The Austrian Film Academy at a glance
The Austrian Film Academy was founded in 2009 and has currently over 600 members. Presidents are actress Verena Altenberger and director and producer Arash T. Riahi. The board consists of 16 film-makers of the different professional groups and the members can be found on the website. Katharina Albrecht is Managing Director.
The Academy sees itself as a platform for film makers by film makers that makes it possible to communicate and implement the concerns of film makers in a publicly effective way and on a broad common basis.
Moreover, the academy aims to raise public awareness of Austrian film and strengthen the cohesion of the film industry itself. Membership is open to any filmmaker who has worked on two full-length feature films or documentaries – which have been launched in Austria with at least three feature film or one documentary release prints and meet the requirements for being granted an Austrian certificate of origin – and has received a corresponding mention in the opening or closing credits of the respective films.
The Austrian Film Award, which was created by the Academy is awarded annually and showcases the achievements of the Austrian film industry. The Award Sculpture was designed by the famous Austrian artist VALIE EXPORT.
The 14th Austrian Film Award will be awarded in eighteen categories in the townhall of Vienna on the 5th of June 2024. Around 1000 invited guest attend the ceremony which will also be streamed live by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).
The Academy also runs a large number of projects dedicated to Austrian and European filmmaking and film education during the year. These projects include the EFA Young Audience Award - a cooperation with the European Film Academy in which young adults vote for the best European youth film of the year, discussion panels with high-profile guests from the film industry, the Austrian Short Film Series in which Austrian short films are sent out into the world in cooperation with the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, Les Nuits en Or - an international short film marathon that brings award-winning short films to Vienna in cooperation with the French Académie des Césars, Freies Kino where the nominated Austrian short films of a year are shown in the presence of the filmmakers, Academy Talks where social and film policy issues are discussed with guests from the industry.
Futhermore the Austria Film Academy is part of the FAN of Europe Network which holds monthly online meetings for a strong exchange within the European film academies.
The Academy also focuses on sustainability at events and in its office operations.
The team of the Austrian Film Academy consists of Katharina Albrecht (Managing Director), Alexandra Valent (project management Austrian Film Award), Clara Thayer (office management, memberships), Kathrin Puscasiu (office management, project coordination), Antonia Prochaska (film education, sustainability), Oliver Stangl (social media, texts, support for sponsors) and Jonas Schwaiger (production manager Trailer.AT).
