Diagonale Film Festival

A safe space where you can think about films

Diagonale directors Claudia Slanar and Dominik Kamalzadeh

(Bild: Miriam Raneburger)

Claudia Slanar and Dominik Kamalzadeh have been responsible for the Austrian film festival since this year. In the run-up to the start of the Diagonale on April 4, the "Krone" met the two neo-directors for an interview.

This year is the first time you have been in charge of the Diagonale. What motivated you to apply for the directorship, what do you associate with the festival?
Claudia Slanar: We are actually "Diagonale natives". We were already at the first festival in Graz in 1998 as students on the Film and Humanities course. We've known each other since then and we've been at the Diagonale again and again, as visitors, presenters and jurors.
Dominik Kamalzadeh: We are actually not a cast team of directors. Over the years, we've met again and again and exchanged ideas about films.
CS: And when the call for entries came, we thought we'd give it a try. We came up with our concept very quickly.
DK: It was a good time in our working biography to reposition ourselves once again. To take on a challenge.

The Diagonale has been held in Graz since 1998.

(Bild: Diagonale/Martin Stelzl)

Do you see the Graz venue as an advantage or a problem for the Diagonale?
Beide: Certainly not a problem!
CS: The Diagonale has been associated with Graz for so long that we can't think of it any other way. There is such a high level of acceptance of the festival in Graz, it's such a fixture, we definitely wouldn't want to miss this broad support.
DK: It's also nice to get out of your own environment and have a second home in Graz, especially as the city has an incredible affinity for culture. I'm always surprised at how many different players there are here. It will be interesting for us to reach out in one direction or another in the coming years.

What can this festival do, what does it do for Austrian film?
DK: De Diagonale is a festival that does a lot at the same time. One unique feature is that the industry comes together here and can exchange ideas. There is a lot of discussion, and sometimes the Diagonale has also had the political task of initiating certain changes. We want to continue this and also internationalize it a little more so that this exchange, which already exists, is strengthened.
CS: The festival should continue to be a place where you can make discoveries. At a time when we are constantly surrounded by moving images, we want the curated program to provide a compass through the current film scene, not just the Austrian one.
DK: The Diagonale is also a kind of protected zone where you can immerse yourself in the subject matter undisturbed. This concentration should also be supported by the new schedule from Thursday to Tuesday. We also want to bring the audience and the industry closer together.

There are also new formats such as "credits", is there more concentration on certain films and topics here?
CS: Absolutely, in these discussions after the screening, the format should also be broken up a bit, not just be a dialog between presenter and director or actor. One of the "credits" is dedicated to Michael Glawogger, for example, and there are also performative elements.
DK: One is also planned for the German director Christoph Hochhäusler, who will be able to talk about his genre-specific connections and his position in German film in this discussion.

An epilogue is dedicated to the director Michael Glawogger, who died in 2014

Is Christoph Hochhäusler one of the examples of international localization?
DK: Overall, we want to expand the concept of the "national". What constitutes Austrian film is one of the central questions of the festival. This includes, for example, the film history special "The First Shift" about labor migration from the perspective of the countries of origin.
CS: This also includes international co-productions, which are becoming more and more frequent.

Is itpossible to read off content and technical developments at the Diagonale?
CS: I believe that you can read off technical developments relatively quickly. As far as the content is concerned, we didn't curate according to this, but only saw that thematic focuses were emerging after our selection.

The Diagonale is also opening up more and more to other areas, there are more exhibitions, for example.
DK: In the experimental area, film and visual arts have always overlapped and inspired each other. What is exciting, however, is that the individual genres are also influencing each other more and more. Especially in the field of documentary film, the Austrian contributions are much more experimental.

There are also a lot of parties again.
CS: That's definitely part of the festival.