IR/NO/IT 2025, D: Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani, 80’, OV with English subtitles, DCP
In order to stay in closer contact with her ageing parents in Tehran whilst living in the diaspora in the USA, Maryam has a series of cameras installed in their house. She herself fled Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution and has been unable to return to the country ever since. Through her screen, she follows their daily lives, shares their experiences and, in doing so, reflects on the family’s complex history. Gradually, the functions of surveillance and monitoring provide the conditions of empathy and healing. Yet, as it is often the case in Iran, much is different from what it seems at first glance. With PAST FUTURE CONTINUOUS, multimedia artist Morteza Ahmadvand and documentary filmmaker Firouzeh Khosrovani have created a multi-layered work exploring the experiences of exile, longing and loss, and the relationship between technologically mediated images and the images we form of reality. Images that haunt us in our memories and dreams. An extraordinary film.
| Fri 18 September 2026 | Luru Kino |
| 10 PM | German Premiere € 7,50 (6,50 reduced) |
Avantgarde Now! and Then! sixpackfilm from Vienna
Sasha Pirker’s wittily choreographed short film explores the connections between the history of women in early cinema, the 100th anniversary of the 16mm format, contemporary despots such as Putin, Trump, Netanyahu or Erdogan, the Pavlova cake, and political activism. In his meticulously researched “gathered footage” piece, Jan Soldat pays homage to the actor Alfred Edel, a key figure of the New German Cinema: Soldat weaves together fragments of dialogue from a wide variety of the actor’s films and roles into a coherent narrative that distils and showcases the actor’s typology or typologies. Rom Sheratzky, meanwhile, uses a public live-stream camera in Frankfurt/Main to get closer to his love interest – an endeavour oscillating between shameless romantic bliss and a tingling sense of unease. There are no consequences – this could be the refreshing motto of Emma Hütt and Tina Muffler’s fast-paced and exhilarating short feature film about friendship, love and quick sex. A queer road movie, set between a petrol station and Germany’s oldest lesbian bar (La Gata in Frankfurt/Main). (Dietmar Schwärzler)
| Fri 18 September 2026 | Luru Kino |
| 8 PM | Found Footage, Torten und Sex EVERYONE DESERVES A SLICE OF THE PIE AT 2025, D: Sasha Pirker, 17’, OV with english subs, DCP DER ANGRIFF DES ALFRED EDEL AUF SICH SELBST AT/DE 2025, D: Jan Soldat, 15’, OV with english subs, DCP FOLLOW BACK AT/DE 2025, D: Rom Sheratzky, 23’, OV with english subs, DCP BLEIFREI 95 DE/AT 2025, D: Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler, 24’, OV with english subs, DCP In the presence of Ursula Pürrer and Dietmar Schwärzler € 7,50 (6,50 reduced) |
Avantgarde Now! and Then! sixpackfilm from Vienna
Legend has it that by the end of the premiere of ARNULF RAINER, not a single person was left in the auditorium. Peter Kubelka’s film is now regarded as one of the classics of structural cinema. The witty film and media miniatures by Ernst Schmidt Jr. and Peter Weibel play with the audience and call into question the very apparatus within which they take place. Working with the (naked) body is a prominent stylistic element in the visual arts of Austrian (post-war) history; the Viennese Actionists were particularly influential – Günter Brus, who uses his own body, the most lasting and interesting position within this group. With their feminist perspective on self-empowerment, VALIE EXPORT, Mara Mattuschka, Linda Christanell, Ashley Hans Scheirl and Ursula Pürrer have expanded and reinterpreted Viennese Actionism. Their frequent use of their own bodies forms the terrain on which great pleasure, but also great pain, is experienced. Moucle Blackout and Maria Lassnig explore the not always congruent interplay between women and men. All of these films explore sensory dimensions of cinema, whilst also serving as political tools to rebel against traditional values. (Dietmar Schwärzler)
| Fri 18 Sept 2026 | Luru Kino |
| 6 PM | ARNULF RAINER AT 1960, R: Peter Kubelka, 7’, 16mm START AT 1973, R: Ernst Schmidt jr., 11 sec, DCP HALLO AT 1964, R: Ernst Schmidt jr., 12 sec, DCP THE LITTLE MACHINE AT 1977, R: Ernst Schmidt jr., 38 sec, DCP HAPPENING AT 1969-1979, R: Ernst Schmidt jr., 11 sec, DCP 10/65 SELBSTVERSTÜMMELUNG AT 1965, R: Kurt Kren, 5’, DCP DIE GEBURT DER VENUS AT 1970-1972, R: Moucle Blackout, 5’, DCP COUPLES AT/US 1972, R: Maria Lassnig, 9’, DCP REMOTE…REMOTE… AT 1973, R: VALIE EXPORT, 10’, DCP KUGELKOPF AT 1985, R: Mara Mattuschka, 6’, DCP ROUGE ET NOIR AT 1993, R: Linda Christanell, 10’, File SEX AND CRIME AT 1984, R: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 3’, File GEZACKTES RINNSAL SCHLEICHT SICH SCHAMLOS SCHENKELNÄSSEND AN AT 1985, R: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 4’, File TV-AQUARIUM AT 1970, R: Peter Weibel, 2’, File ABBILDUNG IST EIN VERBRECHEN AT 1970, R: Peter Weibel, 2’, File ZEITBILD (CLUB 2) AT 1979, R: Peter Weibel, 3’, File GLEICHZEITIG NACKT AT 2024, R: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 3’, DCP In presence of Ursula Pürrer and Dietmar Schwärzler € 7,5 (6,5 reduced) |
Avantgarde Now! and Then! sixpackfilm from Vienna
In previous editions, we have selected film initiatives or associations whose work we showcase through curated film programmes. These included evenings featuring experimental 16mm works self-developed and produced by Distruktur and Labor Berlin (2022), an evening dedicated to the pioneering work of Kino Armata in Pristina, Kosovo (2023), and a screening of feminist 16mm films from Asta Nielsen Film Archive in Frankfurt am Main (2024).
