Breaking Rules: New Austrian Cinema
Movies have always played a major role in Austria's cultural landscape. In more recent years, Austrian cinema has gained notoriety for its unflinching examination of the darker elements of the human psyche, radical experimental films, and new forms of documentary. This series focuses on highlights from the past ten years in Austrian film. Curated by Alexander Horwath, director of the Austrian Film Museum.

Jesus, You Know (Jesus, Du Weisst) (2003) 87min NY Premiere!
Thu, Nov 13 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:10pm
Directed by Ulrich Seidl
This film finds Seidl (Dog Days) returning to his roots as a documentarian. A meditation on religion and prayer with six devout Catholics praying in church, often in uninterrupted takes which illuminate their spiritual lives. Seidl’s film raises questions about the existence of a higher power, and the nature of obsession.

Step On It (Vollgas) (2002) 96min NY Premiere!
Fri, Nov 14 at 4:30, 9:30pm
Directed by Sabine Derflinger
With Henriette Heinze, Philomena Wolflingsede
In a small winter-sports village supported only by tourism, single mother Evi (Heinze) struggles to get by waitressing and then drowns her sorrows in drinking and one-night stands. Derflinger’s direction compares the coldness of Evi’s life to the harsh winter surroundings.

Film Ist. 7-12 (2002) 90min
Fri, Nov 14 at 2, 6:50pm*
*Q&A with director Gustav Deutsch
Directed by Gustav Deutsch
Working entirely in found footage, mainly from the silent era, Deutsch creates a grand opus on the social history of cinema. Divided into different sections (with headings like Conquest, Magic, Passions, etc), Deutsch mixes scenes from old films and archival footage to create new meaning, and to reflect on what motion pictures mean to us.

Lovely Rita (2001) 80min
Sat, Nov 15 at 2, 6:50pm
Directed by Jessica Hausner
With Barbara Osika, Christoph Bauer
Osika plays the young Rita, a teenage girl rebelling against nothing except regimented family life in a small Austrian town. Occasionally using the film’s digital video color palate to disrupt the viewer, Hausner’s shooting style creates a perfect atmosphere of uncertainty, while the film’s use of dark humor and subdued emotion is reminiscent of Aki Kaurismäki’s work.

Northern Skirts (Nordrand) (1999) 103min
Sat, Nov 15 at 4:30, 9:10pm
Directed by Barbara Albert
With Nina Proll, Edita Malovcic
Set in Vienna in 1995, this warm yet unsentimental film follows the lives of five teenage refugees from former Yugoslavia. Displaced and scorned, their lives intersect over chance encounters and one-night stands. Proll and Malovcic anchor the film emotionally with their performances while Alpert’s camera peers into the lives of her protagonists in small, fleeting glances.

The Inheritors (Die Siebtelbauern) (1998) 95min
Sun, Nov 16 at 2, 6:50pm
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky
With Simon Schwarz, Sophie Roi
In a small Austrian community in the 1900s, a farm owner is found murdered, and his farm left to his workers. With the workers struggling to make ends meet and deal with economic pressures, Ruzowitzky creates a comedic parable in the spirit of Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Megacities (1998) 90min
Sun, Nov 16 at 4:30, 9:10pm
Directed by Michael Glawogger
An unusual documentary that mixes levels of observation and recreation in an undefinable yet brilliant way, Megacities is best compared to Godfrey Reggio’s work. The film depicts, in twelve segments, the life of the poor in Moscow, New York, Bombay, and Mexico City, and the resourcefulness and dignity with which these individuals live their lives.

Austrian Experimental Shorts 84min
Tue, Nov 18 at 7pm only!
This program features some of the most cutting-edge experimental short films coming out of Austria.
Film/Speaks/Many/Languages (Film/Spricht/Viele/Srachen) (1995) Directed by Gustav Deutsch
Passages (Passagen) (1996) Directed by Lisl Ponger
Alone (1998) Directed by Martin Arnold
Egypt (Ägypten) (1997) Directed by Kathrin Resetarits
Arreté (2001) Directed by Bernhard Schreiner
Mountain Trip (Höhenrausch) (1999) Directed by Siegfried A. Fruhauf
Rolled Eyes (Verdrehte Augen) (2002) Directed by Dietmar Brehm
Thousand Years Cinema (Tausendjahrekino) (1995) Directed by Kurt Kren
Copy Shop (2001) Directed by Virgil Widrich
Outer Space (1999) Directed by Peter Tscherkassky

New Austrian Shorts 117min
Thu, Nov 20 at 7:30pm only!
This program features three short films, all from Vienna’s legendary film academy.
Fruit of the Womb (Die Frucht Deines Leibes) (1996) Directed by Barbara Albert
Sea Concrete Human (2001) Directed by Michael Palm
My Star (Mein Stern) (2001) Directed by Valeska Grisebach

Elsewhere (1998) 240min
Fri, Nov 21 at 2, 7pm
Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter
Documentarian Geyrhalter set out to film people who live with little to no technological aid. Elsewhere traverses continents and features interviews with seal hunters, Chinese fishermen, and camel breeders. The title refers to lives lived elsewhere, and this rare film delivers on its promise to transport the viewer.

Hold-Up (Der Überfall) (2000) 84min
Sat, Nov 22 at 2, 6:50pm
Directed by Florian Flicker
With Roland Düringer, Joachim Bissmeier, Josef Hader
A two-bit thief tries to hold up a small tailor’s shop before Christmas, but the tailor and a customer get caught up in the action. The three leads shared Best Actor prize at the Locarno Film Festival for their excellent ensemble.

The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2002) 130min
Sat, Nov 22 at 4, 9pm
Directed by Michael Haneke
With Isabelle Huppert, Benóit Magimel, Annie Girardot
Haneke remains one of Austria’s most well-known and controversial filmmakers. His 2002 breakthrough film The Piano Teacher brought him new audiences and worldwide acclaim, and provided Isabelle Huppert with an amazing role as the sexually unorthodox piano teacher of the title.

In the Mirror of Maya Deren (Im Spiegel der Maya Deren) (1998) 95min
Sun, Nov 23 at 2, 6:50pm*
*Q&A with director Martina Kudlacek
Directed by Martina Kudlacek
This acclaimed work focuses on the life and creative work of Maya Deren, one of the world’s most visionary experimental filmmakers. Kudlacek’s exhaustively researched film features interviews with Stan Brakhage, Joans Mekas, & many others, as well as a soundtrack by John Zorn.

East of War (Jenseits Des Kriges) (1997) 117min
Sun, Nov 23 at 4, 9:30pm
Directed by Ruth Beckermann
Beckermann’s engrossing film is the result of numerous interviews with WWII veterans in present-day Vienna. Focusing specifically on the Wermacht’s violent campaigns on the Eastern Front, Beckermann captures these now old men in unguarded moments, revealing horrors from over 50 years ago.