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
- Films shown in French with German or English subtitles
- 2021 dates: TBA (normally spring but was Sept/Oct in 2020)
- See also: English-language cinemas | Film festivals
A French film festival
Now approaching its 23rd 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 takes place in the Votiv Kino, an international cinema that often shows English-language films without dubbing. The festival films are shown in French (of course), mostly with subtitles in either German or English.
A typical year features 20+ films, normally with two showings a day at the host cinema; find the full programme and other details at the official website.
2021 tickets and dates
I don’t have dates yet for the 2021 Festival du Film Francophone. Soon as I hear something, I’ll post up details. The festival normally starts sometime around the end of March, but was postponed to late September and early October in 2020.
You simply buy your tickets from the Votiv Kino cinema.
How to get to the Votiv Kino
The cinema is handily placed near one of the bigger transport hubs in the centre of Vienna and opposite the Votivkirche church.
Subway: Take the U2 to Schottentor and walk up (or go one stop on a tram)
Tram/bus: Take trams 37, 38, 40, 41 or 42 to Schwarzspanierstraße, which is the stop outside the Votiv Kino. All these trams leave from Schottentor station. Bus 40A stops nearby at Berggasse, close to the Sigmund Freud Museum.
Address: Währinger Straße 12, 1090 Vienna