Fantastic Cinema from Austria

Aside from international productions, SLASH will also celebrate Austrian Fantastic Cinema with several highlights: Gracing the big screen will be 2551.01—a “dystopian slapstick movie,” as director Norbert Pfaffenbichler, the Austrian master of silent-movie revamps, calls Part One of his 2551 trilogy.

Two workshop talks will provide unique insight into the creative process of domestic moviemaking: director Magdalena Lauritsch, producer Loredana Rehekampff, art director Johannes Mücke, and visual effects supervisor Franz Brandstätter will give a sneak peek at their sci-fi drama RUBIKON. And writer/director Peter Hengl and producer Lola Basara Hengl will offer a taste of their psychological horror film FAMILY DINNER. Both productions are to hit theaters in 2022.

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2551.01
Director: Norbert Pfaffenbichler | AT 2021 | 65 mins

Strobe lights flashing, thrash metal rumbling, a kid with a bag on its head scurrying into the underground with a man wearing an ape mask: A parallel society, a precarious community of monsters, has established itself under the cover of darkness. Norbert Pfaffenbichler is the domestic master of the silent-movie revamp. Part 1 of his 2551 trilogy is aptly titled “The Kid,” a nod to Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 film of the same name, whose lumpenproletariat milieu Pfaffenbichler yanks into the fantastical realm. What has remained is the unconditional solidarity with all things repressed and stowed away. Freaks of the world, unite! A labor of love.

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Workshop talk: RUBIKON (Release date 2022)
with director Magdalena Lauritsch, producer Loredana Rehekampff, art director Johannes Mücke, and visual effects supervisor Franz Brandstätter

From the Haven Space Station, Hannah Wagner, a young company soldier discovers a mysterious brown fog enveloping the Earth, cutting comms with Mother Earth. What just happened? All her instruments indicate that this fog not only interfered with their communication systems but is also highly toxic and lethal, meaning everyone on Earth is potentially dead. Hannah struggles to believe this, as it would mean that her sister, down on Earth, would be dead. With this new possible reality, Hannah and the rest of the crew fight with each other about whether they should go back to Earth to save potential survivors or save their own skin and remain put. (Text: Graf Film)

RUBIKON ist eine Produktion von Samsara Filmproduktion und Graf Filmproduktion, hergestellt mit Unterstützung des Österreichischen Filminstituts (ÖFI), des Filmfonds Wien (FFW), des ORF Film/Fernsehabkommens, der FISA (Filmstandort Austria) sowie von der CFC/Land Kärnten.

 

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Workshop Talk: FAMILY DINNER (Status: Post production)
with writer/director Peter Hengl and producer Lola Basara Hengl

Overweight teenager Simi spends the Easter holidays on the farm of her aunt Claudia and her family. Simi wants her aunt, a professional nutrition coach, to help her lose weight, but has to realize more and more that things are not right on the farm. Who can Simi actually trust on this farm? (Text: Capra Film)

Behind the Scenes – FAMILY DINNER