Queer Frames: The film festival revives Margareten and Spittelberg!

Queer Frames: The film festival revives Margareten and Spittelberg!

Things are about to get busy in Vienna with the queer film festival “Queer Frames”, which will flicker across the screen from June 12th to 29th, 2025 in the Filmcasino in Margareten and in the Filmhaus am Spittelberg. The festival aims to present queer filmmaking from all over the world and invites you to immerse yourself in the diversity of topics related to love, identity and social borderline experiences. A total of nine films will be shown that show how colorful and complex queer life is. A special highlight is the film “Dark Habits”, in which the drug addict Yolanda dares to make a new start in the monastery after the death of her boyfriend and meets unconventional nuns there. This film will be shown on June 19th at 6 p.m. in the Filmhaus Spittelberg. The festival appeals to a wide audience, regardless of gender, origin or sexual orientation. Tickets are available via the film casino website, where the full program is also available.

The idea for “Queer Frames” isn’t just based in Vienna; the festival is inspired by other initiatives such as the Queer Film Festival Munich, which was launched in 2015. This independent institution promotes diversity in cinema and shows films that stand apart from heteronormative and homonormative narratives. Here, stereotypes are critically addressed and intersectional queer perspectives are highlighted. The central question is who is portrayed in the film landscape and in what way and what connotations derive from this. The filmmakers are given a platform to interpret queerness politically and in solidarity and to explore various lifestyles.

Change in queer cinema

But what is the current status of queer cinema? At the FILMZ symposium, which took place on November 4, 2023, experts such as Dr. Sarah Horn and Prof. Dr. Simon Dickel with the change and representation of queer themes in film. Among other things, the film “Neubau” by Dr. Horn, who sheds light on the everyday challenges of a transgender protagonist. It quickly becomes clear how important the discussion about self-determination and protection from violence is for queer people.

• Dr. Sarah Horn behandelt die Darstellung von Transgeschlechtlichkeit.
• Prof. Dr. Simon Dickel widmete sich den Archivmaterialien und deren Bedeutung für das kulturelle Gedächtnis.
• Dr. Annette Vanagas analysierte die Darstellung von Geschlecht in Mainstreamfilmen.

The panel discussion led by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Siegel got viewers thinking about the definition of queer cinema. Everyone agreed on the idea that desire is a central element in queer film, but there were different opinions when it came to defining the term “queer”.

The broad interest and positive feedback from the audience show that events like the FILMZ Festival and the “Queer Frames” in Vienna are in tune with the times and create a platform for important social issues. It will be interesting to see what other works and discussions will come to the screen as part of the festival!

For more information and the complete program visit the website MyDistrict and that QFFM.