The Viennale is no stranger to conflict – and that includes showcasing it in this year’s film selection. Taking place from 16-28 October, the 63rd edition is offering a glimpse at the struggles the world is currently facing. In light of the situation in Israel and Gaza, festival director Eva Sangiorgi expressed her team’s “solidarity with the victims and their families”, while also speaking out against the war. Indeed, the ongoing conflict has ingrained itself quite prominently in the programme. There is Avi Mograbi's The First 54 Years. An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Avi Mograbi
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intervista: Kamal Aljafari
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intervista: Kaouther Ben Hania
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A new face in the mix of the Viennale is German director Christian Petzold. Six years after the death of Austrian-US producer Eric Pleskow, he is taking on the mantle of serving as president of the festival. And that’s reason enough to open proceedings with his newest outing, Mirrors No. 3 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Christian Petzold
scheda film]. The closing slot is reserved for a recurring guest, South Korea’s Hong Sang-soo and his film What Does Nature Say to You.

As for Austrian films, there is much to look forward to. Johanna Moder's Berlinale flick Mother's Baby [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Johanna Moder
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intervista: Elsa Kremser e Levin Peter
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intervista: Gastón Solnicki
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Women, first-timers as well as established directors, are also having a moment this year. Mascha Schilinski will present her Cannes-screened Sound of Falling [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. Another debut, on the male side, is Harris Dickinson’s much-lauded Urchin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Harris Dickinson
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intervista: Joachim Trier
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intervista: Jim Jarmusch
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intervista: Radu Jude
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As usual, in cooperation with partners Filmmuseum and Filmarchiv Austria, the Viennale is offering retrospectives and monographs. One of the latter is dedicated to Italian directorial duo Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, and their essay films. Another is devoted to the Netherlands’ Digna Sinke, who infuses her movies with social and environmental themes. The third monograph is reserved for Angela Summereder, who breaks down the boundaries between documentary, essay and fiction. The so-called “kinematographies” are dedicated to Hungarian underground and counter-culture filmmaker János Xantus, Mexican multimedia artist Carlos Amorales, and a selection of films shot in Gasparcolor, the predecessor of Technicolor. Lastly, French filmmaker Jean Epstein will be at the centre of an in-depth retrospective.