Based on Sophie K. Rosa's book Radical Intimacy, the theme of the 22nd festival edition is Move Closer! Radical Intimacy. Intimacy is understood here as a political space — with relationships and solidarity seen as acts of resistance. How can we radically rethink normative constructs in sexuality, romantic relationships, and friendships? How do we experience intimacy in the digital space? What does self-care mean, and how can we increasingly center the private sphere as a political refuge? Five programs explore these questions through complex and radical responses.

VIENNA SHORTS at mumok
Program

Thursday, May 29, 2025

11 am, Fiction & Documentary 2: Powerful Pulse
Powerful Pulse approaches the devastating impact of war and conflict on societies and individuals.

12.30 pm, Austrian Competition 1: Goes with the Territory
Goes with the Territory makes the world and oneself look different – the rugged splendor of rural Austria or the Viennese urban, surprising strategies are used to explore enigmatic terrains, right up to the human mind.

2 pm, Animation Avantgarde 1: Little Shrew’s Prologue to the Burning Room on Earth
Between fragile images of memory and surreal visions, the films explore the disintegration of memory, the pressure of digital self-optimization, traumas, dystopian observations of everyday life and future scenarios.

3.30 pm, Fiction & Documentary 1: Memory Maps
Memory Maps explores ecological themes and the transformation of our environments across generations.

Friday, May 30, 2025

11 am, Austrian Competition 2: All That You Can’t Leave Behind
A bittersweet melancholy pervades this program, which is more at the “blue” end of the emotional spectrum and ranges from hedonistic dances to parent-child relationships.

12.30 pm, Animation Avantgarde 2: Paintings of Greenish Delights: A Jump Cut Through the Glass House
Fragmented perception between war and exile, the tension between intoxication and control, techno-organic spaces of experience and a metaphysical journey through sleep, death and memory.

2 pm, Fiction & Documentary 4: Acknowledge Autonomy
Acknowledge Autonomy explores courage, grief and the power of self-determination – from freedom, loss and healing to love and solidarity.

3.30 pm, Fiction & Documentary 3: Boundless Boundaries
Boundless Boundaries tells of visionary images of the future and provides deep insights into the complex interactions of social challenges that shape our lives.

Saturday, May 31, 2025

11 am, Fiction & Documentary 6: Timeless Ties
Timeless Ties is dedicated to the many facets of interpersonal relationships, their unshakeable power of cohesion, the pursuit of closeness and the ability to transcend time and space.

12.30 pm, Austrian Competition 3: Seeds Of Change
Seeds Of Change challenges us to experience difficult circumstances with curiosity and enthusiasm – to make the best of a catastrophe, to find optimism in the darkest clouds and to celebrate growth and renewal.

2 pm, Austrian Music Video Competition: There’s No Saving Us
We cruise through the city, fly past active volcanoes and swim through the endless expanses of the ocean, all accompanied by talented young musicians.

3.30 pm, Fiction & Documentary 5: Fierce Freedom
Fierce Freedom tells of resistance, identity and the paths of strong women, explored through diary entries, protests, dances and the conflicts between faith and reality.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

11 am, Animation Avantgarde 3: Bugs, deluge and dead names – until the girl explodes
Wildly scribbled animations meet pulsating sound, shimmering memories condense – with poetic force and visual power, the films explore self-determination, perception and the explosive power of the inner self.

12.30 pm, Austrian Competition 4: Another Country
In Another Country, poetry is explored in the often bleak circumstances of the modern world, making sense of the confusing, overwhelming daily changes.

2 pm, 80s Ballads Sing Along: Creatures Of The Night
Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, technological leaps and social unrest, Creatures Of The Night takes you on a rollercoaster of love—with an apocalyptic twist.

3.30 pm, VIENNA SHORTS Opening Program (Repeat): Move Closer!
Under the theme Move Closer!, the 22nd edition of VIENNA SHORTS is dedicated to radical intimacy as a political space – relationships and solidarity are understood as acts of resistance.

WITH VIENNA SHORTS TICKET TO THE MUSEUM & WITH MUMOK TICKET TO THE FESTIVAL

All VIENNA SHORTS cinema tickets entitle the holder to a single free admission to mumok during the festival period from May 27 to June 1, 2025 (excluding offers such as guided tours, workshops and special events). Simply show your VIENNA SHORTS ticket at the mumok entrance.

mumok tickets purchased between May 27 and June 1, 2025 can be redeemed for a cinema ticket at the festival. The offer is valid at all festival venues and for any screening upon availability.