We are continuing this thread with sixpackfilm from Vienna, a distributor of artist films. Together with managing director Dietmar Schwärzler, we have curated four programmes to showcase their work as a film distributor and archive. In doing so, we are shining a spotlight on an aspect of international film and festival work that is usually behind the scenes and therefore not visible or accessible to the general public. sixpackfilm was founded in 1990 as a non-profit organisation. The primary aim of their work is to raise public awareness of Austrian artistic film and video production. This is achieved through distribution, rental, and the conception and organisation of events both in Austria and abroad. Following their festival run, all works enter the distribution catalogue, which now comprises more than 2,400 titles. The catalogue features historical classics of the Austrian avantgarde – such as Valie Export, Mara Mattuschka, Peter Weibel, Maria Lassnig, Ashley Hans Sheirl, Ursula Pürrer or Kurt Kren – alongside more recent names such as Johann Lurf, Martha Mechow, Kurdwin Ayub, Jan Soldat, Selma Doborac or Lukas Marxt.
The full programme comprises four parts, which will be presented in the presence of Dietmar Schwärzler and additional filmmakers: on 17 September, a loop of short films exploring the tension between public and private spheres, screened at Milieu Kino located in Rabet park, on 18 September, two short film programmes – one historical, focusing on the Austrian avant-garde, and one featuring contemporary works – at Luru Kino; and finally, on 19 September, also at Luru Kino, a programme of films by Viktoria Schmid in her presence.
| Thu 17 September 2026 Milieukino at the Rabet | |
| 5 PM | Outside in the cinema: short films from sixpackfilm TAPP UND TASTKINO AT 1968, D: VALIE EXPORT , 2’, File EIN SCHLAUCHBOOT UND AUSTERN AT 1985, D: Ashley Hans Scheirl, Ursula Pürrer, 5’, File ASTOR PLACE US 1997, D: Eve Heller, 10’, File CROSSROAD US 2005, D: Phil Solomon, 5’, File SCHWERELOS AT 2016, D: Jannis Lenz, 9’, File |
| Fri 18 September 2026 Luru Kino | |
| 6 PM | Structure, Bodies, Rebellion ARNULF RAINER AT 1960, D: Peter Kubelka, 7’, 16mm START AT 1973, D: Ernst Schmidt jr., 11 sec, DCP HALLO AT 1964, D: Ernst Schmidt jr., 12 sec, DCP DIE KLEINE MASCHINE AT 1977, D: Ernst Schmidt jr., 38 sec, DCP DAS HAPPENING AT 1969-1979, D: Ernst Schmidt jr., 11 sec, DCP 10/65 SELBSTVERSTÜMMELUNG AT 1965, D: Kurt Kren, 5’, DCP DIE GEBURT DER VENUS AT 1970-1972, D: Moucle Blackout, 5’, DCP COUPLES AT/US 1972, D: Maria Lassnig, 9’, DCP REMOTE…REMOTE… AT 1973, D: VALIE EXPORT, 10’, DCP KUGELKOPF AT 1985, D: Mara Mattuschka, 6’, DCP ROUGE ET NOIR AT 1993, D: Linda Christanell, 10’, File SEX AND CRIME AT 1984, D: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 3’, File GEZACKTES RINNSAL SCHLEICHT SICH SCHAMLOS SCHENKELNÄSSEND AN AT 1985, D: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 4’, File TV-AQUARIUM AT 1970, D: Peter Weibel, 2’, File ABBILDUNG IST EIN VERBRECHEN AT 1970, D: Peter Weibel, 2’, File ZEITBILD (CLUB 2) AT 1979, D: Peter Weibel, 3’, File GLEICHZEITIG NACKT AT 2024, D: Ursula Pürrer, Ashley Hans Scheirl, 3’, DCP In presence of Ursula Pürrer and Dietmar Schwärzler |
| 8 PM | Found Footage, Cakes and Sex EVERYONE DESERVES A SLICE OF THE PIE AT 2025, D: Sasha Pirker, 17’, OV with english subtitles, DCP DER ANGRIFF DES ALFRED EDEL AUF SICH SELBST AT/DE 2025, D: Jan Soldat, 15’, OV with english subtitles, DCP FOLLOW BACK AT/DE 2025, D: Rom Sheratzky, 23’, OV with english subtitles, DCP BLEIFREI 95 DE/AT 2025, D: Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler, 24’, OV with english subtitles, DCP In presence of Ursula Pürrer and Dietmar Schwärzler |
| Sat 19 September 2026 Luru Kino | |
| 6 PM | Light, colour, time – the films of Viktoria Schmid
