First Highlights & New Location | SLASH Filmfestival 2020

The eleventh edition of Vienna’s SLASH film festival runs from September 17 through 27, 2020. With a slate of about 40 films, SLASH has braved the year’s exceptional circumstances to once again bring the full visual power of Fantastic Cinema to Austrian movie screens: from horror to science fiction, from award-winning productions to demented splatter-fests, from eagerly anticipated genre offerings to celebrated classics.

More Screenings, More Locations

SLASH sees itself not only as a movie event but also as a community happening that centers on encounters between the audience and filmmakers as well as the common cinematic experience. Thankfully, SLASH 2020 can take place in the analog realm in its entirety, of course in strict compliance with the current Covid-19 security regulations. At present, this means fewer seats per screening. To balance out the restricted seating arrangement, almost every hand-selected film in the program will be screened twice. This is made possible by the fourth venue we have added: Along with our tried and tested locations—Gartenbaukino for the opening night, Filmcasino, and METRO Kinokulturhaus—we will be screening some films at schikaneder Kino for the first time this year.

First Highlights: Female Filmmakers & Fantastic Animation

Fantastic Cinema has long been blessed with many incredible female voices—as evidenced by last year’s festival’s historical focus, “Female Terror.” SLASH is particularly pleased to present several fantastic recent works by female filmmakers this year, including THE RETURNED (AR 2019) by the Argentinian director Laura Casabé and two films that will be shown in cooperation with the CROSSING EUROPE film festival: Katrin Gebbe’s PELICAN BLOOD (DE/BG 2019) and Rose Glass’s SAINT MAUD (UK 2019).

: The Returned

: Saint Maud

: Pelikanblut

This year once again gives audiences a chance to delve into the world of Fantastic Animation, one highlight being THE OLD MAN MOVIE (EE 2019, Directors: Oskar Lehemaa, Mikk Mägi). Also featured is SON OF THE WHITE MARE (HU 1981, Director: Marcell Jankovics), a surrealist animation classic whose fan following’s enthusiasm borders on religious veneration.