19th ETHNOCINECA
International Documentary Film Festival Vienna 2025
Thursday 8 to Wednesday 14 of May 2025
Welcome to the nineteenth edition of the ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival Vienna! From 8 to 14 May 2025, the halls of the Votiv Kino and the Kino De France will once again turn into the centre of documentary film art and ethnographic filmmaking.
53 feature-length and short films as well as an extensive side program with a keynote, a masterclass, a panel discussion, a film talk, and numerous film discussions invite you to take an in-depth look at the political, cultural and social dimensions of documentary cinema. We encounter documentary film as an art form that reveals new perspectives on socio-political issues and individual realities of life, reflects on them, scrutinises them and relates them to one another.
For this year’s festival focus HAUNTINGS, we have invited Jacqueline Nsiah, Djamila Grandits and Lara Bellon to curate focus programmes and look forward to new experiences in the encounter between performance, music and film in their programmes and contributions.
The films that are nominated for an award offer a multifaceted cutting edge international and Austrian documentary cinema. The prizes in the five award categories will be handed out in the festive setting of the award ceremony on the final day of the festival, during which you will also enjoy the screening of the winners of the two short film awards.
We would like to thank all filmmakers and jurors, all sponsors and partners and the entire team of this year’s festival edition. We wish you a stimulating and moving film experience and hope you will enjoy immersing yourself in the cinematic world of images!
Marie-Christine Hartig, Martin Lintner
OPENING FILM 2025
HOME GAME
Lidija Zelovic | Netherlands 2024 | 98 Min.
The home videos of the Zelovic family make tangible the effects of the war in Yugoslavia and how the disintegration of society impacted everyday life. To this day, Lidija Zelovic uses her camera to document the family’s experiences as war refugees in the Netherlands and her son’s upbringing in his new homeland. The rising tide of right-wing populism and racist tensions once again lead to a division in society and deprive her and her family of a sense of belonging.
The family portrait HOME GAME reveals how the mistakes of history are repeating themselves and challenges us to think through the meaning of home in times of increasing division. With striking clarity, Zelovic makes a plea for cohesion in a fragmented world.
PROGRAM RELEASE 2025
The program of the nineteenth ethnocineca – International Documentary Film Festival Vienna will be published on April 24, 2025.
FESTIVALSUJET 2025: Yi-Shan Lo, After the Snowmelt 2024
