VIFF Vienna Independent Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in July in Vienna, capital of Austria. The festival focuses on independent cinema.
History
The Vienna Independent Film Festival was held for the first time on 4–7 July 2016 in the cinemas UCI Kinowelt Millenium City and CineCenter. The festival program consisted of 38 films from 14 countries in international competition. Opening film of the festival was God of Happiness by Dito Tsintsadze who won the Best Director award. Grand Prix of the festival – The Golden Sphinx – was awarded to the Konkani film Let's dance to the rhythm directed by Bardroy Barretto. Graham Streeter received the Best Feature Film award for his film Imperfect Sky. The award for Best Documentary Film was awarded to Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust narrated by Adrien Brody and directed by Lance Shultz.
Winners
2023
Grand Prix
The Whirlpool — Directed by Denis Kryuchkov
Best Feature Film
W — Directed by Anna Eriksson
Best Short Film Director
Deirdre Lorenz — Return to New York
Best Feature Film
Graham Streeter — Unfix
Best Original Screenplay
8-Ball — Original Screenplay by Adrien Marquet
Best Short Film
Have a Nice Apocalypse — Directed by Dávid Géczy
Best Documentary Film
My Two Lives — Directed by Sarita Gold
Best Experimental Film
Little Planet 7406 — Directed by Goran Šporčić
Best Song
Fearless — Music by J Edna Mae
Best Music Video
Vampire — Directed by Persia White
Best Actor
Wolfgang Cerny (The Whirlpool) Best Art Direction An Occurrence — Directed by Dien VoBest EditingTouching Moon — Edited by Sophia LiuBest CinematographyLa Pietra — Cinematography by Michael Bradley Best Film Score W — Film Score by Anna Eriksson Best Unproduced Script Stay With Me — Written by Zsolt Pozsgai
2022Grand PrixPlaying Through – directed by Balbinka KorzeniowskaBest Feature FilmPlaying Through – directed by Balbinka KorzeniowskaBest DirectorBalbinka Korzeniowska – Playing ThroughBest Short FilmŽiva (The Death of the Goddess Živa) – directed by Nataša StearnsBest Music videoFrozen Heart – directed by Nina GusevaBest Documentary FilmBallymanus – directed by Patrick Sharkey, Séan DoupeBest Experimental FilmBlue Delusion – directed by Guan FangBest Musical FilmBig Boss – directed by Keke PalmerBest Comedy FilmHot Mess by Evelyne TollmanBest Animated FilmMe and My Winter Games-Perfect Holiday – directed by Haoling Lee, Ming Zhong, Zhe Zhang, Liwen WangBest ActressJulia Rae – Playing ThroughBest ActorBrandon Sklenar – Futra DaysBest Supporting ActressRosanna Arquette – Futra DaysBest Film ScoreLong Flat Balls “Broken Promises” – music by Zach RobinsonBest SongMolly’s Rainbow – by Katie HardymanBest CinematographyOther Side of the Mountain – directed by Markus OtzBest ScreenplayJIZO-Evangelist – written and directed by Tokoroten NakamuraBest Art DirectionThe Violin and its Shadow – directed by Greg BabalasBest Unproduced ScriptThe Faerie Rings – written by Zina BrownHonorary Mention for Social ImpactChange of Course – directed by Andreas Ortner
2020 Grand PrixGrand Cancan — Directed by Mikhail Kosyrev-NesterovBest Feature Film — Directed by Toma EnacheBest DirectorGreat Poetry (Aleksandr Lungin)Best Original ScreenplayLaugh or Die — Original Screenplay by Heikki KujanpääBest Short FilmTo Her — Directed by Jacopo ArdolinoBest Documentary FilmArmenia(s), Time for Artists — Directed by Anahit Dasseux Ter Mesropian and David Vital-DurandBest Experimental FilmOur Turn — Directed by Martiros VartanovBest Music VideoChampagne Drag Queen — Directed by Anna HaslehnerBest ActorMartti Suosalo (Laugh or Die)Best Supporting ActorJon Voight (Roe v. Wade)Best CinematographyGrand Cancan — Cinematography by Dmitriy Ulyukaev
2019 Grand PrixDoing Money — Directed by Lynsey MillerBest Feature FilmM — Directed by Anna ErikssonBest DirectorDoing Money (Lynsey Miller)Best Original ScreenplayMurder on the Road to Kathmandu — Original Screenplay by Rupalee VermaBest Short FilmDark like the Night. Karenina-2019 — Directed by Radda NovikovaBest Documentary FilmThree Scenes of a Wedding — Directed by Jason ToveyBest Experimental FilmFragmented Dreams — Directed by Tonatiuh GarciaBest Music VideoTheresa's Groove — Directed by Aleksey IgudesmanBest ActorAtul Kulkarni (Murder on the Road to Kathmandu)Best Supporting ActorKonstantin Khabensky (Dark like the Night. Karenina-2019)Best Art DirectionThe Lossen — Directed Colin SkevingtonBest CinematographyM — Cinematography by Matti PyykköBest Film ScoreHinge — Film score by Diana Ringo