Once again, the Crossing Europe Film Festival in Linz is poised to offer a deep dive into an array of European filmmaking from across the continent. Taking place from 29 April-4 May under the banner "Don't Give up on Europe", it invites its audience to experience the “unconventional, socially critical and artistically ambitious perspectives of the young generation of filmmakers from Europe”, in the words of festival co-directors Sabine Gebetsroither and Katharina Riedler.

Opening the gathering on 29 April are Ina Weiss's caregiving drama Cicadas, starring Nina Hoss, the spy-thriller Reflection in a Dead Diamond by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, My Dear Théo by Ukrainian filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko and Luce, the latest feature by Italian duo Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino, to whom this year’s tribute, comprising six films about the struggle of the working class, is dedicated.

A hot topic at this edition is still the war in Ukraine, and several films are dedicated to the issue. Besides My Dear Théo, there are the features Under the Volcano by Damian Kocur, Queens of Joy by Olga Gibelinda and U Are the Universe by Pavlo Ostrikov. Going hand in hand with this are the thematic focus points “Upheavals in the East”, “Escape” and “Racism/Xenophobia/Right-wing Radicalism/Fascism”, with one of the highlights being Fiume o Morte! by Igor Bezinovic, which is about a real-life fascism experiment in Rijeka.

The programme also includes three world premieres. In the documentary A Life in Color, director Axel Stasny accompanies 92-year-old former interior designer Eleanor in New York, as she savours her life, buzzing with energy. Carola Mair's Hellwach – Hommage to Bodo Hell offers a portrait of the writer of the same name, who has been missing since 2024. In Throw Your Heart into the Sea, Eric Schirl and Christian Kogler talk to people in different countries and focus on obsessive-compulsive disorders as a coping mechanism.

Furthermore, audiences can get an early glimpse of films that will be released in Austrian cinemas imminently, amongst them the Icelandic drama When the Light Breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson and Emilie Blichfeldt's feature debut, The Ugly Stepsister.

Another local focus this year is on the work of Edgar Honetschläger. The visual artist and filmmaker, whose core theme is the relationship between human civilisation and the environment, is showing four so-called “filmic positions”. Meanwhile, the European Panorama special is putting its focus on a neighbour of Austria’s: namely, Slovenian experimental film.

Crossing Europe is also particularly proud of its diversity and equality statistics this year, with around 47% female filmmakers, 36% male directors, 1% diverse filmmakers and 14% female/male/diverse mixed co-directors showcasing their work.