Best Austrian documentary movies

The Decent One (2014)

Through previously undiscovered private letters, photos and diaries that were found in the Himmler family house in 1945, the "The Decent One" exposes a unique and at times uncomfortable access to the life and mind of the merciless "Architect of the Final Solution" Heinrich Himmler.

The Voynich Code: The World's Most Mysterious Manuscript (2010)

It is the world's most mysterious manuscript. A book, written by an unknown author, illustrated with pictures that are as bizarre as they are puzzling - and written in a language that even the best cryptographers have been unable to decode.

Der Vampirjäger der Kaiserin (2020)

Portrait #04: Eliane Radigue (2006)

Fourth in the IMA Portraits series, this short introduces us to the life and work of electronic/contemporary composer Eliane Radigue. Radigue discusses methods of composition, the challenges and difficulties of live electronic music, as well as biographical episodes with Pierre Henry and her own goals in soundscape production and consumption.

Pianomania (2009)

Pianomania takes the audience on a humorous journey through the secret world of sound and accompanies Stefan Knüpfer in his extraordinary work with the greatest pianists in the world. To select the instrument that corresponds to the vision of the virtuoso, according it to his desire and accompany him until he goes on stage, Stefan Knüpfer has developed nerves of steel, a boundless passion and above ability to translate words into sounds.

Elektro Moskva (2013)

Elektro Moskva is an essayistic documentary about the Soviet electronic age and its legacy. The story begins with the inventor of the world's first electronic instrument, Leon Theremin, unveiling the KGB's huge pile of fascinating devices, some of which were musical. They all came into existence as a by-product of a rampant defense industry. Nowadays, those aged and abandoned 'musical coffins', as solidly made as a Kalashnikov, are being recycled and reinterpreted by the post-Soviet generations of musicians, sound collectors and circuit benders. The story of the Soviet synthesizers as an allegory to the everyday life under the Soviet system: nothing works, but you have to make the best out of it. An electronic fairy tale about the inventive spirit of the free mind inside the iron curtain- and beyond.

Backstage Vienna State Opera (2019)

This film takes us behind the scenes of the magical events of the world famous Vienna State Opera. These one-of-a-kind scenes and fast-paced, brilliant moments are intense, vivid, full of passion and captivating music.

The History of the Pit Stop: Gone in Two Seconds (2015)

The mavericks who pioneered the modern pit stop made it a raceday staple that takes less than two seconds.

The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan (2004)

The glorious and tragic story of American athlete and actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904-84), Olympic swimmer, water polo player and the only true Tarzan, an archetypal character and myth of cinema, that of the original Hollywood blockbusters (1932-48).

The Fall of the Habsburgs (2018)

The Habsburg Dynasty had ruled large parts of Europe and the world for 650 years. During World War I, however, the mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire sowed the seeds of its own demise. At the height of World War I, the world of the Habsburgs was on the brink of collapse. Almost exactly 100 years ago to the day, in April 1918, the most sensitive diplomatic mission of the First World War became a Europe-wide scandal: the so-called "Sixtus Affair". Secret negotiations between the Austrian imperial family and France were supposed to bring peace to the Danube monarchy – and their failure caused the war to escalate and the Habsburgs to fall.

Manaslu: Mountain of Souls (2018)

The great successes and tragedies in the life and work of Hans Kammerlander, the renowned mountaineer.

The Good Death (2018)

Janette is terminally ill and wants to die in a dignified way but this is not permitted under British law. She refuses to wait for death in unbearable pain so she opts for a physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland. Before departing on the final journey she has to explain her intention to the family members and close friends.

The Ivory Game (2016)

Wildlife activists and investigators put their lives on the line to battle the illegal African ivory trade, in this suspenseful on-the-ground documentary.

A Good American (2015)

A Good American tells the story of the best code-breaker the USA ever had and how he and a small team within NSA created a surveillance tool that could pick up any electronic signal on earth, filter it for targets and render results in real-time while keeping the privacy as demanded by the US constitution.

Darwin's Nightmare (2005)

Africa in the sixties. The Nile perch, a ravenous predator, is introduced into Lake Victoria as a scientific experiment, causing the extinction of many native species. Its meat is exported everywhere in exchange for weapons, creating a globalized evil alliance on the lake shores. An infernal nightmare in the real world that wipes out Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

Sea of Shadows (2019)

The vaquita, the world’s smallest whale, is nearing extinction as its habitat is destroyed by Mexican cartels and the Chinese Mafia, who harvest the totoaba fish, the “cocaine of the sea.” Environmental activists, the Mexican navy, and undercover investigators are fighting back against this illegal multimillion-dollar business.

