This historical and analytical documentary draws attention to the background of the roots of "New Austrian Cinema" and presents Austria as a film country to be taken seriously. The audience gets to see rare early works by well-known filmmakers as well as shots of landscapes that served as a source of inspiration and locations that have produced important Austrian films since the end of the 19th century.
Jessica Hausner (born 6 October 1972; Vienna) is an Austrian filmmaker. She received international attention in 2001 when her film Lovely Rita, a portrait of a young girl who feels confined by family constraints, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Three years later she returned to Cannes with her film Hotel. Her 2014 film Amour Fou was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Jessica Hausner is the daughter of Viennese painter Rudolf Hausner, sister of costume designer Tanja Hausner and half sister of set designer and painter Xenia Hausner. She studied at Filmacademy Vienna. With fellow directors Barbara Albert and Antonin Svoboda and director of photography Martin Gschlacht, she founded the Viennese film production company coop99 in 1999. She was appointed a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017.