Wolfgang Thaler

Rural policewoman Andrea wants to end her marriage and become a detective inspector in the city. After a birthday party, her drunken soon-to-be ex-husband runs out in front of her car. In a state of shock, Andrea commits a hit-and-run.

The long-lost bon vivant Mike Bittini learns that his brother has fallen into a coma. He returns to his family, sneaks in like a hawk in the chicken coop and mixes things up properly. The uncle comes to help, brings chaos and finds love.

Richie Bravo, once upon a time a successful pop star, chases after his faded fame in wintry Rimini. Trapped between permanent intoxication and concerts for busloads of tourists, his world starts to collapse when his adult daughter breaks into his life.

A routine check-up reveals that the Pilates trainer Kathrin is suffering from kidney disease and needs a transplant. Her husband Arnold is a successful architect in the middle of a large project and is afraid of donating one of his kidneys. Götz, a friend of the couple's, would undergo the operation immediately if it means saving Kathrin's life - even though this causes problems with his partner Diana. Confronted by issues of life and death, the fragility of the relationships within and between the couples is laid bare. Eventually, the question can no longer be avoided: what is true love?

A sophisticated hotel somewhere on the French coast. Silvia and Gustav meet here, they have recently split up after 19 years of marriage. But they know each other well, and a fight begins in which Silvia always seems one step ahead. So she quickly realizes that Gustav's new, younger girlfriend is already expecting a child from him. The secret meeting between Silvia and Gustav takes a new turn when Gustav suddenly finds out that the conference center in Toulouse, where he is allegedly staying, was blown up in a terrorist attack.

Joana and Valentin Dorek are a married couple going through a crisis. This prompts them to take a trial session with a couple’s therapist. In the therapist’s consulting room they start off with their standard programme: she won’t stop talking and he isn’t even listening. The broken communication between the couple is a real challenge for the therapist. He is almost at his wits’ end when his mobile rings and a surprising message brings chaos into their therapy session.

Ambientada en Sudáfrica, Safari es una película documental escrita y dirigida por el cineasta austriaco Ulrich Seidl (Días perros, trilogía Paraíso, Import Export) y supone una atrevida mirada a la caza y aquellos aficionados a ella. A través de un grupo de personas que está de turismo en Namibia, el director pretende transmitir otro punto de vista y nos muestra qué piensa una familia sobre la matanza de animales salvajes. ¿Por qué les gusta cazar? ¿Se debe proteger a los animales ciegamente?

Stefan Zweig fue un escritor, biógrafo y activista social austríaco judío que se vio obligado a huir de su país debido al régimen nazi. De esta manera, se refugia en París y más tarde en Londres. Aun así, Zweig acabará huyendo junto con su esposa a Sudamérica, instalándose finalmente en Brasil, donde acabará suicidándose en 1942 debido a su miedo a que el nazismo se extendiera por todo el mundo.

Mae quit school and ran away from home. After her brother’s death her family is broken. Only his red shoes (Chucks) remain. Mae has to start working in a social institution where she meets Paul. He is funny, sensitive, takes Mae as she is - and he is terminally ill. In a book named Chucks Mae writes down her own story about growing up between life and death: wild, tender and absolutely honest.

Arabia, 1916. Theeb -lobo en árabe- vive con su tribu beduina en un rincón olvidado del Imperio Otomano. Después de haber perdido recientemente a su padre, Hussein debe criar a su hermano Theeb. Sus vidas son interrumpidas con la llegada de un oficial del ejército británico y su guía en una misión misteriosa. Incapaz de negar su ayuda al británico por temor a deshonrar la reputación de su difunto padre, Hussein se compromete a acompañarles a su destino, un pozo de agua en la antigua ruta de peregrinación a La Meca. Temeroso de perder a su hermano, Theeb persigue a Hussein y se embarca en un peligroso viaje a través del desierto de Arabia que, desde el estallido de la Primera Guerra Mundial, se ha convertido en el coto de caza de mercenarios otomanos, revolucionarios árabes y asaltantes beduinos marginados.

