International Premieres, Tilda and Carey Tributes Pack 47th Viennale

A scene from Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel's "La Pivellina." Image courtesy of the Viennale.

A gala screening of “La Pivellina” by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel will open the 2009 Vienna International Film Festival October 22, the first Austrian production to commence the event. The film, which debuted in Cannes, centers on a circus woman and her husband who find a two year old girl in the trailer park where they’re living, and with the help of another child, try and find her mother. The Coens’ “A Serious Man” will close out the Viennale November 4. This year’s 47th edition is one day longer, and taking place one week later then in the past. Highlights from this year’s roster include Jean-Marie Straug’s “Corneille-Brecht,” Peter Whitehead’s “Terrorism Considered as One of the Fine Arts” - which was shot locally, and city chronicle “Ba Gua” by Fu Hao.

In all, the Viennale will screen a dozen world debuts. New work by established filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Werner Herzog, Woody Allen, Lars von Trier, Abel Ferrara and Manoel de Oliveira will screen with up-and-comers Julio Hernandez Cordon from Guatemala, the Americans Damien Chazelle and Josh and Benny Safdie, Chris Chong Chan Fui from Malaysia and Alejo Moguillansky from Argentina.

Also making the line up are titles making their way through the festival ciruit, including Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet,” Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu’s “Police, Adjective,” Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland,” Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist,” Andrew Bujalski’s “Beeswax,” Scott Sanders’ “Black Dynamite,” Stephen Soderbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience” and Sebastien Silva’s “The Maid.”

Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton will receive a tribute as part of 2009’s festivities. The Scottish-born actor will attend the event, which will screen a dozen of her films. Also taking the Viennale spotlight is the late Filipino director Lino Brocka, who has been credited with being at the forefront of a now ascendant cinema in his country. And American actor Timothy Carey will also receive a Viennale fete.

“The Viennale is not a red carpet event, nor does it try to orientate itself on some strange behavior of hangers-on, trendy types or groupies,” organizers commented about the event in a statement. “What is relevant to the Viennale are interesting and outstanding guests; whether they are internationally known and highly respected like Tilda Swinton, Jane Birkin and Beatrice Dalle or great, independent filmmakers such as Pedro Costa, Abel Ferrara, Michael Almereyda and Luc Moullet, they are of the same importance to the Viennale as the many less prominent and sometimes unknown guests of the festival, who make an essential, lively contribution to the atmosphere and character of the Viennale.”

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World Premieres: “1100 Wien George-Washington-Hof” by Christoph Weihrich, Austria “3 Short Films about Home” by Guo Xiaolu, China/UK “Arena Guenter” by Schwaiger, Austria/Spain “Ba gua” (Eight Diagrams) by Fu Hao, China “Blutsfreundschaft” (Initiation) by Peter Kern, Austria “Bock For President” by Houchang Allahyari, Tom-Dariusch Allahyari, Austria “b-star, untoetbar!” (b-star, immortal!) by Sabine Marte, Austria “Cinematographie” by Philipp Fleischmann, Austria “Corneille - Brecht” by Cornelia Geiser, Jean-Marie Straub, France “Dumped” by Mike Kuchar, USA “Durch die Welt nach Hause - Die Lebensreise des Frederic” Morton Andrea Eckert, Austria/USA “Die Frauenkarawane” by Nathalie Borgers, Austria/Belgium/France “Free Land” by Minda Martin, USA “Die fuenf Himmelsrichtungen” (The Five Cardinal Points) by Fridolin Schoenwiese, Austria/Mexico/USA “Im Bazar der Geschlechter” (In the Bazaar of Sexes) by Sudabeh Mortezai, Iran/Austria “The Invisible Frame” by Cynthia Beatt, Germany “Jobcenter” by Angela Summereder, Austria “Das letzte Jahr” (The Last Year) by Klaus Wyborny, Germany “Once at Miracle Mile” by Sasha Pirker, Austria “Palmes d’Or” by Siegfried A. Fruhauf, Austria “State Of Flux” (Wave #1/Wave #2/Wave #3) by Rainer Gamsjaeger, Austria “Swan Song” by Mike Kuchar, USA “Terrorism Considered as One of the Fine Arts” by Peter Whitehead, UK/Austria International Premieres: “Alienadas” by Andrew Barchilon, USA/Argentina “Berlin-Stettin” by Volker Koepp, Germany “Mon coursier hors d’haleine” (My Breathless Steed) by Christophe Clavert, France “Napoli Napoli Napoli” by Abel Ferrara, Italy/USA “Les Oiseaux d’Arabie” (The Birds of Arabia) by David Yon, France “Paradise” by Michael Almereyda, USA “Pas cette nuit” by Jean-Claude Rousseau, France “So Long No See” by Veronique Goel, Switzerland “Sounds And Silence” by Peter Guyer, Norbert Wiedmer, Switzerland/Germany “Tod und Teufel” (dOmeU) (Death And Devil) Peter Nestler, Sweden/Germany European Union Premieres: “Fashion Avenue” by Jim Jennings, USA “Greenpoint” by Jim Jennings, USA “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench” by Damien Chazelle, USA [For more information and a full line up, visit the Viennale website] Login to recommend this article » posted on October 13, 2009 |Share Login to Leave a Comment »