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2024 FOCUS AUSTRIA


Focus Section of the Films by Women Madrid 7th edition will be dedicated to Austrian filmmakers and the innovative gender-equal policies implemented in Austria.

 

The Focus Austria program will consist of 8 films and 3 round tables.

Every edition of Films by Women Madrid, a guest country is highlighted to showcase its most recent film production.

 

Why Focus Austria?

Austrian cinema has a long history of notable female directors, from pioneers like Luise Kolm, considered the second female feature film director in history, and the fascinating actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, to more contemporary figures such as Barbara Albert, Jessica Hausner, Marie Kreutzer, and Ruth Beckermann, among others, as well as a wide range of female talents who have enriched its cinema. It is time to highlight the vitality and innovation of films made by women in Austria.

Focus Austria screenings will consist of 8 films: 6 feature films produced between 2022 and 2024, mostly premieres in Spain or Madrid, to be screened at the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas and at Cineteca Madrid; one feature film participating in the International Competition, recently awarded at the Locarno Film Festival; and the "Outstanding female creator" section, in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Additionally, 3 round tables will be held with directors and experts who will present their projects and discuss gender-equal and equitable practices in the Austrian and European film industries.

 

In the first round table, the ambitious program "Calliope. Join the Dots" will be presented. This initiative, from the Austrian Ministry of European and International Affairs in collaboration with the Frauenmuseum Hittisau (Austria), highlights inspiring women in Austrian society. The website, conceived as a work in progress, is organized into 5 categories: society and culture, gender and equality, digitalization and science, climate and sustainability, migration and inclusion. Austrian Embassies and Cultural Forums are tasked with carrying out projects with these women and establishing networks with similar projects in other countries.

This project is based on a previous historic program: "CALLIOPE Austria. Women in Society, Culture, and The Sciences", which rewrote Austria’s history of the last 200 years through the biographies of prominent women.

 

In the second round table on equity in European audiovisual production, Iris Zappe-Heller (Austrian Film Institute) will discuss the best measures taken in Austria and across Europe; Lab Femmes de Cinéma will present the 2023 report on the situation of female directors in Europe, as well as a qualitative study, balance, and compilation of best practices on the inclusion of women in the film industry. Ignasi Camos, General Director of ICAA, will discuss the measures implemented in the Spanish audiovisual industry.

 

Finally, in the third round table, 5 international directors will recount their unique journeys to launching their professional careers.

This ambitious program has been organized with the invaluable collaboration of the Foro Cultural de Austria en Madrid and Austrian Filmsthe official entity for the promotion of Austrian cinema.

 

 

Focus Austria 2024 Program

 

Screenings: 8 feature films 

Focus Austria Section: 6 screenings
 

 

Wednesday, November, 6th: 6:30 p.m

📍 Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas.  

Wald (Woodland),
Elisabeth Scharang, Austria.

Fiction, 2023, 100’
Premiere in Spain

Presented by the director and Q&A                                 

Presented by Sr. Enno Drofenik, Ambassador of Austria in Madrid; Iris Zappe-Heller, Deputy Director of the Austrian Film Institute and Chair of the Gender and Inclusion Working Group of the EFAD (European Film Agency Directors Association); and Elisabeth Scharang, director of the opening film.

 

 

Thursday, November, 7th: 7:00 p.m
📍 Sala Plató, Cineteca Madrid.

Rubikon
Magdalena Lauritsch, Austria.


Fiction, 2022, 110’
Premiere in Madrid

 

Thursday, November, 7th: 9:00 p.m
📍 Sala Plató, Cineteca Madrid.

 

Trog, Ella Hochleitner, Austria.


Documentary, 2023, 120’
Premiere in Spain

Presented by the director and Q&A

 

Friday, November, 8th: 5:00 p.m

📍 Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas.

Breaking the Ice, Clara Stern, Austria.


Fiction, 2022, 102’
Premiere in Spain

Presented by the director and Q&A

Friday, November, 8th: 7:30 p.m

📍 Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas.
 

Gina, Ulrike Kofler, Austria.


