| Forum |

Panel discussions, the Diagonale Film Meeting and the award ceremonies for the Franz Grabner Prize, the Carl Mayer Screenplay Prize and the Thomas Pluch Screenplay Prize take place in the event series Forum at Heimatsaal in the Volkskundemuseum at Paulustor. The adjoining terrace and garden invite you to get into conversation before or after the events, make contacts or simply take a break from the hustle and bustle of the festival.

© Ijob Brandstätter

Diagonale Film Meeting
Heimatsaal im Volkskundemuseum, free admission

Friday, March 28
9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In recent years, the Diagonale Film Meeting, the festival’s industry get-together, has invited people to exchange views on set topics. Since 2022, the Film Meeting has formally changed: It is not the festival that sets the topics, but the topics of the industry that determine the Film Meeting. On two days – an Updates Day and a (non-public) Think Tanks & Connecting Day – information and discussions will be held on processes and measures that can change the industry.

With kind support of: FISAplus – Filmstandort Austria | FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA | Fachverband der Film- und Musikwirtschaft
Thanks to: Creative Europe Desk Austria – MEDIA | Canon

The Diagonale Film Meeting is certified as a Green Event according to the criteria of the Austrian Ecolabel.

Presentation of the Franz Grabner Prize

Saturday, March 29
11.30 a.m.

For the Best Cinema Documentary Film and the Best Television Documentary Film, endowed with € 5,000 each, sponsored by AAFP and ORF. Initiated and organised by the Grabner family, AAFP, Film Austria, ORF and Diagonale. With the support of the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport, the Austrian Television Fund and the Film Commission Graz.

Jury: Solmaz Khorsand (Journalist, Author, AT), Catherine Le Goff (ARTE, FR), Claudia Müller (Director, DE)

FC Gloria Salon: Now more than ever! Between utopia and autocracy

Saturday, March 29
2 p.m.

About the political dimension of filmmaking, about aesthetic and political actions – and their connection to social reality. On the occasion of its 15th anniversary, FC Gloria invites Marie Luise Lehner (Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst) and other guests from the fields of film, politics and journalism to a panel discussion on feminist filmmaking in times of restriction. The fight against women*, female and queer figures of thought and spaces of possibility not only comes from autocrats, but also from democratic and libertarian movements themselves. How do we react to this? In a time of political and social resistance, do we retreat into the private sphere – or do we actively engage with the present?

A panel discussion on economic censorship, resistance, resilience, empathy and the opportunity for transformation through cohesion.

Panel – The different strategies of European co-production from the perspective of Greece and Austria

Saturday, March 29
4 p.m.

What strategies are there in the European context for transnational film productions? What distinguishes a Greek co-production from an Austrian one? What are the different conditions in the respective countries, and why does international cooperation make sense at all? Based on the Greek-Austrian co-production Animal, the works of Athina Rachel Tsangari and the Austrian (co-)production company Panama Film, the differences and similarities of European co-productions in the field of auteur cinema will be examined.

Three perspectives on European cooperation. With David Bohun / Lixi Frank (producer Panama Film), Maria Drandaki (producer of Animal), Athina Rachel Tsangari (producer Haos Films, director)

In English language
In cooperation with the Greek Embassy in Vienna

Let’s talk about scripts!
Diagonale Special with Alexandra Makarová on Perla

Sunday, April 7
11 a.m.

After fleeing the totalitarian neighboring country, Perla has fought for a life as an artist and single mother in Vienna in the 1980s when the shadows of the past catch up with her. Once again, she not only has to cross the border into Czechoslovakia, but also question her own life and loyalties. Let’s talk about scripts! invites screenwriter and director Alexandra Makarová to talk about the script, which was developed as part of the “If she can see it, she can be it” screenplay competition and won the main prize in 2020.

Moderation: Mirjam Unger

In cooperation with the Drehbuchforum Wien.

Magazine presentation: YES & NO Kino+Film Austria Opus Two

Sunday, March 30
1 p.m.

In November 2024, the London-based magazine YES & NO published the 13th issue of the magazine with the special edition Kino+Film Austria – highlighting over 100 years of Austrian film & cinema history. Cassius Matthias, editor of the quarterly publication, presents the second special volume specifically on Austrian film.

In motion: a live film performance by Stefanie Weberhofer

Sunday, March 30
6 p.m.

In a unique live film performance, filmmaker and media artist Stefanie Weberhofer transforms her Super8 films into living, experimental art. In recent years, she has captured images and encounters at locations around the Dachstein. Weberhofer uses the analogue film material in a creative way to address the effects of man-made climate change: Photographs are duplicated, exposed for a long time and condensed, negative and positive enter into an interplay, and film emulsions develop a life of their own. A performance that focuses on the fragility of nature and the medium.

Presentation of the Carl Mayer Screenplay Awards and the Thomas Pluch Screenplay Awards

Monday, March 31
11 a.m.

CARL MAYER SCREENPLAY AWARDS
For an anonymously submitted fictional or documentary treatment suitable for cinema. Endowment: € 15,000 (main prize) and € 7,500 (sponsorship prize), sponsored by: City of Graz Department of Culture.

Jury: Sebastian Höglinger (jury chairman, AT), Vivian Bausch (filmmaker, AT), Felix von Boehm (producer, DE), Fabian Rausch (filmmaker, AT), Françoise von Roy (dramaturge, DE)

THOMAS PLUCH SCREENPLAY AWARDS
The main prize, endowed with € 12,000, for the best screenplay for a feature-length cinema or television film. Furthermore, the special jury prize for the best screenplay of a feature-length cinema or television film with particularly outstanding aspects, endowed with € 7,000, as well as the prize for the best screenplay for short or medium-length cinema feature films, endowed with € 3,000. Sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. In co-operation with the DrehbuchVERBAND Austria.

Jury Austria: Sandra Bohle (screenwriter & dramaturge), Achmed Abdel-Salam (screenwriter & director), Marie-Therese Thill (screenwriter & journalist)

Jury international: Hans-Christian Schmid (screenwriter & director, DE), Anita Wasser (producer, CH), Hanna Bringmann Slak (screenwriter & director, DE/SI)