When in Vienna, do as the Parisians do…a task made considerably easier by the Festival du Film Francophone, which brings the best of French-language cinema to the city.
- Annual festival at the Votiv Kino international cinema
- Also showings at the De France Kino
- Films in French typically with German or English subtitles
- 2023 dates: TBA (was April 26 – May 5 in 2022)
- See also:
A French film festival
(The Votiv Kino cinema usually hosts showings)
Now approaching its 25th year, the Festival du Film Francophone typically features a heady mix of traditional movies, documentaries, animations and shorts.
The word Francophone in the festival title is no coincidence: the films come from a variety of countries, all of whom share French as a common language.
So while France inevitably dominates, you might also find something from the Ivory Coast or another African country, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Canada.
The event runs under the auspices of the Institut Français d’Autriche and normally takes place in the Votiv Kino (an international cinema that often shows English-language films without dubbing) and the De France (the Votiv Kino’s sister cinema).
The festival films are shown in French (of course), mostly with subtitles in either German or English.
A typical year features 25+ films, with a number of showings a day at the host cinemas; find the full programme and other details at the official website.
2023 tickets and dates
I don’t have dates for the 2023 edition at the time of writing; the 2022 edition ran from April 26th to May 5th.
You normally buy your tickets at the cinemas or the Votiv Kino website.
How to get to the cinemas
Both the Votiv Kino and De France are handily placed near one of the bigger transport hubs in the centre of Vienna.
Subway: Go to to Schottentor (on the U2 line) and walk up (or go one stop on a tram) to the Votiv Kino (opposite the Votivkirche church) or across to De France, which is a very short walk from the station.
Tram/bus: Take trams 37, 38, 40, 41 or 42 to Schwarzspanierstraße (for the Votiv Kino) or Schottentor (for De France). Bus 40A stops near the Votiv Kino at Berggasse, close to the Sigmund Freud Museum.
Address: Währinger Straße 12, 1090 Vienna