Homo Sapiens (2016)

HOMO SAPIENS is visionary documentarian Nikolaus Geyrhalter's exploration of the finiteness and fragility of human existence, the end of the industrial age, and what it means to be a human being. What will remain of our lives after we're gone? Empty spaces, ruins, cities, increasingly overgrown with vegetation, crumbling asphalt: the areas we currently inhabit, now abandoned and decaying, gradually reclaimed by nature. Comprised of a succession of eerily depopulated, dystopian landscapes from across the world, HOMO SAPIENS offers an at once mesmerizing and chilling vision of what a posthuman future might look like.

Whores' Glory (2011)

In Bangkok, Thailand, women punch a clock and wait for clients in a brightly lit glass box; in the red-light district of Faridpur, Bangladesh, a madam haggles over the price of a teenage girl; and in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico, crack-addicted women pray to a deity named Lady Death.

We Feed the World (2005)

A documentary that exposes the shocking truths behind industrial food production and food wastage, focusing on fishing, livestock and crop farming. A must-see for anyone interested in the true cost of the food on their plate.

Plastic Planet (2009)

Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have become a threat for both environment and human health.

Megacities (1998)

Megacities is a documentary about the slums of five different metropolitan cities.

Defamation (2009)

Intent on shaking up the ultimate 'sacred cow' for Jews, Israeli director Yoav Shamir embarks on a provocative - and at times irreverent - quest to answer the question, "What is anti-Semitism today?"

Streif: One Hell of a Ride (2014)

While the ski racers leave Kitzbühel for the next World Cup location, the members of the Kitzbüheler Ski Club (KSC) are already starting preparations for next year’s race. “Streif – One Hell of a Ride” documents this work – both the spectacular and the small tasks – over the course of one year. At the same time, the film follows five athletes – Aksel Lund Svindal, Max Franz, Hannes Reichelt, Erik Guay and Yuri Danilochkin – in their respective native countries, during their summer training and in their free time. As the 2014 Hahnenkamm Race approaches, these two narratives become more and more interwoven, interspersed with stories from the event’s past – until the athletes arrive back in Kitzbühel.

The Green Lie (2018)

Environmentally friendly electric cars, sustainably produced food products, fair production processes: Hurray! If everything the corporations tell us is true, we can save the world through our purchasing decisions alone! A popular and dangerous lie. In his new documentary film, Werner Boote shows us, together with environmental expert Kathrin Hartmann, how we can protect ourselves. Down with green lies!

Lauda - The Untold Story (2014)

In 1976 Niki Lauda survived one of the most famous crashes in Formula One history. Using previously unseen footage, LAUDA: THE UNTOLD STORY explains what happened on that fateful, and near fatal day at the Nurburgring, then follows Lauda’s courageous journey to recovery culminating in a miraculous comeback in Monza just weeks later. The film also investigates the impact that his crash had not just on his own life but on the sport as a whole, looking at the safety developments from the 1900s to the present day. Featuring exclusive access to Mercedes HQ and interviews with Lauda, his family, and motorsports legends past and present including Sir Jackie Stewart, David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Jochen Mass. LAUDA: THE UNTOLD STORY is a must-see for all motorsport fans.

Mount St. Elias (2009)

At an altitude of 18,000 feet, Alaska's Mount St. Elias is the destination for a trio of mountaineers determined to reach the mountain's summit, and to ski back down as well. Mount St. Elias documents their journey as they trek the fine line between bravery and madness.

An Impossible Project (2020)

Humans are analogue. We're literally sick of the digital world engulfing us. People are yearning for real things and authenticity. IMPOSSIBLE is sensuous and inspiring film about the revenge of analog. And the eccentric, crazy Austrian scientist, who saved the world's last Polaroid factory - just when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. An entertaining underdog story of a very modern Don Quixote, shot on 35mm. And a sumptuous invitation to fall in love with real things again.

H.O.P.E.: What You Eat Matters (2016)

H.O.P.E. is a life-changing documentary uncovering and revealing the effects of our typical Western diet high in animal-based foods. It contrasts the limited interests of the pharmaceutical and agricultural industry with the all-encompassing interests of living beings on this planet and with the power of responsible consumer action. H.O.P.E. is an urgent call to action to all of us to commit to a change towards sustainability and safeguarding our living environment.

The Last of the Unjust (2013)

A place: Theresienstadt. A unique place of propaganda which Adolf Eichmann called the "model ghetto", designed to mislead the world and Jewish people regarding its real nature, to be the last step before the gas chamber. A man: Benjamin Murmelstein, last president of the Theresienstadt Jewish Council, a fallen hero condemned to exile, who was forced to negotiate day after day from 1938 until the end of the war with Eichmann, to whose trial Murmelstein wasn't even called to testify. Even though he was without a doubt the one who knew the Nazi executioner best. More than twenty-five years after Shoah, Claude Lanzmann's new film reveals a little-known yet fundamental aspect of the Holocaust, and sheds light on the origins of the "Final Solution" like never before.

Welcome to Sodom (2018)

A dark and sensuous film from a landfill in Ghana, where electronic waste from the West is being recycled. An unforgettable experience, told by the workers themselves.