"Si los edificios pudieran hablar, ¿qué dirían de nosotros?" CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE ofrece seis respuestas sorprendentes. Este proyecto de película en 3D sobre el alma de los edificios permite que seis edificios icónicos y muy diferentes hablen por sí mismos, examinando la vida humana desde la perspectiva inquebrantable de una estructura hecha por el hombre. Seis cineastas aclamados aportan su propio estilo visual y enfoque artístico al proyecto. Los edificios, nos muestran, son manifestaciones materiales del pensamiento y la acción humanos: la Filarmónica de Berlín, un icono de la modernidad; la Biblioteca Nacional de Rusia, un reino de pensamientos; La prisión de Halden, la prisión más humana del mundo; el Instituto Salk, un instituto de ciencia revolucionaria; la Ópera de Oslo, una simbiosis futurista de arte y vida; y el Centre Pompidou, una máquina cultural moderna.

Paradies: Hoffnung, Paradies: Liebe y Paradies: Glaube, son las películas que completan la trilogía del director Ulrich Seidl. En las tres películas aparecen tres mujeres que pertenecen a una misma familia: una que es una turista sexual que se va a Kenia, otra que invierte tiempo y sudor en la pérdida de peso y una tecera que va propagando el catolicismo. En esta ocasión tratará una historia sobre el afán de superación, los sueños y anhelos de un grupo de personas cuyas vidas sin aparentemente nada en común se reúnen en un campamento para perder peso. Los cambios físicos y psicológicos contados de forma diferente e impactante.

Segunda parte de la trilogía de Seidl sobre el "Amor", la "Fe" y la "Esperanza". Si "Liebe" se centraba en el sexo, en este caso el relato se centra en la religión y cuenta la historia de Annamaria, una técnico de hospital muy devota que se hace misionera.

En las playas de Kenia, las mujeres maduras (a las que se les denomina allí "sugar mamas") y europeas con dinero son una raza aparte. Se las puede ver buscando jóvenes africanos con los que mantener relaciones sexuales a buen precio. Es un intercambio cómodo: ellas consiguen satisfacer sus deseos más primarios y dar salida a las frustraciones propias de su edad y ellos consiguen mantenerse económicamente gracias a su generosidad monetaria.

Termites are underrated. They build high rises without any technical devices that are, according to scale, 25 times higher than the the Empire State Building in New York. They are the only animals that have managed to build an air-conditioning system without electricity. How do they do it?

Mirada desafecta sobre la prostitución, rodada en Tailandia, Bangladesh y México, que fue galardonada con el Premio Especial del Jurado en la sección Horizontes del Festival de Venecia.

Gangster boss Carlos orders the dodgy Viennese junkyard owner Harry to bring him a bag from Poland. Harry passes the order on to his "best man" Schorsch. Schorsch, not exactly the brightest, is currently without a driver's license and completely fixated on the 24-hour car race of Le Mans. So he gives the order to Mao and sends in their place the takeaway lessees Hans and Max to Poland. Their journey leads to a seemingly endless drug trip full of extraordinary phenomena.

Historia de dos personas que toman caminos opuestos. Olga, una enfermera cansada de vivir con el dinero contado, deja atrás Ucrania y viaja hacia Occidente buscando una vida mejor. Esa vida mejor será en Viena como limpiadora y más adelante como modelo porno en internet. Paul ya está en Occidente, es austriaco, vive en Viena y es un guardia jurado en paro. Las chapuzas que le permiten ir tirando son cada vez más miserables y los amigos a los que dar sablazos ya casi no quedan. Cada mañana le resulta más difícil encontrar un motivo para levantarse de la cama. Paul decide emigrar al este y acaba en Ucrania como transportista y reparador de máquinas tragaperras. Y siguen faltándole motivos para levantarse por las mañanas.

Alexander y Thomas Huber son dos hermanos que viven por y para el alpinismo desde su infancia. Su especialidad es la escalada de velocidad, consistente en alcanzar en el mínimo tiempo posible la cima de un muro de piedra, cuanto más escarpado y más arisco, mejor. Después de haber superado todos los retos que se han propuesto hasta el momento, ahora se enfrentan al más difícil todavía: coronar en tiempo récord el impresionante El Capitán, ubicado en el Yosemite Valley californiano. Aunque antes se darán una “vueltecita” por el Torres del Paine, en plena Patagonia...

