To choose films for our festival is always much work and stress, but foremost interesting and exciting. The international program consists of submitted and curated productions; most of them premiere in Austria. Discussions with filmmakers or experts following the screening account for the spirit of the Festival.
The presented films all contribute to important social topics and are worth to be discussed and appreciated. The following films which we recommend warmly are only a few examples for this year's outstanding program.
The opening film Son of Babylon stands in line with other award winning films, presented by this human world 2010. This film, co produced in seven countries, tells the story of a young boy in Iraq who is looking for his missing father that was kidnapped during the Saddam Hussein Regime.
The great pictures of the Atacama Desert in North-Chile narrate a parable of astronomy and the country's history of the pas 50 years in Patricio Guzmánn's Nostalgia de la Luz.
In Postcard to Daddy director Michael Stock tells the very personal and touching autobiographical story about the abuse by his father, his fight for happiness and his yearning for peace.
Our special focus lies, as it does every year, on Austrian productions. The following films, amongst others, will be screened for the first time in Austria: Zwischen uns das Paradis (Na Putu), Alive!, Nicaragua - the forgotten revolution, Out Of The Ashes, FC Chechnya and many more.
The film Blickwechsel. 12 Szenen vom Leben in Armut deserves special mention. It broaches the issue of poverty in Austria and was produced by Volkshilfe Österreich during the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.
The French feature film Illégal shows the consequences of illegalizing people. The same subject is picked up by Hands Up, a political explosive feature film that tells the story of children who try to prevent the deportation of their friend in a spectacular way.
La Régate is the opening film for the focus "childhood and youth". The feature films central topics are violence against children and teenagers, the relation of a young boy to his confidant and the subsequent humiliation, shame and hurt.
Sasha is the exhilarant humorous story about the difficult situation in a Montenegrin family whose son fell for his piano teacher.
The 2010 Festival presents two films about Tibet: Premiering in Austria is Tibet in Song, Winner at Sundance 2009, directed by former political prisoner Ngawang Choephel. The film is about the fate of Tibetan folk music in the last 50 years. The Sun Behind The Clouds won the Vaclav Havel Award at the One World Film Festival in Prague.
We are especially glad to present the Claude Lanzmann Retrospective in cooperation with Kulturverein Schikaneder. Claude Lanzmann himself will be opening the special film series on December, 6 at CineMagic.
We are looking forward to welcome you at the cinemas and discussions of this human world.
Zora Bachmann and Johannes Wegenstein