The Austrian Film Festival, Diagonale, opened Wednesday evening at the Helmut List Hall in Graz with the presentation of the Grand Diagonale Acting Award to Hilde Dalik, alongside the Austrian premiere of Markus Schleinzer’s “Rose.” The festival’s co-directors, Claudia Slanar and Dominik Kamalzadeh, used their opening remarks to advocate for spaces free from the pressure of immediate reactions, like “likes,” and against disruptions caused by superficial noise.
A Call for Thoughtful Engagement
“One of the great challenges of our time is knowing how to get attention without immediately reaching for the megaphone,” the directors began, delivering a characteristically pointed statement. They referenced U.S. Writer George Saunders’ 2007 story, “The Braindead Megaphone” – described as “unfortunately, but not inaccurately translated as the megaphone of idiots” – which illustrates how volume and brazenness can dominate a discussion. The story depicts an unintelligent party guest with a megaphone overwhelming a previously balanced conversation, eventually forcing everyone else to focus solely on him. The directors emphasized that the problem isn’t just the megaphone itself, but how we respond to it, noting that possessing the megaphone provides a structural advantage, even when nothing but nonsense is being said.
Indirectly Affected by the Iran Conflict
“We are sure you have already noticed some parallels to our present day – feel free to add politicians’ names as you wish,” the festival leaders said, pointing to multiple global crises, including the war in Iran. They expressed concern that the crucial goal of liberating a country from a determined dictatorship was being overshadowed. “The Diagonale is also indirectly affected: our jury member Faraz Fesharaki is currently unable to travel out of Iran, as is Massoud Bakhshi (“All my Sisters”), who is represented as a director in the competition. Our thoughts are with them, and we sincerely hope they are well.”
The directors asked what a festival could offer in response: a space where attention isn’t dictated by volume, where deliberation doesn’t force an immediate reaction. They argued that the images, not the megaphone, should be decisive. A festival, they said, should not be an arena for “likes,” but an open space for encounters, debate, and even uncertainty – a productive uncertainty that sparks curiosity, raises questions, and encourages friction. “A festival is a space that – it’s safe to say in times of declining cultural budgets and the dynamics of outrage like those surrounding the Berlinale – is no longer a given. A film culture that thrives on diversity. Cutting funding ultimately cuts diversity.”
“Don’t Simply Abolish ORF Funding”
They called for the development of alternative funding models and for streaming platforms to contribute more to the financing of national film cultures. They stressed the importance of not only creating films, but also ensuring they have venues to be seen – cinemas, film festivals. “As an essential addition to the future cultural diversity of Styria, we would like to add that the ORF funding, which flows into cultural budgets, must not simply be abolished,” the duo stated, addressing the numerous federal and state politicians in the audience. “For the duration of a film, we can do something that is remarkably rare in everyday life: we can set aside our opinions and surrender to the imagination of others.”
The Diagonale will showcase 149 productions across several sections and special events through Monday, March 23. The festival is more than just a program, the directors noted, it’s a gathering of bodies – bodies that are also subject to control and exploitation, not only through patriarchal structures but also through capitalist logic, echoing the work of theorist Silvia Federici, who argues that a body is not merely an object of control, but also a site of resistance. This led into a discussion of the opening film: the body of the main character (Sandra Hüller) in “Rose” by Markus Schleinzer is full of ambiguities. “Rose” is a film about a woman who allows herself to become someone else. Truth and role, protection and self-assertion, deception and emancipation coexist without immediate resolution.
“Allow Yourself to Be Irritated and Touched”
“To act as if one is already free” – that’s how anthropologist David Graeber describes a revolutionary gesture, the directors explained. Not as a victim of circumstances, but as an attempt to subvert those circumstances on a small scale. They wished everyone “a Diagonale 26 with many discoveries – on the screen and beyond, through careful observation, attentive listening, in images and sounds that irritate you and touch you.”
Before the Grand Diagonale Acting Award, designed by Anita Leisz, was presented, the film festival made a statement in support of maintaining the ORF regional cultural funding through a spot on the screen: “Cultural Land Styria. Don’t break our green heart.” Director Alexandra Makarová then delivered a “eulogy to the incomparable Hilde Dalik,” who never seeks the spotlight, but instead uses it to illuminate others. “Hilde has fire, energy, love, anger, courage. She dances like Ginger Rogers and always lends her voice to the right side,” Makarová said.
“What Was My Achievement?”
The award recipient, Hilde Dalik, admitted that the Diagonale was already her favorite festival, “not just since today.” “When Dominik Kamalzadeh called me, the first Austrian philosopher that came to mind asked, ‘what was my achievement?’” Dalik then described the challenges actresses face, recalling that her first TV role required her to wear lingerie while visiting clients – “that was the condition for the role.” She noted that Austrian film is currently thriving, with numerous films at the Berlinale, “but unfortunately, we are now running out of money.” The solution, she argued, isn’t complicated: a fair contribution in the form of a streaming levy. If the ORF regional funding is indeed abolished in 2027, “we can actually say goodbye to a large part of our art, which shines far beyond the country. If we don’t have that, what was our achievement?”
In the audience were Andreas Babler, SPÖ Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for cultural affairs, for the second time this year, as well as ÖVP Cultural Councillor Karlheinz Kornhäusl, KPÖ Mayor Elke Kahr, and former Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Culture Werner Kogler (Greens), along with former Styrian ÖVP Governors Waltraud Klasnic, Hermann Schützenhöfer, and Christopher Drexler.
(S E R V I C E – Filmfestival Diagonale from March 18 to 23, information and tickets at www.diagonale.at)
(Source: APA)
