Grief and shine: Austrian film award defies Graz attack!

Grief and shine: Austrian film award defies Graz attack!

Wien, Österreich - The Gala for the 15th Austrian Film Award took place on June 12, 2025 in the Vienna HQ7 film studios. Despite the latest tragedy, Graz's assassination attempt, the organizers decided to hold the event. The ceremony was opened for the victims with a fun minute. Co-President of the Film Academy, Arash T. Riahi, expressed that the events have met all the people present. Co-presenter Stefanie Reinsperger emphasized the importance of getting together in difficult times.

director of the gala, Thomas W. Kiennast, also spoke about the community and the power of cinema. The traditional after -show party was canceled in view of the circumstances.

nominations and award winners

The nominations for the price were announced on April 10, 2025 during a press conference of the Academy of Austrian Film. A total of 24 feature films, 26 documentaries and 19 short films were submitted. Anja Salomonowitz 'Biopic "Sleep with a Tiger" over Maria Lassnig leads with nine nominations. Other noteworthy films are "moon" by Kurdwin Ayub with eight nominations and "Andrea can be divorced" by Josef Hader with seven entries.

The winners are determined by around 650 members of the Academy of Austrian Film. The announcement of the prize for the best film, which is expected around 9:30 p.m., is particularly exciting. The trophy for the most public film goes to "80 Plus" by Sabine Hiebler and Gerhard Ertl.

awards in detail

This year's nominations are characterized by a variety of categories, including:

• Best film: "Andrea can be divorced", "Sleep with a tiger", "Moon", "The Village Next to Paradise"
• Best documentary: "Dear Beautiful Beloved", "Dreaming Dogs", "Favorites", "Henry Fonda for President"
• Best short film: "Lacrimosa", "Land of the Mountains", "Skrff", "Strangers Like Us"
• best leading actress: Marie-Luise Stockinger for "Gina", Birgit Minichmayr for "Sleep with a tiger", Florentina Holzinger for "Moon"
• Best main actor: Josef Hader for "Andrea can be divorced", Roland Silbernagl for "Elfi", Albrecht Schuch for "Peacock"

The awarding of the prices in a total of 18 categories shows the diversity and quality of Austrian filmmaking. The academy of Austrian film thus recognizes outstanding services in several areas.

Austria has a rich film tradition and over 30 film festivals that present national and international productions. The Viennale, the largest and oldest film festival, and the diagonal, focused on domestic productions, are just a few examples of the living film scene in the country. These festivals play a crucial role in promoting Austrian cinema and awarding prices such as the Austrian Film Award.

For more information on the nominations and award winners, the complete lists on the websites of Vienna and cinema Austriaco. The extensive topic of filmmaking in Austria is also discussed in [Wikipedia] (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/filmfestival_in_%C3%96 austria)