Rudi Schippel

Set within a Viennese apartment block, this affectionate Austrian comedy makes fun of the strange habits of the famed city's residents. The building is located in a middle-class area and has residents from many age groups and walks of life. Many of the tenants are much older, but there are also a few children about. In one apartment lives a large group of Polish construction workers, while a Yugoslavian woman and her huge family attempt to survive in their tiny flat. The episodic story of the lives of these and other tenants is framed by a visit from a civil servant from the Office of Statistics.

Director Wolfgang Lesowsky's captivating biopic of the Gustav Mahler stars Reinhard Hauser as the passionate conductor-composer whose drive for greatness and love of music were rivaled only by his insatiable desire for beautiful women. Through biographical narration and dramatic reenactments, Lesowsky paints a stylish portrait of the mercurial genius, widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the late romantic era.

Chris, a young man from the country, dreams of a big career as an escape-artist. He wants to become famous like his idol, Harry Houdini. He meets Mischa, an expert in the art of living, who feels himself called upon to support Chris in attaining fame and an international career. Chris is very much attracted to Nada. Mischa's sister wants to break away from the Yugoslav workers' milieu. A spectacular performance is planned by Mischa and his friends to draw the medias' attention to Chris. Tied up in his strait-jacket, Chris wants to jump into the Danube and free himself under water. But neither newspaper journalists nor the TV turn up. Nevertheless Chris jumps into the water and frees himself. He wins Nada's love and restores his self-confidence. Malambo is a comedy, which portrays the dream world of an endearing community of friends, who are building 'castles of air' for themselves, in search for a better life.

A neo-Nazi organization is recruiting in the 1980s, and two youths of high-school age join for similar reasons, despite class differences. Thomas is the son of a self-made industrialist father and a scolding social-climbing mother. He attends private school and has a brother who's an accomplished musician, but neither can satisfy mom's constant demands for school and social success. She belittles them, and there's incessant bickering at their table. Charly, a dropout, is the son of an abusive, alcoholic laborer. In the youth group, each finds order, respect, camaraderie, and adults who seem to value them. Where do domestic abuse and sanctioned political violence end?

An author searches for cues about the life of a girl confined in a community home before her suicide. While trying to put together a literary piece he increasingly becomes aware of the insignificance of his own creative work. He has no insight in any world but his own.

In beautiful pictures and few words, the longing of two outsiders for a different, better life is told.

Goalkeeper Josef Bloch is sent off after committing a foul during an away game. This causes him to lose his bearings, and he wanders aimlessly through the city streets and spends the night with the box-office attendant of a movie theatre.

After a frank confession by his wife, a doctor is called to see a dying patient. The cause of the night brings him to meet an old friend, a pianist, who tells him of a mysterious ball where he is due to perform. Based on the book "Traumnovelle" ("Rhapsody: A Dream Novel") by Arthur Schnitzler.

Die Feuerzangenbowle from Director Helmut Weiss is based on the novel by the same name from Heinrich Spoerl and Hans Reimann that has turned into a cult German film. The film tells the story of a writer Johannes Pfeiffer who goes undercover as a student in a high school after his friends told him that he missed out on a great life experience since he was home schooled.