18.03.2026 – 23.03.2026
Once a year, Graz becomes the country’s film capital thanks to Diagonale, and is the place to experience the diversity of Austrian filmmaking across all genres and aesthetic styles. Now in its 29th edition, the Austrian film festival is once again under the direction of Dominik Kamalzadeh and Claudia Slanar. This year, the film festival once again offers a particularly large number of premieres and renewed international appeal. The next generation of filmmakers will make their voices heard even more strongly. The festival aims to remain a place of unexpected encounters, exchange and orientation towards new horizons. Debates and celebrations will once again take place in the Heimatsaal of the Volkskundemuseum, while cinemas will be a place for amazement, reflection and laughter. All this under the premise that Austrian film, with its wide range, has its finger on the pulse of the times and remains a seismograph for socio-political changes.
Opening film
Diagonale will open with the Austrian premiere of Markus Schleinzers new feature film Rose. “When choosing an opening film, we always want to send a signal: a special relationship with the present that is inherent in the film. Rose touched us deeply because it speaks from the past about freedoms that must be fought for, ideally through alliances. And about freedoms that are quickly lost again if they are not protected,” say Dominik Kamalzadeh and Claudia Slanar about their decision for this year’s opening film.
Diagonale‘26
Austrian Film Festival Graz
18.03.2026 – 23.03.2026
www.diagonale.at
