The event will feature iconic Austrian films of recent years, and the amount equivalent to the box office receipts at the event will be donated to support Ukraine.
on11 April , the Austrian Film Week festival will start at the Zhovten cinema in Kyiv. The film review programme includes 4 films of various genres: from sports drama to mystical horror.
Later, screenings will also take place in other cities:
22-25 April in Dnipro (Most-Kino cinema in the Most City shopping mall, Queen Elizabeth II Street);
9-12 May in Chernivtsi (Chernivtsi Cinema and Concert Hall, 10 Universytetska Street);
16-19 May in Lviv (Planeta Kino cinema in Forum shopping centre, 7B Pid Dubom Street).
The festival is organised by the Embassy of Austria in Ukraine in cooperation with the Arthouse Traffic film company with the support of the general partner AMIC ENERGY.
The event will open with the drama film A Whole Life by Hans Steinbichler. This is a film adaptation of the bestselling book of the same name by Robert Zetaler, which has been published in 40 languages, including Ukrainian. Another of the writer’s works was used as the basis for the film that opened the 2020 Austrian Film Week, the tragicomedy My Friend Sigmund Freud. This film tells the story of a man’s life in the turbulent 20th century, full of hard work, great love and terrible historical events. The film stars August Zirner (Dignidad Colony, Irresistible Martha), one of the most famous Austrian actors, and Stefan Gorski won this year’s Bavarian Film Award for his role.
The screening will also feature Devil‘s Bath, which critics have called one of the best films of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. It is a mystical folk horror film by the directorial duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, set in the 18th century in a village amidst dense forests. The film touches upon issues of religion and the place of women in society through the genre’s inherent means. The film’s cinematographer, Martin Gschlacht (Zero Calories and Little Joe by Jessica Hausner, In Love in the Desert by Margarete von Trotta), won the Silver Bear at Berlinale for his outstanding artistic contribution (cinematography in The Devil’s Bath).
The programme also includes the drama Came, Saw, Won, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the main independent film festival in the United States. The work of the directorial duo Daniel Göisel and Julia Niemann was produced by Ulrich Seidl, one of the most respected Austrian filmmakers (his films Rimini and Safari were screened at the Austrian Film Weeks in 2023 and 2017). “I Came, I Saw, I Conquered is the story of a family of rich people who have no inhibitions in their lives – so much so that the head of the family can afford to hunt people as a pastime.
The festival audience will also learn the story of Austrian sports legend Franz Klammer. Andreas Schmid’s Going Beyond tells the story of the 1976 Winter Olympics, which made the 22-year-old a star among alpine skiers. It is an intense sports drama about overcoming the pressure of expectations and the power of love. In 2022, the film was nominated for the Austrian Film Award for Best Costume Design and Editing.
After the end of the Austrian Film Week, the general partner AMIC ENERGY will donate an amount of money equivalent to the festival’s box office to support Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor country.
After the festival, activists and film club leaders will be able to organize screenings of a selection of Austrian films in their cities as part of the project Film Club. All-Ukrainian Network” project. To do this, you need to apply on the website.