A lovely little film festival: dotdotdot offers a warm dose of entertainment to while away sultry summer evenings in Vienna…
- Short films with related talks
- Films typically in the original English (or with English subtitles)
- Special showings for those with hearing difficulties
- 2026 dates: Jul/Aug
- …previous editions had films Sun-Weds
- Book a concert experience* for your trip
- See also:
Open-air festival of short film
(Press photo by Tobias Raschbacher © dotdotdot)
With so many film festivals, it helps to have a few selling points to stand out from the competition. And the dotdotdot festival has several.
- It’s traditionally open-air, which makes for relaxing evenings enjoying the atmosphere after the summer sun has dipped below the horizon
Festivals take place in the garden of Vienna’s Volkskundemuseum (the Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art) in the baroque Schönborn Garden Palace.
This provides a suitably elegant backdrop to proceedings, even if the palais has (like me, sadly) seen better days. As it’s now undergoing renovation (unlike me, sadly), dotdotdot returns there in 2026.
- It’s a truly inclusive event, by which I mean wheelchair accessible, equipped with assistive listening technology with special showings for deaf and hearing-impaired visitors, and similar
- It’s dedicated to short films, so you can enjoy the kind of features, documentaries, and animations you won’t normally find playing alongside the latest Marvel or Disney epic
Expect many of the films to be in the original English or with English subtitles.
Once available, find the full film programme and festival details at the official website.
Dates, tickets & tips
The next edition of dotdotdot is set for July and August 2026. The previous event had showings on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays only.
The admission fee at the ticket counter for film nights is normally at your discretion. In other words, you decide how much to pay from the choices available. If you really can’t afford a ticket, you pay nothing.
How to get to dotdotdot
The Volkskundemuseum lives in one of Vienna’s finer semi-Bohemian districts (Josefstadt), a little behind the town hall and Rathausplatz that dominate the western edge of the city centre.
You’re not far from a tidbit of musical history, here. Both Haydn and Bruckner performed at the Piaristenkirche church. Bruckner even took his compositional music exam there. He passed, you won’t be surprised to learn.
Subway: the closest station is Rathaus on the U2 line, but you could catch the U6 to Alser Straße, then jump on the 43 tram toward the centre for a couple of stops.
Tram/bus: take the 5 or 12 tram to Laudongasse. If coming from the centre, take the 43 or 44 tram from Schottentor and get off at Lange Gasse. The 13A bus also stops at Laudongasse.
Address: Laudongasse 15-19, 1080 Vienna