The Diagonale (Festival of Austrian Film) is a film festival that takes place every March in Graz, Austria.
The festival was initially held under the auspices of the Austrian Film Commission in Salzburg from 1993 to 1995 but moved to Graz in 1998. Traditional cinema venues are Annenhof Kino, Schubertkino, KIZ RoyalKino, and the Filmzentrum im Rechbauerkino. At the end of the festival, expert juries award Austria's most highly endowed film prizes.
The Festival of Austrian Film has consolidated its position as a regionally based festival for film buffs that brings the industry and audience together, strengthens Austrian film, and attracts international attention.
History
First Years The first three Diagonale festivals were organized by the Austrian Film Commission in early December each year in cooperation with the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg. The festival was directed by filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky in 1993 and 1994, and Heinrich Mis (then director of the ORF program ) in 1995.
After a break, the festival moved to Graz. Its own supporting association "Forum österreichischer Film" was founded in 1998 under the leadership of Christine Dollhofer and Constantin Wulff, who presided over the association until 2003. In addition to film screenings, the program also includes discussions, audience talks, and exhibitions. In the first year in Graz, one hundred films were screened and prizes were awarded in three categories: a main prize, a prize for innovative cinema and a prize for newcomers. Later, a number of other prizes were added. In 1999, a prize for the best actor and actress was also awarded for the first time, although this was not the case again until 2008.
Since 2000 The planning for the Diagonale 2004 initially began with a scandal, as Franz Morak, the State Secretary for the Arts responsible for the event, dismissed the previous program directors without explanation, despite their excellent performance, and replaced them with a new team without seeking consensus with the filmmakers concerned. Since this personnel selection met with opposition from nearly all filmmakers, it initially looked as if there might be two events with the same name: Morak's "official" Diagonale and an "unofficial" event set up by the media professionals themselves. Eventually, however, Morak relented and abandoned his event. After a restructuring of the sponsoring association and the willingness of numerous participants to volunteer, the Diagonale 2004 was able to take place in its usual form despite time pressure.
The background to Morak's intervention in the directorship is thought to be an attempt to make a more commercially oriented readjustment of the festival as well as a politically motivated "act of retaliation" against the film scene and the festival management, because the Diagonale positioned itself as a forum for anti-government protests and video works a few weeks after the controversial formation of the coalition between FPÖ and ÖVP in 2000. In the course of the controversy at the time over a petition printed in the festival catalog by numerous well-known filmmakers demanding the resignation of the government, the then Styrian regional councilor Hirschmann (ÖVP) even temporarily withheld the promised prize money from the state of Styria.
In the course of a restructuring by the supporting association "Forum österreichischer Film", the general assembly of the Diagonale appointed the three-person team Birgit Flos (artistic director), Robert Buchschwenter (production manager) and Georg Tillner (finance manager) as the new Diagonale management at the end of April 2004 on the suggestion of the Diagonale advisory board. After Buchschwenter and Tillner left, Oliver Testor took over the management of the festival in May 2005 until 2009.
The Diagonale 2006 took place from March 21 to 26 in Graz under the directorship of Birgit Flos. The festival center was set up in the Kunsthaus Graz for the first time in 2006. The UCI Annenhofkino, Schubertkino, KIZ RoyalKino, and the Filmzentrum im Rechbauerkino were the festival cinemas. In cooperation with the Kunsthaus Graz, the Diagonale also organized a highlight of the festival: In a tribute to the artist Maria Lassnig, her complete cinematic oeuvre was shown in newly restored copies.
In December 2006, Birgit Flos' contract was extended until the Diagonale 2008.
Also since 2006, there have been two equally endowed Grand Diagonale Prizes, for the best feature film and for the best documentary film.
Director Barbara Pichler (2009 to 2015) From 2009 to 2015, the festival was directed by curator, publicist, and film mediator Barbara Pichler, who established the festival as a mediation and discussion platform for Austrian cinema with a more streamlined programming and increased focus on international industry networking. Her original three-year contract was initially extended by the Diagonale's sponsoring association until 2014 and later, at Pichler's own request, for only one more year until 2015. The directorship of the Diagonale from the 2016 festival onwards was put out to tender again at the beginning of April 2014. In November 2014, it was announced that the festival would be directed by the two Upper Austrians Sebastian Höglinger and Peter Schernhuber from 2016 onwards. Starting in 2009, the two had already co-directed the YOUKI International Youth Media Festival.
