FeKKSTIVAL: Vienna shorts

Out of the Inner Space, Into the Outer Space

Two short film programs curated by Doris Bauer, co-director of the international short film festival VIENNA SHORTS

Two directions show us the way TO THE FUTURE: one Into the Outer Space, into the exploration of new worlds, and the other Out of the Inner Space – which will make you quite dizzy, too, promise!

The short film program with four Austrian perspectives from this year’s Austrian Competition at Vienna Shorts festival looks twice into the lives of families. In ‘Civilization’ and ‘Comrade Tito, I inherit’ the construct of a family is examined more closely by dissecting the respective relationships with each other, but also the attempts to get out of it. ‘There must be some kind of way out of here’ and ‘O’ offer more experimental approaches to escape in case of catastrophes or from one’s own four walls.

Meanwhile, outer space and the great longing for it are the defining themes of six selected international short films from the last couple of years. Primarily female directors address this fantasy in this program, creating their documentary, animated and fictional cinematic utopias from it. In addition to the exciting journeys into unknown spaces and places, it is comforting to be melodiously reminded near the end: ‘I Like Tomorrow’! That eases the way to the future.

The Austrian short film festival VIENNA SHORTS focuses on discovering and promoting talent as well as communicating and making visible artistic film work. VIENNA SHORTS is a qualifying festival for the Austrian Film Award, the British Film Award BAFTA, the European Film Award and the Oscars and is one of two EU-funded film festivals in Austria.

Vienna Shorts takes place annually at the end of May/beginning of June, shows around 300 films from all over the world, and counts about 10,000 visitors and more than 600 accredited industry guests over six festival days. The association behind the festival also organizes film screenings, educational programs, and short film events in and outside Austria throughout the year.

The festival is active in numerous Austria-wide and international cooperations and networks, including the Forum of Austrian Film Festivals (FÖFF), the globally active Short Film Conference (SFC) and, since 2018, the European Short Film Network (ESFN). In collaboration with the ESFN, the online festival platform THIS IS SHORT was developed.

Doris Bauer