Austrian cinema has had a major impact throughout the world for most of the past century, thanks to directors like Fritz Lang, Joseph von Sternberg, Billy Wilder, and Otto Preminger, all of whom emigrated to the US and found great renown in Hollywood. And in more recent years a new generation of gifted narrative filmmakers has emerged, including Michael Haneke, Ulrich Seidl, Barbara Albert, and Jessica Hausner. Despite all this notice, however, one of the most extraordinary facets of Austrian cinema has gone relatively unnoticed: its rich tradition of avant-garde moving-image works, which has represented one of the key artistic forms in Austrian culture for more than fifty years.

Sixpack Film was established in 1990 to promote the distribution and dissemination of non-commercial Austrian films. Founded by Martin Arnold, Brigitta Burger-Utzer, Alexander Horwath, Lisl Ponger and Peter Tscherkassky. Their passionate support for truly independent filmmakers of all stripes sits at the core of what has fuelled the Viennese company and contributed to its continued existence.

Put together for screenings at the Cube and Close-Up in London, we’re delighted to present two programmes from the Sixpack archive curated by Gerald Weber. Gerald will be here to introduce the programmes and will be joined in discussion by academic and curator Kim Knowles.

Animals

It was the quest for knowledge that prompted Muybridge’s motion studies of animals and humans and led to the birth of chronophotography as one of the precursors of cinema.

Animals remained as protagonists in films even in their experimental manifestations: as alien beings, objects of study or simply as a mirror for man’s bestiality. This program presents different encounters with animals through Austrian experimental cinema.

Screening in this program:

everybody – Michaela Grill – 1 min (digital, DCP)

Postcards from Somova – Andreas Horvath – 19 min (beta SP, digital)

RaumZeitHund – Nikolaus Eckert – 6 min (35mm)

Ground Control – Siegfried Fruhauf – 2 min (digital)

KOI Tina Hochkogler – 8 min (digital)

T.R.I.O.P.S. – Angela Christlieb – 5 min (digital)

Last Lost – Even Heller – 14 min (16mm)

Unsere Afrikareise – Peter Kubelka – 13 min (16mm)

Empört Euch! – Friedl vom Gröller – 3 min (16mm, silent)

71 min