Out of protest – Film academy ends cooperation with the state of Lower Austria

To this day, it is an established practice for the Academy to hold its annual Austrian Film Awards ceremony alternately in Vienna and the Lower Austrian venue of Grafenegg. But that tradition is now coming to an end. “Due to the political developments in Lower Austria and the new government coalition between ÖVP and FPÖ that has been established there, the Austrian Film Academy is ending cooperation with the state of Lower Austria until further notice,” according to a broadcast on Friday.

Accordingly, the annual funding is also waived and no film award ceremony will take place in Lower Austria in 2024. Instead, the 2024 Film Prize will also be held in Vienna. This year’s award ceremony will take place on June 15 at the Globe in Vienna. The nominations will be announced on April 20.

ÖVP NÖ speaks of “lack of understanding of democracy”
“The freedom of the arts – even if of course for some that means using their art institution for partisan political purposes. It is clear that some still find it difficult to accept the results of democratic elections. This is a worrying evidence of a lack understanding of democracy,” said Bernhard Ebner, regional director of the ÖVP Lower Austria, in a broadcast. According to Ebner, 71,000 euros in subsidies, which the academy is rejecting this year, now flow “directly to the promotion of young people in the field of art and culture”. The decision of the film academy will not cause financial damage to those involved in culture.