“No to Waldheim, no to Waldheim!” chants a crowd of people in the centre of Vienna in 1986. Ruth Beckermann is one of the activists trying to prevent Kurt Waldheim from being elected, documenting the bitter political reality with her camera. More than thirty years later, she uses her footage together with extensive international TV archive material to analyse what marked a turning point in Austria’s political culture. While Waldheim’s attempts to reject the facts and mask the truth stirred revolt, they also effected denial by the Austrian political class and the outbreak of anti-Semitism and patriotism, ultimately resulting in Waldheim's election as President of Austria. Best Documentary Award at Berlinale 2017
What's On
Bitter Christmas Amarga Navidad
Pedro Almodóvar
Monday, 31. 08. 2026 / 19:15 / Main Hall
Bitter Christmas tells two alternating stories. One takes place in 2004 and stars an advertising director Elsa during a long weekend in December. The other, set in the present, features Raúl, a cult director working on a new script. Soon we discover Raúl is writing about Elsa, her boyfriend Bonifacio, and her friends Patricia and Natalia… Almodóvar’s—always stylish—latest comes straight from Cannes!
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Annemarie Jacir
Tuesday, 01. 09. 2026 / 17:30 / Main Hall
Palestine in 1936. Uprisings against colonial rule are escalating. Yusuf, a peasant’s son, works for an influential family in Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the unrest. But history is unforgiving. With an increasing number of Jewish immigrants fleeing antisemitism in Europe and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against thirty years of British rule, conflict seems increasingly inevitable.