Imagine lounging outside on a balmy summer evening, surrounded by bars and art museums. Now add in a free movie on a big screen: you’ve got the Frameout experience.
- Open-air cinema in Vienna’s Museumsquartier (MQ)
- Free entry and an eclectic mix of movies
- Most films in original English or with English subtitles
- Location is a summer hotspot in Vienna
- 2023 dates: TBA (was Fridays and Saturdays Jul 8 – Aug 27 in 2022)
- See also:
- Vienna in July and August
- Film festivals
- English-language cinemas
Movies and the MQ
The Museumsquartier has a dynamic cultural vibe to it most of the year, what with all the art, dance and other events going on in the complex.
But the MQ really comes alive in summer, when the main courtyards fill with people there to soak up the warmth and chat over a glass of something cold from the many open-air bars that pop up for the season.
One of the highlights of the MQ summer is the Frameout digital film festival, with outdoor screenings of a mix of films that seem to mirror the eclectic artistic surroundings.
Anything seems possible: national & international movies, shorts, documentaries, science fiction, video art, action films, past classics, experimental films…anything.
Side events often support a showing. So, for example, you might discover an introductory discussion of the film, genre or topic precedes the actual screening. Or the filmmaker watches with you.
Find the summer 2023 programme at the festival website, once details becomes available.
2023 dates and tickets
Frameout typically runs on Friday and Saturday evenings from early July to late August. I’ll post precise dates when they reach me (or keep an eye on that website).
Entry is free (yay!), and you can usually borrow a wireless audio headset on site for a returnable deposit (usually around €10 or use photo ID).
The Viennese summer fills with open-air screenings, so check out the guide to July and August for other cinematic possibilities.
How to get to Frameout
See the main Museumsquartier article for directions to the MQ complex. The screenings traditonally take place in one of two courtyards.
- The main courtyard, which you emerge into through the main MQ entrance (often the Friday option).
- Courtyard 8, which is between the MUMOK museum and the Architecture Centre. Basically, you go into the MQ through the main entrance, turn right and walk past the giant grey MUMOK building on your left (often the Saturday option).
If the weather is bad (rarely in a Vienna summer), then the Frameout showings shift indoors to the Arena 21 building in the tract left of the main entrance as you go into the MQ.
Address: Museumsquartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna