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The Youth Film Scene in Austria

When selecting items to represent the Austrian film world with regard to children and adolescents, material has been chosen which constitutes part of a programme of events including educationally sound, culturally relevant, highly rated work and films with a socio-cultural aspect. Such programmes consist of ‘young films’ (i.e. made by children and/or adolescents) in which young people have also been largely instrumental in selecting the films and seeing the programmes through themselves. They all include a schedule of accompanying events such as (media-) educational workshops, discussion groups and games.

In order to achieve media competence it is necessary to learn first of all to consider ‘moving pictures’ with a critical eye – whether in the cinema, as a video, DVD or on the TV screen – to become acquainted with the ways in which these pictures are created or constructed and to observe their forms more closely. It is also necessary to learn how to formulate a message for others by means of a medium.

When comparing the various opportunities on offer in Austria for children, adolescents and their teachers to participate in media educational work of the kind described, the provinces of Upper Austria and Vienna stand out as being well ahead of other areas. In Lower Austria, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Tyrol there are a number of initiatives in this direction. In provinces such as Burgenland, Steiermark and Kaernten this kind of media education has so far been neglected.

More than half of the positive responses to our research enquiries came from the non-school sector.

Some of the overall problems often lie in the lack of dubbed versions, inadequate networks between states and in areas with the same language and cuts in financial support for work of this nature.

In particular at a time when the state is having to cope with dwindling finances as the income from large businesses has been reduced due to overseas competition in the field of location taxes, and when it is becoming increasingly difficult for the state to fulfil its obligation to provide education for all, co-operation among teachers, institutional and non-school film screenings and films distributors has become of paramount importance.

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