Timo Novotny labels his new project an experimental music documentary film, in a remix of the celebrated film Megacities (1997), a visually refined essay on the hidden faces of several world "megacities" by leading Austrian documentarist Michael Glawogger. Novotny complements 30 % of material taken straight from the film (and re-edited) with 70 % as yet unseen footage in which he blends original shots unused by Glawogger with his own sequences (shot by Megacities cameraman Wolfgang Thaler) from Tokyo. Alongside the Japanese metropolis, Life in Loops takes us right into the atmosphere of Mexico City, New York, Moscow and Bombay. This electrifying combination of fascinating film images and an equally compelling soundtrack from Sofa Surfers sets us off on a stunning audiovisual adventure across the continents. The film also makes an original contribution to the discussion on new trends in documentary filmmaking. Written by KARLOVY VARY IFF 2006

Is heavy manual labour disappearing or is it just becoming invisible? Where can we still find it in the 21st century? Workingman's Death follows the trail of the HEROES in the illegal mines of the Ukraine, sniffs out GHOST among the sulphur workers in Indonesia, finds itself face to face with LIONS at a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, mingles with BROTHERS as they cut a huge oil tanker into pieces in Pakistan, and joins Chinese steel workers in hoping for a glorious FUTURE.

Is heavy manual labour disappearing or is it just becoming invisible? Where can we still find it in the 21st century? Workingman's Death follows the trail of the HEROES in the illegal mines of the Ukraine, sniffs out GHOST among the sulphur workers in Indonesia, finds itself face to face with LIONS at a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, mingles with BROTHERS as they cut a huge oil tanker into pieces in Pakistan, and joins Chinese steel workers in hoping for a glorious FUTURE.

El Tour de Francia, la vuelta ciclista más dura del mundo, celebró su 100 edición en el 2003. Este espectacular evento fascina a millones de personas. Y el ganador se lo lleva todo.

Three loser-type ex-students who earn too little money and don´t get laid as much as they want, try to change that by producing a home made porn movie starring themselves. They loan money from a pimp and begin casting the girls. When filming starts they find out that sex in front of the camera is hard work. Also you should know how to work a video camera. Frustration, relationship problems and cabin fever culminate in a dope induced garden orgy. But is it a film?

The Austrian region of Hallstatt-Dachstein features breathtaking landscapes, crystal clear lakes and a deep historic relevance: During the Hallstatt era, 2500 years ago, the celtics built an empire on the ancient salt-mines of the region. Using the latest CGI techniques, dramatic reenactments and outstanding nature photography director Wolfgang Thaler lets this fascinating region come to life.

After screwing up a money exchange a Viennese small-time crook accompanied by a Russian hostess hits the road to the East.

El término Hundstage es como llaman en Austria a la época más cálida del año. La historia sigue a varios personajes de una zona residencial de Viena a lo largo de dos días de calor: un jubilado y una señora que se ocupa de su casa, una joven y su novio, que es muy temperamental y está obsesionado con su coche, una profesora que tiene una relación sadomasoquista con su compañero, un amante de la cerveza muy parlanchín, una pareja separada que sigue viviendo bajo el mismo techo y, por último, Anna, una maniaca del auto stop que se suele cruzar en el camino del Señor Hruby, un especialista en sistemas de alarma que tiene que salir de un oscuro asunto de vandalismo.

FRANKREICH WIR KOMMEN is a highly enjoyable documentary, obviously intended for TV, but showing at film festivals. It shows us the highlights of the 1998 World Cup Championships in France through the eyes of several interesting and diverse fans of the Austrian national team. Entertaining, even for those not interested in football.

Documentary about Mikhael T. Kalashnikov, inventior of the AK-47 assault rifle. The story of a tragic hero whose name will be synonymous with struggle and terrorism forever.

Recuerda que puedes ver esta película en http://www.wopelis.com

An afternoon in the biggest fair of Germany.

A family has the death of a pregnant daughter on its conscience. Their hollow understanding of tradition leads them to insist on revenge by the sword, and so the girl's boyfriend must die.

A film about ignorance, intolerance and the lack of responsibility in people. A political film about human kindness, which in many of the so-called "incidents on the border" has been sadly missing.

Two women in two different countries leading different lives. One lives in Austria, one in Yugoslavia, yet their lives become strangely entangled for a moment in time. What if you wake up in somebody else's head and the city around you isn't the one you used to know?

A film about news, life and death. Before the media became so prevalent, we were concerned about our immediate neighborhood. At the end of the day, news was the subject of our conversations, but now it's possible to converse with someone at the other end of the globe. We do it all the time. It's simple. The world has become one big neighborhood. Now Headline News has replaced the back fence. That's the news service of the eigthies. It's a new idea and a new approach.

The Hartmut-Wolf-System is a relationship between two people which adheres to strict internal and external rules. The Hartmut-Wolf-System leads to self-destruction. A face à la viennoise.