WELCOME TO THE 28TH EDITION OF FILM|NEU, WASHINGTON’S ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW FILMS FROM GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND SWITZERLAND!
This year in its 28th edition FILM|NEU, Washington’s annual festival of new films from Germany, Austria and Switzerland was brought to you virtually. The ACF Washington represented Austria with the films STROKE OF LUCK (Peter Payer) and WHY NOT YOU (Evi Romen).
When: Wednesday, November 18 – Sunday, November 22, 2020
Where: online | Vimeo
Ticket: Free admission, registration obligatory
STROKE OF LUCK
Directed by Peter Payer, screenplay based on the novel “Das Polykrates-Syndrom” by Antonio Fian
Austria, 2019
101 min, in German with English subtitles
Photo | (c) GLÜCK GEHABT Jan Frankl
Artur is a well-regarded tutor, runs a copy shop, and designs graphic novels as a hobby. His wife, an extremely ambitious teacher at a high school who wants to become the principal, has always understood and appreciated this. They have a good marriage. One day, one of Artur’s customers, Alice, leaves him a note. Then she does it again. His curiosity eventually gets the better of him and he starts looking for her. He finds Alice and is beaten up by a man who’s harassing her. A second meeting goes better at first. She doesn’t show up for the next date, and after he finds her, Alice’s unique way of dealing with baggage from previous relationships sucks him into an ill-fated affair.
Artur tries to hide it, but Alice overwhelms and fascinates him. Then he loses control over his life – or did he ever have it?
Alice and Artur’s wife meet in a disastrous finale, after which we all realize something: a dark secret is a direct and effective way of preventing troubled relationships.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
PETER PAYER | DIRECTOR
Photo | © Ruth Ehrmann
Peter Payer's career as a cinema director began with the film Girls Under Investigation (1999), an adaptation of Albert Drach's book. Ravioli (2003), which took up elements from Alfred Dorfer's play heim.at and the family film Villa Henriette (2004) based on the book of the same name by Christine Nöstlinger made Payer known to a broader cinema audience. His film Acquitted (2007) is a literary adaptation based on Ödön von Horvath's play The Youngest Day. The guilt drama won awards in the competition in Locarno. The political thriller At the End of the Day came to theaters in 2011 and was awarded the Prix du Public in Liege (Belgium).
Payer received numerous awards and nominations for his work and shot various TV formats for ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Company), MTV, BR, ZDF, ARD and others.
When: Friday, November 20 – Saturday, November 21, 2020
Where: online | Vimeo
Ticket: Free admission, registration obligatory
WHY NOT YOU
Directed by Evi Romen
Austria/Belgium, 2020
106 min, in German with English subtitles
Photo | © Flo Rainer
ABOUT THE MOVIE
MARIO just loves to dance but for someone like him to make a career of it is impossible. His friend Lenz who comes from the same village can look full of hope into a bright future as an actor – he is the son of an urban vintner while Mario lives with his mother above the village butcher’s shop, fights his addiction to drugs and, after breaking off an apprenticeship, keeps his head above the water with odd jobs.
During a stay in Rome where Lenz is about to embark on a scholarship for talented students, they become victims of a terrorist attack. Lenz dies. Mario survives uninjured. Reactions in the village after his return alone send Mario into a spin. He finds no support in the village structure, the Catholic church can provide no succor and it seems everyone including Lenz‘s parents, thinks that the wrong one has been taken.
On one of his wanderings through the city down in the valley Mario meets Nadim, who distributes Korans in the pedestrian zone. Unexpectedly Mario finds support with Nadim and his brothers, and receives help in overcoming his addiction. Mario’s transformation into a Muslim is an affront to the whole village. But besides all sorrows, his heart beats for dancing.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Photo | © Evi Romen
Evi Romen, born 1967 in Bolzano, South Tyrol, is an Austrian film editor, screenwriter and director. She studied camera and editing at the Vienna Film Academy and has worked as an editor for numerous Austrian feature films since the early 1990s. In 2011 she was awarded the Diagonale-Prize for best editing for the feature film MEIN BESTER FEIND. As a screenwriter she writes for An Honorable Woman (Eine Ehrbahre Frau), 1999, and, together with David Schalko, for the TV series M – A Town looking for a Murderer (M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder, 2019. The screenplay for Why Not You is awarded the Carl Mayer Screenplay Prize. WHY NOT YOU is her first feature as a director.
When: Saturday, November 21 – Sunday, November 22, 2020
Where: online | Vimeo
Ticket: Free admission, registration obligatory
