWII, Helene is ready to do anything to start a new life. As a young woman, she came to the exciting Berlin of the roaring 20s, wanting to become a doctor, and soon fell in love with a man named Karl. But the course of her life took a drastic, irreversible turn when the Nazis came into power.

Loving young couple Luna and Amar try their best to overcome unexpected obstacles that threaten their relationship. After Amar's dramatic change in a fundamentalist community, Luna tears herself apart searching if love is truly enough to keep the couple together on the path to a lifetime of happiness...

Ruža left Serbia, her country, over 30 years ago and lives in Zurich. Her daily life is a string of repetitive moments until, one day, Ana arrives on the scene and upsets Ruža's painstakingly organized world. A subtle friendship develops between the two strong willed women.

Following the death of Manu (Resetarits) in a car accident, the film relates the interwoven stories of several people who become indirectly connected by the events and aftermath of the crash.

Following the death of Manu (Resetarits) in a car accident, the film relates the interwoven stories of several people who become indirectly connected by the events and aftermath of the crash.

Two yuppies play mean pranks on those around them until one joke has unexpected consequences.

18th century Vienna. Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart's, lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor's innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music.

History professor Baisch, his depressive and tablet-addicted brother-in-law Anzengruber and a manic cabaret artist have a car accident on a remote country road after a party. Wedged between two trees they get stuck, doors and windows can no longer be opened, the windows made of bulletproof glass cannot be smashed. Injured and with no chance of escape, they wait for days for rescue. Their only provisions are a bowl of herring salad and a few bottles of Prosecco. Fits of rage and fear alternate with overwrought hilarity and desperate fits of crying. But it gets worse...

The personal journey of young Sita is not only an expedition into her family's burdened past during World War 2. It is also a journey to the abyss of modern European society, a trip which takes her from Berlin to Romania via Vienna and Warsaw - about losing one's homeland and discovering oneself, about hope and responsibility.

The personal journey of young Sita is not only an expedition into her family's burdened past during World War 2. It is also a journey to the abyss of modern European society, a trip which takes her from Berlin to Romania via Vienna and Warsaw - about losing one's homeland and discovering oneself, about hope and responsibility.

The personal journey of young Sita is not only an expedition into her family's burdened past during World War 2. It is also a journey to the abyss of modern European society, a trip which takes her from Berlin to Romania via Vienna and Warsaw - about losing one's homeland and discovering oneself, about hope and responsibility.

Vienna, 1995. Jasmin, Tamara, Valentin, Senad and Roman live near the northern border of Austria. Their lives repeatedly intersect and drift apart. The characters involved are young migrants from the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Poland and Austria itself. Strangers in a strange land, they feel a sense of loss in their new, temporary environment. The five-some meet and get close to each other, hopelessly clinging to friendships and relationships with no future. They frequent cafés and train stations dreaming of a better tomorrow. Often, they just fall back on the prospect of short-term affection in yet another doomed romantic or sexual encounter. Trying hard to suppress the memories of war and alienation, they try to find moral strength and warmth through one another.

Vienna, 1995. Jasmin, Tamara, Valentin, Senad and Roman live near the northern border of Austria. Their lives repeatedly intersect and drift apart. The characters involved are young migrants from the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Poland and Austria itself. Strangers in a strange land, they feel a sense of loss in their new, temporary environment. The five-some meet and get close to each other, hopelessly clinging to friendships and relationships with no future. They frequent cafés and train stations dreaming of a better tomorrow. Often, they just fall back on the prospect of short-term affection in yet another doomed romantic or sexual encounter. Trying hard to suppress the memories of war and alienation, they try to find moral strength and warmth through one another.

Five former high school friends reunite for an evening of fun, remembrance and sadness in this Altmanesque portrait of female friendship. A look at how youthful idealism turns into adult pragmatism, and how one can fight such changes, from the director of Free Radicals.

Five former high school friends reunite for an evening of fun, remembrance and sadness in this Altmanesque portrait of female friendship. A look at how youthful idealism turns into adult pragmatism, and how one can fight such changes, from the director of Free Radicals.

Four film-makers embark on a cinematic survey of Austria, documenting the political and social state of the nation and its people. An eye-opening experience. In the wake of the 1999 elections, four filmmakers decided to go out with cameras in hand and gauge the mood of their countrymen, who had made Jörg Haider's FPO party the second most powerful in Austria. What they found was a country apparently "like any other" , filled with nice ordinary people. Who feel perfectly comfortable dreaming of a possible future without foreigners, or speaking with equanimity about the old days of the Third Reich.