Diagonale’20 cancelled by official decree

Dear ladies and gentlemen!
Dear friends of the Diagonale!

In accordance with the decree regarding preventive measures against Covid-19 published on March 11th on the website of the Federal Ministry, the Diagonale’20 is forced to cancel this year’s Festival of Austrian Film (March 24 to 29, 2020).

Due to the increased travel required of national and international guests as well as a great overlap within individual parts of the program, including those with less than 100 visitors, no other alternative presents itself than to cancel the event. In addition, legal agreements, temporary contracts, as well as finance and personnel resources prohibit the festival’s postponement to a later date.

The Diagonale team will contact you in the coming days and weeks with further information concerning the processing of the cancellation of the Diagonale’20.

Individual events, such as the concert at the Musikverein für Steiermark, will take place at a later date. Tickets already purchased for this event will retain their validity. Detailed information will be announced on the Diagonale website.    

We apologize whole-heartedly for any inconvenience!

The Diagonale Team

“It is with great sorrow that due to current legal regulations we are forced to cancel the Diagonale’20. We have been working on the program and realization until now – and were looking forward to another edition of the festival in Graz. The cancellation is a painful one for us, personally, but we regret this measure, which was not taken lightly, primarily for all of the filmmakers, cinemagoers, partners, and companions. Last but not least, considering the danger to the health of our staff and guests, even a reduced version of the festival in keeping with the issued directives and in consultation with the officials, is unfortunately not realizable. We wish that all remain healthy, and hope for a speedy resolution of the situation! For all cultural event organizers, we wish the greatest possible damage control, and from the part of the responsible political decision makers, we hope for responsible action.”

— Peter Schernhuber and Sebastian Höglinger, Festival directors