The Austrian Film Commission (AFC) was founded in 1986 and is an organisation financed by public funds with the aim of promoting Austrian film abroad.

Activities

As an agency that supports and promotes export the AFC is a point of contact, advice and service provision for the industry at a national and international level. The AFC advises Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n producers

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 and directors

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 who are planning to take part in international film festival

Film festival

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...

s and operate in international markets on the development of their promotion and sales strategies, and takes on communications and administration for the festivals. It is in constant contact with festival directors and selectors, world businesses, buyers and lenders, and keeps the media informed about current film productions.

The AFC represents Austria in the network of European film organisations for the worldwide advertisement of European film, the European Film Promotion

European Film Promotion

European Film Promotion is an organisation which works for the worldwide promotion and marketing of European cinema. The EFP network incorporates 31 national promotion organisations from 32 European countries.-Activities:EFP's major objectives are:...

. In this capacity every year it selects the Austrian candidate for the award of the "Shooting Star" for best young actor presented at the Berlinale. Also, a ten-person jury of the AFC selects every year the Austrian film that will be submitted for the nomination process for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

.

The AFC represents the Austrian film industry at all important festivals and fairs, principally the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

, Berlin International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

, Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

, Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

, San Sebastián International Film Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...

, International Film Festival Rotterdam

International Film Festival Rotterdam

The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...

, Locarno International Film Festival

Locarno International Film Festival

The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...

, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....

, Pusan International Film Festival

Pusan International Film Festival

Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...

, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema

Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema

The Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...

 and the American Film Market

American Film Market

The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

The AFC produces a number of publications:

• Austrian Films: an annual catalogue that provides an overview of current film production in Austria;
• Austrian Film Guide: a brochure containing the most important data and addresses relating to the Austrian film industry;
• Austrian Film News: a comprehensive newsletter about current film-making in Austria with a list of all films in production, in both German and English.

The AFC website provides up-to-date announcements, background information and a film database, besides addresses and data on the Austrian film industry.

The first Diagonale

Diagonale

The Diagonale is a film festival that takes place every March in Graz, Austria.The festival was initially held under the auspices of the Austrian Film Commission in Salzburg from 1993 to 1995 but moved to Graz in 1998. Traditional cinema venues are UCI Kinowelt Annenhof, Schubertkino, augartenkino...

 film festivals in Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

(1993 to 1995) were organised by the Austrian Film Commission.

Martin Schweighofer has been the director of the Austrian Film Commission since 1992.

Sources and external links

• Austrian Film Commission official website