The Diagonale 2009 took place from March 17 to 22 and attracted 23,876 visitors. A "Personale" was dedicated to filmmaker Mara Mattuschka, while the international Tribute brought German filmmaker Stefan Krohmer to Graz. The special historical programs were devoted to the history of Austrian animated film, film restoration or focused on the almost forgotten work of the Viennese screenwriter Anna Gmeyner, who was driven into exile. In 2009, acting prizes were awarded for the third time since 1999. One was the Grand Diagonale Acting Prize to Josef Hader for his achievements in Austrian film, and the other was the Diagonale Special Jury Prize for the remarkable performance by an Austrian actress/actor in a 2008 Diagonale film to Birgit Minichmayr, who stars alongside Hader in Der Knochenmann.
With around 24,800 visitors, the Diagonale 2010 (March 16 to 21) was able to draw a positive conclusion after six festival days and 147 films and videos shown. One of the highlights of the festival was the internationally acclaimed Peter Schreiner "Personale", which presented and honored the documentary work of the Austrian filmmaker in a concentrated form. In addition, Romuald Karmakar, one of the most important voices of German cinema at the time, was a guest in Graz with his films. Special historical programs focused on the almost forgotten work of auteur filmmaker Mansur Madavi and on that of cinematographer Günther Krampf, who was forced into exile. The industry meeting was dedicated to the funding model "Film Location Austria". Two exhibitions also took place as part of the Diagonale 2010 program: "SILENT ALIEN GHOST MACHINE MUSEUM" by Norbert Pfaffenbichler at Kunstverein Medienturm and "brRRMMMWHee – extended version" by Billy Roisz at Kunsthaus Graz.
In 2011, the Diagonale took place from March 22 to 27 and was opened by Nikolaus Geyrhalter's documentary essay film Abendland. The "Personale" was dedicated to the renowned avant-garde filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky. Director and cinematographer Elfi Mikesch, a representative of European auteur cinema with Austrian roots, presented her two most recent works at the festival. The special historical program "Shooting Women. Female Pioneers of Austrian Film" with films by Valie Export, Margareta Heinrich, and others. Other specials were devoted to the Viennese animation film festival "Tricky Women" and filmmaker Linda Christanell. A wide-ranging discussion of female filmmaking took place at the Diagonale 2011 not only in the film and supporting program, but also at the level of film policy. Representatives of the film industry demanded more visibility for women in the film business as well as a quota for women in film committees and in the university sector. At the Kunstverein Medienturm, Nadim Vardag showed his exhibition "∆" at the end of the "Concept Film" series, while Sabine Marte, creator of the 2011 festival trailer, exhibited together with Clemens Hollerer under the title "Do we need to have an accident?" at Kunsthaus Graz. The trilateral industry meeting focused on the "Digital Revolution" in sales and marketing. Finally, 2011 saw the launch of "Diagonale GOES GREEN," a long-term strategy of social responsibility for the environment and sustainability.
The 15th Diagonale in Graz took place from March 20 to 25, 2012. Despite a slightly lower number of screenings and events compared to 2011, the occupancy rate rose to almost 74 percent. The Diagonale 2012 program reflected the high quality of current Austrian filmmaking in a focused selection. As always, the festival functioned as a place of encounter and exchange between the film industry and the public. In addition to many established names, numerous young filmmakers also presented their works. The Diagonale 2012 opened with a feature film debut: Spain by Anja Salomonowitz. As part of the opening, Johannes Silberschneider received the Grand Diagonale Acting Prize for his services to Austrian film culture. The highlights of the festival also included a "Personale" dedicated to the legendary avant-garde filmmaker Ferry Radax, which made his groundbreaking work accessible to a wider audience once again with a concentrated selection of films. The Israeli documentary filmmaker Avi Mograbi, was represented not only by a comprehensive film retrospective but also by the video installation "Details". The special program Carl Mayer Screenwriting Prize 2017 "Shooting Women II" on female forms of documentary, the historical special on US actor and cinematographer Charles Korvin in the series "FilmExil" as well as the eagerly awaited revival of Michael Synek's Die toten Fische from 1989 were also well received by the audience. The discussion track focused in several program points on the status quo of film criticism and different positions of film discourse. At the Kunsthaus Graz, Sofie Thorsen showed the exhibition "Schnitt A-A". As part of the industry meeting "Discussing Diversity in Independent Cinema," numerous internationally staffed panels and case studies discussed different perspectives and strategies of film promotion and exploitation against the backdrop of practical experience and initiated further activities in Austria.