The Crossing Europe Festival shows films that go beyond European Arthouse-mainstream. Films that take a position on political and social flashpoints and show us a reality behind the headlines, but are also defined by highly idiosyncratic artistic methods. Films that rarely make it to the regular programming in cinemas but reach a substantial amount of people at festivals such as this one.
Wolfgang Martin Hamdorf / Deutschlandfunk Kultur (Germany)
The Crossing Europe is the most interesting film festival in Austria and will take place in Linz on the Danube.
Marian Wilhelm / Die Dolomiten (Italy)
Crossing Europe is the name and the concept of the film festival in Linz that was founded by director Christine Dollhofer 15 years ago, and it is astonishing to see with how much focus and energy this maxim is carried out anew every year. Young, independent, and idiosyncratic films from the various corners of Europe meet here and form surprising and eye-opening connections together.
Barabara Schweizerhof / epd film (Germany)
This festival is an invitation to explore Europe with every cinema ticket. The festival director Christine Dollhofer brings together exciting, current productions of young, European auteur cinema.
Falter (Austria)
For the 15th time Crossing Europe in Linz proved itself to be a beguiling kaleidoscope of European stories and viewpoints.
Maria Motter / fm4.orf.at (Austria)
With 23,000 visitors this year’s anniversary edition of the festival did not break any records, however it did show once more that the founders of the festival had a keen sense that the term European cinema – something that has been generalized beyond recognition – is ripe to be re-invented. While renowned Arthouse films, that are supposed to strengthen the European quota, are struggling to survive in cinemas, there is a vast reservoir of film productions on the continent that are strongly locally rooted and personally motivated with a clever concept, and can hold hidden treasures.
Zsófia Buglya / Filmvilag (Hungary)
Ever since it was founded, the film festival in Linz understands itself as a critical reflection of sociopolitical tendencies in Europe today – and as a democratic political wake-up call.
Esther Buss / der Freitag (Germany)
The Crossing Europe festival does not only aim at being an exception film event of a reasonable size, but also presents films that should not be overlooked.
The Gap (Austria)
Crossing Europe offers to take you on a journey through the European film landscape, in a concentration that can hardly be found anywhere else.
Markus Vorauer / Kirchenzeitung Diözese Linz (Austria)
Celebrating cinema in all of its aspects!
Milli Hornegger / Kronen Zeitung Oberösterreich (Austria)
Once again this year, the mix of innovative cinema, gripping socio-politically relevant films, and hard-hitting European genre cinema made Crossing Europe a festival of exciting discovery.
Walter Gasperi / kultur-online.net (Austria)
You can fully trust to be immersed in charged films from Europe.
Alexandra Seibel / Kurier (Austria)
Crossing Europe belongs to the triangle of the most important film festivals in Austria, next to the Diagonale and the Viennale.
Wolfgang Ritzberger / Media Biz (Austria)
Ever since its start, Christine Dollhofer has made the international film festival Crossing Europe one of the first choices for up-and-coming film makers from all over Europe. With meticulous care and tenacity she has managed to position the festival internationally.
Philipp Wagenhofer / Neues Volksblatt (Austria)
Dollhofer and her team can be proud that they have not only helped some of the greatest talents on their way to becoming big names, but also that they have not had to compromise on their way – with aesthetically, but also regarding content discerning films.
Nora Bruckmüller / OÖ Nachrichten (Austria)
Ingredients that the festival director Christine Dollhofer looks for, for her program: technical skill, an unexpected twist, and especially a political stance that can be felt, but does not impose.
Maya McKechneay / orf.at (Austria)
Focussing on all of Europe. The hot spots of Europe and the diversity of European film can be found in the program of this year’s anniversary edition.
Tiziana Aricò / ORF ZiB (Austria)
Films in which the film makers have a clear stance and their own distinct style, that is the context in which festival director Christine Dollhofer and her team present 170 features, documentaries, and short films from over 30 countries.
Benno Feichter / Ö1 Kulturjournal (Austria)
Crossing Europe gives us insights into current European film making beyond the grave pandemonium of prestigious film events. It presents itself as unspent and gleefully experimental – and political.
Andrey Arnold / Die Presse (Austria)
Ensured tastefulness and social finesse are guaranteed at the film festival in Linz. The Crossing Europe festival offers top-class contemporary cinema for its 15th edition.
Stefan Grissemann / profil (Austria)
For 15 years the Crossing Europe film festival has been celebrating the highest level of cinematic variety. It has definitively matured, and brings together film makers that take a stance and bring European realities to the screen with various methods.
Sarah Praschak / Radio Fro (Austria)
15 years ago there were only small dents in the plans for Europe’s future, the union massively expanded, the Euro was shiny and new, there was no end in sight for the success model. “Crossing Europe” wanted to show the cinematographic variety and encourage people. That is still the case today, even if new clouds have drawn up over the old continent.
Raiffeisen Zeitung (Austria)
In the meantime it is quite reasonable to speak of an institution that has made a name for itself outside of Upper Austria, and is appreciated by cineasts all over Europe. That XE – as it is abbreviated – still remains fresh may be due to the fact that the focus is placed so strongly on social and political issues that Europe and the world are dealing with. Even more so than at other film festivals in Austria, Crossing Europe shows lesser known and difficult (in the best sense of the word) films. Last but not least, it might also be the bundled variety of European Arthouse cinema itself that convey its vitality.
Oliver Stangl / ray Filmmagzin (Austria)
All over Europe the gazes are becoming ever more pessimistic. Maybe this festival is more important than ever now, in its 15th year, as a way of looking beyond your horizon of national borders and affiliations that brings together local and European filmmakers.
Magdalena Miedl / Salzburger Nachrichten (Austria)
Once again this year, the Crossing Europe festival in Linz on the Danube presented films outside of the “Eurofilm”-monotony that are aesthetically ambitious, and raise questions about sociopolitical challenges. What we saw on screen: a Europe far from cliches.
Kurt Hofman / Sozialistische Zeitung (Germany)
Rifts in the social net was one of the dominant topics at the 15th edition of the Crossing Europe festival in Linz. In the approach to the topic young European cinema proves itself to be inventive.
Dominik Kamalzadeh / Der Standard | standard.at (Austria)
We will gladly heed the call of Christine Dollhofer to make a friend at Crossing Europe. Every year our friendship list becomes longer. Friends that you meet at the latest at other festivals, such as the VIS, the Heimatfilmfestival Freistadt, or the Diagonale.
Lisa Leeb / subtext.at (Austria)
A cinematic window into Europe – 15 years of Crossing Europe: once a year Linz becomes a center for cinephiles. The program is as diverse as the film continent itself.
Tips Linz (Austria)
The most exciting film festival in Austria kicks off with no less than six opening films. One of which, “The European Grandma Project” is exemplary for the concept of the young festival in Linz “Crossing Europe”. For the documentary the filmmaker Alenka Mal brought eight young European directors together and asked them to interview their grandmothers, about their lives and their views. The political panorama given by this oral-history project is as European as it is contemporary, much like the festival itself.
Marian Wilhelm / Tiroler Tageszeitung (Austria)
They must and want to afford cinematic art in Linz: the festival Crossing Europe is celebrating its fifteenth year and is – in part thanks to over 23,000 visitors that come every year – an integral part of the cultural offerings of Upper Austria. And that even though financing the six day festival is no easy matter.
Matthias Greuling / Wiener Zeitung (Austria)