ROJO ZALJA BLAU AT 2025, 10′, DCP NYC RGB AT/US 2023, 7′, DCP KATHARINAVIKTORIA 2(021) AT 2021, 1′, DCP A PROPOSAL TO PROJECT IN SCOPE AT/LT 2020, 8′, DCP W O W (KODAK) AT 2018, 3′, DCP A TAMA FOR EKTACHROME AT 2016, 1’, DCP A PROPOSAL TO PROJECT IN 4:3 AT 2016, 2′, DCP IT’S A DANCE AT 2014, 2′, DCP KATHARINAVIKTORIA AT 2011, 1′, DCP ACHTUNG / HALLO 35 AT 2010, 2′, 35mm GOLAN AT 2012, 2’, 16mm FOODFILMS AT 2010, 8′, 16mm In presence of Viktoria Schmid and Dietmar Schwärzler |
One of the world’s most exciting low- and no-budget film scenes has been thriving for many years in Wakaliga, a slum in Uganda’s capital Kampala. Wakaliga is the name of the film studio, also known as Ramon Film Productions or, with a wink: “Wakaliwood”. There, lively action films are produced, sparing no sensationalisms or implausibilities, and which in their maximalism aim to rival not only Hollywood but also role models from Hong Kong and India. An excessive mix of references to Western popular culture and influences from their own culture. Kung fu fights, bazooka shoot-outs, never ending explosions set off with the simplest of means, and seemingly antiquated blue-screen CGI. Stories of gang crime and corruption, Shakespearean romances, and heroism on an epic scale. A DIY cinema of “poor images”, which even beyond the world of cinema, is a phenomenon in film culture: the cast is often made up of family members, friends and neighbours. It is a radically participatory form of filmmaking: the team decides together on tasks and the allocation of roles. The screening of the films would also be unthinkable without the community itself: usually, they take place in so-called “kibandas” – self-organised, communal spaces where the films are not merely projected onto a wall, but are also accompanied by a live commentator, known as a “video joker” (VJ). This commentator narrates the action, sometimes even acting as an animator. A unique cinematic performance!
EATEN ALIVE IN UGANDA
UG 2026, D: Nabwana I.G.G., A: Alan Hofmanis Ssali, Isaac Newton Kizito, Mwebaza Faridah, 55′, OV with live commentary, File
FORGET THE DIRECTOR, THIS IS EMMY’S CUT!
Director Nabwana I.G.G. is one of the central figures of Wakaliga – we are presenting the studio’s latest production, EATEN ALIVE IN UGANDA, accompanied live by VJ Emmy, one of the most prominent VJs – and, according to the local community, the one with the best sense of humour – who is travelling from Kampala to attend the festival. In the film, an American soldier travels to a remote Ugandan village in the Rakai district to search for his brother, who has been missing for three years. There, he recruits soldiers to assist him on his mission, then encounters a somewhat strange scientist in the hinterland and a cannibalistic voodoo sect called “The Dancers”, consisting partly of zombies and partly of children who have acquired a taste for it. Trapped in this nightmare, an action-packed race against a horde of the undead begins. Will he manage to find his brother before he and his helpers are devoured?
UG/DE 2026, D: Marion Desmaret, 11′, OV with English subtitles, DCP
To begin the evening, we are screening FORGET THE DIRECTOR, THIS IS EMMY’S CUT! by Marion Desmaret in her presence. As the title suggests, her short, experimental documentary centres on Emmy Batte, alias VJ Emmy, whom we see at work. In makeshift cinemas, he provides live dubbing, translates dialogue into local languages (primarily Luganda) and adds comments to the film narratives that range from humorous to socially critical. As a VJ as in this film, he reclaims the narrative and rewrites the script – a film brimming with cheerful disrespect.
| Thu 17 September 2026 | UT Connewitz |
| 9 PM | German Premiere In presence of Marion Desmaret € 10 (9 reduced) |
