VIENNA SHORTS

In the organizer's words:

Short. Intense. Unforgettable. From May 26 to 31, 2026, Vienna will become the world capital of short film. The 23rd edition of Vienna Shorts will bring 352 films from 66 countries to the city's most beautiful cinemas - under the motto "Eyes Wide Open". For six days, everything revolves around attention: as a political stance, as an aesthetic practice and as a human gesture. If you take cinema seriously, this is the place to be.

The festival at a glance

• When: May 26-31, 2026
• What: 23rd Vienna International Short Film Festival
• Where: Various venues in Vienna
• Tickets: from €4 (single screening) | festival passes from €20 - with the pay-what-you-can model, you decide for yourself what you pay

5 program items that you shouldn't miss

Beziehungsweise - Four perspectives of women

Milieukino MQ | 29.05.2026 | 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 | 51 min.

Some of the strongest animated films at the moment come from women - and that's exactly what this program brings together. Curated by Thomas Renoldner, four works show interpersonal themes with great sensitivity: an unmarried pregnant woman in an arch-conservative village, a couple on the run from Russia after the outbreak of war, a reflection on closeness and distance in a love relationship, and the tender connection between a young woman and her grandfather. Animated film as emotional precision work.

Physical Exercises - Coming Of Shorts Open Air

Open Air MQ | 30.05.2026 | 21:00 | 70 min. | Free admission

Bodies counted, bodies that count - this open-air program focuses on the human body. Curated by Laura Hörzelberger, Marie Sophie Kero and Sebastian Kraner, the films explore gender, grief and transformation with urgency and cautious defiance. Desired, controlled, violated and reclaimed: here, bodies become battlefields and connections at the same time. In the open air and completely free of charge - one of the best ways to experience the festival.

Of being respected and held - between trust and devotion

Open Air MQ | 27.05.2026 | 21:30 | 81 min. | Free admission | incl. Q&A

A young woman in the Philippines feels her way through memories of her absent mother. Two sisters in New York hold on to each other in times of loss. In a quiet bowling alley, a moment of waiting becomes a moment of real encounter. Curated by Marija Milovanovic and featuring Q&As with Lore Loyens, this program brings together quiet, heartwarming stories about caring and the feeling of being there for each other - across all distances.

Queer Cinema Austria 1906-2026 - Queer traces in Austrian film history

METRO Historical Hall | 27.05.2026 | 8 pm | 90 min. | 18+

120 years of queer moving images in Austrian productions - from the early pornographic silent films of Saturn-Film in 1906 to the present day. Curated by Jul Tirler in cooperation with the Queer Cinema Austria research project, the program shows how different formats - documentary, experimental, music video, performative film - enable queer spaces and make them visible. With Q&As by Mark Gerstorfer and Daniela Zahlner.

Attention to archives - Masterclass with Onyeka Igwe

die Angewandte | 28.05.2026 | 10:30 a.m. | 90 min. | By invitation only

In this masterclass, artist and researcher Onyeka Igwe explores how archive material can be re-read in artistic practice. She presents methods with which she brings different types of archives into focus - and shows how controversial or politically charged materials can be approached with attention. Curated by Clementine Engler.

You can find the complete program here

Cinema for all - thanks to pay-what-you-can

Vienna Shorts stands for accessible, politically engaged cinema. That's why the tried-and-tested pay-what-you-can model will also be available in 2026: one-way tickets from €4, festival passes from €20 - you choose how much you can or want to pay. Two of the five programs mentioned above are even completely free.

Get your tickets now and experience six days of short film at its best.