VIENNA SHORTS
Attention in Focus

Saturday, May 30, 2026

11 am
Österreich Wettbewerb 2: Am Tag vor morgen

In The Day Before Tomorrow films oscillate freely and boldly across timescapes – personal, global, cosmic – as they extravagantly transgress cinematic categories, excitingly probing the possibilities of the short film format. 

12.30 pm
Fiction & Documentary 4: Dense & Disturbing

Dense & Disturbing presents four documentary short films that intertwine personal perspectives with political realities while experimentally exploring different cinematic forms: from the body to the gaze, from staged scenes in front of the camera to family confrontations.

2 pm
Animation Avantgarde 2: Unidentified Desires

Unidentified Desires is an invitation into spaces where dreamlike inner worlds, desire and visual eruptions condense into an uncompromising examination of our present. 

3.30 pm
Österreich Wettbewerb 3: All That Is Solid

In All That Is Solid five interlocking roadmaps come together that might perhaps provide remedies to soul-shredding disorientation. 

Under the motto Eyes Wide Open, VIENNA SHORTS will focus on the attention economy in an age of information overload, artificial intelligence, and right-wing populist polarization from May 28 to 31. More than 300 international short films will be shown in Vienna’s most beautiful cinemas, including competitions, portraits, late-night screenings, and programs for children.

This year, the renowned short film festival will once again take place at mumok cinema from May 28 to 31, 2026.