Movies provide great entertainment to people. Whether they like to watch it in the cinemas or in the comfort of their homes, these films are one of the most effective ways of communicating an important message to people.
Austria has its own version of a film event and it’s called the Vienna International Film Festival also known as Viennale. Considered as the biggest of such film festivals in the country, this is normally held in the last week of October of each year.This 2010, the event will run until November 3.
During this time, cinemas and arts spaces show various types of films created by independent movie producers. These include the new releases from around the globe as well as national and international premieres. Also being shown during this festival are documentaries, short and feature films, animation and experimental films.
The Viennale Filmfest began in 1960 in the Austrian capital of Vienna when it was founded by a group of film critics. Among the traditional cinemas that participate in this yearly event are Urania, Metro-Kino, Gartenbaukino, Filmmuseum and Stadtkino. Additionally, this same festival has premiered numerous hit movies such as Les quatre cents coup, the first film of Truffaut and The Hidden Fortress of Kurosawa.
Attracting some 90,000 movie fans every year, this event is one of the few targeted at the general public. In cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum, various activities are being organized each year in the capital city of Vienna. These include galas, celebrations, discussions and meetings involving local and international guests.
A film festival will also not be complete without the organizing body giving out special awards. For the Viennale event, international film critics award the Fipresci Prize while readers of Der Standard, an Austrian newspaper, also award another prize to a deserving film.
Viennale is an independent film festival and does not compete with similar events in other parts of the world such as those held in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, London and Rotterdam. Festival director Hans Hurch considers this an ideal film festival as it focuses solely on cinema, its history as well as on the originality, form and richness of film.