Fiction, 2024, 100’
Premiere in Spain

Presented by the director and Q&A

Saturday, November, 9th: 7:00 p.m

📍 Sala Plató, Cineteca Madrid.

Wie kommen wir da wieder raus? (How Do We Get Out Of This?), 
Eva Spreitzhofer, Austria.


Fiction, 2023, 90’
Premiere in Spain

 
International Competition: 1 screening

Saturday, November, 9th: 7:00 p.m

📍 Cine Estudio del Círculo de Bellas Artes


Mond (Moon), 
Kurdwin Ayub,
Austria.


Fiction, 2024, 92’
Premiere in Madrid
 
Outstanding Female Creator Section: 1 screening

Once again, the museum joins the festival by premiering a feature film in Spain, this time about the renowned Austrian artist Maria Lassnig. This original hybrid film (fiction and documentary) chronicles the professional struggle of this successful and unique creator in a male-dominated art world, and her search for her own artistic expression, in which she translates her inner pain onto the canvas.

Friday, November, 8th: 6:00 p.m

📍 Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza


Sleeping with a Tiger, 
Anja Salomonowitz,
Austria.


Fiction, Documental, 2024, 107’
Premiere in Spain

Presented by the director and Q&A

 

Professional and trining activities with Austrian experts

📍 Venue: Espacio Fundación Telefónica 

Calle Fuencarral nº 3
Auditorio

The professional and educational activities offer a unique opportunity to gain firsthand insights into the work and experience of the invited film industry experts. At this venue, we have scheduled 4 activities, 3 of which will feature Austrian professionals. All activities will be conducted in English or German with simultaneous translation, sign language interpretation, and streaming.

#1 Round table: Thursday, October, 31st: 5:30 p.m 

"Good European Practices: How to Reframe the Past, Present, and Future with a Gender Perspective?"Participants:1. Thomas Kloiber - Cultural Section, Austrian Ministry of European and International Affairs.2. Stefania Pitscheider - Director of the Frauenmuseum Hittisau, Austria.3. Sabine Fellner - Art historian and exhibition curator, Austria.4Cristina Hernández - Director of the Institute of Women of the Spanish Government.

- Moderated by Carlota Álvarez Basso, Co-Director of the Festival.
 
#2 Round table: Thursday, November, 7th: 5:30 p.m

“Towards Equity in European Audiovisual Production”

Participants:

1. Iris Zappe-Heller - Deputy Director of the Austrian Film Institute and Chair of the Gender and Inclusion Working Group of EFAD (European Film Agency Directors Association), Austria.

2. Lise Perottet - General Coordinator of the Femmes de Cinéma Laboratory, France.

3. Ignasi Camós - General Director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), Spain.

- Moderated by Alexia Muiños, Director of Programs at EWA (European Women's Audiovisual Network).
 

#3 Round table: Thursday, November, 7th: 7:30 p.m

“How Did You Get Here? Case Study of International Female Directors Participating in the Festival” 

- Moderated by Elena Manrique, film director and producer, and member of the Festival's Programming Committee.
 

Previous editions of Focus Section

The Focus Section, organized with the invaluable collaboration of embassies, film institutes, and cultural centers in Spain for each invited country, has been dedicated to the following countries: Germany (2023), The Netherlands (2022), China (2021), Poland (2020), Switzerland (2019), and Sweden (2018).

CONTACT

Festival offices:
Tel. +34 91 319 97 31
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Press and communication:
Tel. +34 660 573 049
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TEAM

Festival Cine por Mujeres is promoted by:

  • Limbo Producciones S.L.
  • Asociación Paracultural

Meet our team

NEWSLETTER

SOCIAL NETWORKS

With the Support of:


1.marca madrid negro2.comunidaddemadrid3.espacio fundacion telefonicagobmiguimujeres

Corporate sponsor:


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Focus Austria:


Virtual Venues:


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Competition and Contest Venues


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Cooperating Venues:


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Corporate Partners:


With the Participation of:


AEC. Asociación Española de Directores y Directoras de FotografíaCIMA. Asociación de mujeres cineastas y de medios audiovisualesg28lesgaicinemad colorBlogos de OroUnión de Actores y Actrices

 

Festival member of:


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Promoted by:


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