After a one-year break: the festival of contemporary films from Austria returns to Ukraine. This return symbolizes the support of the Ukrainian people and expresses respect for their invincibility.
On March 30, the “Austrian Film Week” festival will take place in Kyiv's "Zhovten" cinema. The event will traditionally include the most vivid and resonant Austrian tapes of recent years. In 2022, the festival did not take place due to the russian invasion of Ukraine, but this year the organizers decided to resume the festival.
"Ukrainians are freedom fighters who amaze the whole world with their courage and hard work. The Republic of Austria and its people support Ukraine's desire to defend European values in this unjust war unleashed by Russia. We stand in solidarity with Ukraine and firmly stand side by side with it. In the same way, Austrian culture should support the will of Ukrainians for a normal life despite these difficult times. We hope that the restoration of the Austrian Film Week in Kyiv will become a worthy symbol of support for Ukrainian invincibility." - says Dr. Arad Benkö, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Ukraine. The festival is organized by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Kyiv and the Austrian Cooperation Bureau in Lviv together with the Arthouse Traffic film company with the support of the general partner Amic Energy.
“As representatives of Austrian business in Ukraine, we would like to express solidarity with Ukraine and its resilient people who continue to defend European values. Our brave employees, who remained in their jobs and continued to work despite the threat, are an inspiring example of the cohesion and strength of Ukrainian society. That is why we are thrilled to become a part of the 11th Austrian Film Week in Kyiv and to support the invincible spirit of Ukraine in these difficult times," — Managing Director of Amic Energy Günter Maier.
The festival poster is inspired by the film Rimini, which will be included in the festival program. This is a new film by Ulrich Seidl — one of the most respected directors of European auteur cinema, the author of the films Import-Export, Safari, as well as the Paradise trilogy. The film takes its name from the resort town of Rimini, where the protagonist lives, a once famous singer who now works part-time at a hotel, entertaining tourists and a few female fans. Suddenly, his boring everyday life is interrupted by the appearance of his adult daughter, whom he once abandoned. The film had its world premiere at last year's Berlinale, and at the Diagonale festival, Rimini was awarded with the prizes for Best Feature Film and Costumes.
The rest of the program will be announced later. The selection will include the most iconic Austrian premieres of recent years.
After the festival, activists and film club leaders will be able to organize screenings in their cities as part of the project “Film Club. All-Ukrainian Network". To do this, you need to apply via the website.
