As the name suggests, the Vienna Shorts Festival celebrates short-form movies. Short in length, perhaps, but long in impact: VIS ranks as a major international film festival.
- Dozens of films across multiple genres
- Screenings plus other events (panels, workshops, etc.)
- Prestigious international and national film awards
- Films typically have English subtitles or no dialogue
- 2025 dates: May 27 – Jun 1
- See also:
- Film festivals
- DotDotDot film festival (also focuses on short-form movies)
- English cinemas
- Vienna in May & June
The art of short films
(Opening of the 2024 festival in the Gartenbau cinema; press photo © Vienna Shorts, Peter Griesser)
The Vienna Shorts Festival promotes, presents and debates the short-form version of film making, with a huge lineup of Austrian and international films. (Though a tiny cheeky part of me wishes this was a Lederhosen retrospective.)
In doing so, the festival approaches short film in the widest possible context: as a sociocultural and artistic medium as much as a means of information or entertainment.
You’ll find films collected into themed slots showing several productions one after another, with individual film lengths of between a few minutes and just under half an hour. Language should not be an issue, given English subtitles (or no dialogue).
Vienna Shorts offers way more than just a series of screenings, though, since it also covers various film prizes, panel discussions, industry events, and similar.
(An open-air screening at the MuseumsQuartier; press photo © Vienna Shorts, Hanna Pribitzer)
The numerous competitions invariably count among the highlights, with significant prize money and, in some cases, qualification for other award submissions like the Academy Awards®, the European Film Awards, and the BAFTAs.
In 2024, for example, these competitions included:
- The FIDO Fiction & Documentary and AA Animation Avantgarde international awards
- The Austrian Short Film Award and Austrian Video Music Award
For the full programme (including the languages used in dialogue or subtitles) and format, check the Vienna Shorts website.
2025 dates and tickets
Provisional dates for the 2025 festival are May 27th to June 1st (online availability may be for a longer period).
Tickets are normally available online shortly before the festival begins, along with festival passes. The latter typically include options for the festival online portal for digital access to films and other resources.
Where?
I await details, but the main locations for 2024 screenings were:
- The MuseumsQuartier (the festival centre)
- Gartenbaukino (Parkring 12, 1010 Vienna)
- Stadtkino im Kunstlerhaus (Akademiestraße 13, 1010 Vienna)
- Metro Kinokulturhaus (Johannesgasse 4, 1010 Vienna)
- Austrian Film Museum (Augustinerstraße 1, 1010 Vienna)