Six festival days, 131 films and videos in 120 screenings (among them 39 world premieres and 15 Austrian premieres), with 100 attending directors: From the March 20 to 25 of, Diagonale Film Festival, now in its 15th edition in the Styrian capital, celebrated Austrian cinema in all its diversity. Here is an overview: The high quality of current Austrian filmmaking was reflected in the choice selection of the 2012 Diagonale. As always, the Festival functioned as a center of exchange between the...

Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Feature Film (€ 21.000) Sebastian Meise for Stillleben (Still Life) Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Documentary Film (€ 21.000) Dariusz Kowalski for Richtung Nowa Huta(Destination Nowa Huta) Best Innovative Cinema Award (€ 10.500) Josef Dabernig for Hypercrisis Best Short Feature Film (€ 4.000) Catalina Molina for Unser Lied Best Short Documentary Film (€ 4.000) Houchang Allahyari and Maziyar Moshtagh Gohary for Das per...

This year Diagonale's  international tribute will be dedicated to the Israeli filmmaker and video artist Avi Mograbi. As a decidedly political filmmaker, the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict shapes all of Avi Mograbi’s films. He rejects a simplified view and employs his own blend of documentary, autobiographical and fictional work to achieve his unique approach to the subject. The 2012 Diagonale will present a retrospective of his work up to now, in addition to the multi-channel vide...

A highlight of this year’s festival will be a tribute to filmmaker Ferry Radax in association with Radio Ö1. Radax, who in 2012 celebrates his 80th birthday, is one of the most internationally renowned exponents of the Austrian avant-garde, with films such as Sonne halt! (1958–62)and his portrait of Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard – Drei Tage (1970). His films feature collage and montage techniques that distill the visual narrative down to the bare essentials, thereby purposefully subvert...

After its world premiere at this year's Berlinale, SPAIN, the first feature-length film by Anja Salomonowitz, opens this year’s Diagonale Film Festival as an Austrian premiere, on March 20, 2012 in Graz’s Helmut-List-Halle. Told in multiple storylines, SPAIN cleverly traces a web of interweaving destinies in a remarkable visual journey on the quest for support and security. As in her previous offerings, Anja Salomonowitz sets forth a critical, socio-political commentary through the cha...

Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Feature Film (€ 21.000) Marie Kreutzer for Die Vaterlosen Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Documentary Film (€ 21.000) Ivette Löcker for Nachtschichten Best Innovative Cinema Award (€ 10.500) Billy Roisz for Chiles en Nogada Best Short Feature Film (€ 4.000) Umut Dag for Papa Best Short Documentary Film (€ 4.000) Karl-Heinz Klopf for They Best Young Talent Film (€ 6.000) Max Liebich for You’re Out ...

Elfi Mikesch, born 1940 in Judenburg, Styria, but living in Berlin for many years, is one of the most multi-faceted artist personalities of today. Starting off as a painter and photographer, she slowly expanded her artistic profile by making a name for herself as an internationally sought after director and cinematographer. Already her first documentary Ich denke oft an Hawaii (I Often Think of Hawaii) was awarded the Silver Filmband in 1978. Beyond that, her cinematography unambiguously informe...

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is the solo retrospective on filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky, which introduces and honors his work. Tscherkassky is one of the internationally most prominent and renowned representatives of avant-garde film. Since the mid-80’s, the 52-year old Viennese has produced unique films drawing upon found footage of largely Hollywood productions. Frame for frame the filmmaker copies details and fragments from these sources in the dark room by using elaborate...

Nikolaus Geyrhalter's newest documentary Abendland will open the 2011 Diagonale in Graz as a world premiere. In Abendland, the award-winning Austrian documentary filmmaker takes a very personal journey through contemporary Europe. He predominately visits places that are without a specific history, places that are highly frequented and essential to the way we function, such as multiplex cinemas, shopping malls, airports, rest stops, hospitals, and fitness centers. The director gives us a glimpse...

The general assembly of the Austrian Film Forum, the supporting association of the Diagonale, is delighted to announce that Artistic Director Barbara Pichler’s contract has been extended for three more years, until 2014. The general assembly unanimously decided to extend the contract based on the successful direction of the Diagonale 2009 and 2010. The general assembly congratulates Barbara Pichler for designing and realizing the first two festivals as artistic director: the growing public int...

Diagonale Prize Winners 2010 Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Feature Film (€ 21,000) Tizza Covi & Rainer Frimmel for La Pivellina (AT/IT 2009) Grand Diagonale Prize for Best Austrian Documentary Film (€ 21,000) Brigitte Weich & Karin Macher for Hana, dul, sed ... (AT 2009) Diagonale Prize for Innovative Cinema for Best Experimental, Animated or Short Film (€ 10,500) Sabine Marte for B-star, untötbar! reloaded (AT 2009) Diagonale Diocese Graz-Seckau...

Diagonale 2010 - the Festival of Austrian Film - has opened on March 16th in Graz. From now on you can download various press material (press kit, press releases, filmstills and press photographs) here.The guest list is available here. Programme online now. This year's highlights include: + 103 films in the selected programme: a selection of Austria's current best feature, documentary, short, experimental and animated films as well as videos with lots of discoveries. + Spectrum: 8 inter...

Diagonale 2010 Opening Film Diagonale 2010 will open with Robert A. Pejo's The Cameramurderer on the 16th March at the Helmut-List-Halle. This Austrian-Swiss-Hungarian co-production is an emotionally charged psychodrama based on the eponymous bestseller by the Styrian author Thomas Glavinic. The lead roles are played by: Merab Ninidze, Dorka Gryllus, Andreas Lust and Ursina Lardi. A Tribute to Peter Schreiner in collaboration with Ö1 One of the high points of this year's festival is the t...