Press Release #1/25
Local Artists Special: Edgar Honetschläger / YAAAS! Young Programmers 2025 / MIOB: Current Activities of the European Festival Network
03.02.2025 // From 29 April to 4 May, Linz will turn into a European hot spot of cinema for the 22nd time: Crossing Europe Film Festival invites new voices as well as established important figures of film to bring their recent works to the provincial capital. Around 130 feature, documentary, and short films, including numerous contributions with a connection to Upper Austria, will present the unconventional, courageous and artistically ambitious perspectives of young and upcoming European filmmakers. The audience can expect to enjoy a cineastic deep dive into the European soul, intriguing film talks as well as an attractive supporting program.
The complete program of Crossing Europe 2025 will be announced on 17 April during a press conference at the Moviemento Linz also available for watching via live stream.
Local Artists Special 2025: Edgar Honetschläger
In today’s press release, we can announce our first program highlight: The 2025 Local Artists Special is dedicated to the visual artist, filmmaker and environmental activist Edgar Honetschläger. Born in Linz, he has mostly lived abroad for more than three decades, including the U.S., Tokyo and, since 2011, in Italy. He has been awarded numerous prizes in Europe and Japan and his works have been shown, among others, in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, at the Belvedere 21 in Vienna or premiered at Berlinale or the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Using the mediums of drawing, painting, photography, installation, intervention and, not least, film, Honetschläger has engaged in the challenging of supposed cultural realities or that of our notion of individualism since the 1980s. One of his core subjects since the start has been the way humans treat nature, to which he is also committed in an activist manner. The relationship between human civilization and the environment also constitutes the mainstay of the Local Artists Special, which is presented in cooperation with Nordico Stadtmuseum Linz. From 11 April to 24 August, the latter allows to experience the comprehensive solo exhibition “Edgar Honetschläger - Give Nature a Break”.
Breaking the repetitive narratives of commercial cinema is a constant aspiration in Honetschläger’s works. His essayist films wander freely between documentary, fictional and experimental forms. Highly political and subtly critical at their core, they are nevertheless always humorous and poetical. At Crossing Europe, four selected filmic positions by Honetschläger will be shown, followed by film talks in which the artist will provide insights into his methods.
YAAAS! Youth Program: Young Programmers 2025
Filling youths with excitement for the art form of film and imparting media competence in a practical and low-threshold manner: As before, these are also the aims of the 2025 YAAAS! Youth Program.
An essential component is the YAAAS! Competition, for which six recent European feature film productions were selected by the YAAAS! Young Programmers Angelina Bernacki, Anar Erdene-Ochir, Jonas Liemer, Mira Mittermair, Anna-Lena Pixner, Nick Steiblmüller and Sarah Wagner. The seven students from several Upper Austrian schools will receive an introduction to film curation, write synopses of their chosen works and moderate introductions and film talks at the YAAAS! screenings during the festival.
Moving Images – Open Borders (MIOB): Current Activities of the European Festival Network
In 2025, Crossing Europe continues to be part of a select circle of European film festivals sponsored by the EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA program in the context of the festival network Moving Images – Open Borders (MIOB).
MIOB was initiated by Crossing Europe in 2017 and consists of seven film festivals with a European program focus, the cooperation includes numerous activities such as workshops, developing joint innovation tools or organizing two film awards.
An important project aimed at strengthening European cultural and film journalism is the successful latest edition of the Lab of Cultural, Creative and Festival Journalism, which was launched for the fourth time in fall 2024. A group of young film critics and journalists were selected last year and were given the opportunity to gather practical experience at MIOB festival partners in France and Italy and to participate in workshops.
The MIOB NEW VISION AWARD (€3000), honoring a first or second European feature film or documentary will once again this year be announced as part of Crossing Europe.
This year marks the first time that the selection for the short film audience award MIOB IN SHORTS 2025 (€1000) will be shown in its own program at Crossing Europe, followed by a vote by the Linz audience.
The full press release can be found on this page, the logo, festival motif and press photos are available as usual on our website.
The complete program of Crossing Europe 2025 will be announced on 17 April during a press conference at the Moviemento Linz also available for watching via live stream.
Local Artists Special 2025: Edgar Honetschläger
In today’s press release, we can announce our first program highlight: The 2025 Local Artists Special is dedicated to the visual artist, filmmaker and environmental activist Edgar Honetschläger. Born in Linz, he has mostly lived abroad for more than three decades, including the U.S., Tokyo and, since 2011, in Italy. He has been awarded numerous prizes in Europe and Japan and his works have been shown, among others, in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, at the Belvedere 21 in Vienna or premiered at Berlinale or the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Using the mediums of drawing, painting, photography, installation, intervention and, not least, film, Honetschläger has engaged in the challenging of supposed cultural realities or that of our notion of individualism since the 1980s. One of his core subjects since the start has been the way humans treat nature, to which he is also committed in an activist manner. The relationship between human civilization and the environment also constitutes the mainstay of the Local Artists Special, which is presented in cooperation with Nordico Stadtmuseum Linz. From 11 April to 24 August, the latter allows to experience the comprehensive solo exhibition “Edgar Honetschläger - Give Nature a Break”.
Breaking the repetitive narratives of commercial cinema is a constant aspiration in Honetschläger’s works. His essayist films wander freely between documentary, fictional and experimental forms. Highly political and subtly critical at their core, they are nevertheless always humorous and poetical. At Crossing Europe, four selected filmic positions by Honetschläger will be shown, followed by film talks in which the artist will provide insights into his methods.
YAAAS! Youth Program: Young Programmers 2025
Filling youths with excitement for the art form of film and imparting media competence in a practical and low-threshold manner: As before, these are also the aims of the 2025 YAAAS! Youth Program.
An essential component is the YAAAS! Competition, for which six recent European feature film productions were selected by the YAAAS! Young Programmers Angelina Bernacki, Anar Erdene-Ochir, Jonas Liemer, Mira Mittermair, Anna-Lena Pixner, Nick Steiblmüller and Sarah Wagner. The seven students from several Upper Austrian schools will receive an introduction to film curation, write synopses of their chosen works and moderate introductions and film talks at the YAAAS! screenings during the festival.
Moving Images – Open Borders (MIOB): Current Activities of the European Festival Network
In 2025, Crossing Europe continues to be part of a select circle of European film festivals sponsored by the EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA program in the context of the festival network Moving Images – Open Borders (MIOB).
MIOB was initiated by Crossing Europe in 2017 and consists of seven film festivals with a European program focus, the cooperation includes numerous activities such as workshops, developing joint innovation tools or organizing two film awards.
An important project aimed at strengthening European cultural and film journalism is the successful latest edition of the Lab of Cultural, Creative and Festival Journalism, which was launched for the fourth time in fall 2024. A group of young film critics and journalists were selected last year and were given the opportunity to gather practical experience at MIOB festival partners in France and Italy and to participate in workshops.
The MIOB NEW VISION AWARD (€3000), honoring a first or second European feature film or documentary will once again this year be announced as part of Crossing Europe.
This year marks the first time that the selection for the short film audience award MIOB IN SHORTS 2025 (€1000) will be shown in its own program at Crossing Europe, followed by a vote by the Linz audience.
The full press release can be found on this page, the logo, festival motif and press photos are available as usual on our website.
Comprehensive press release HERE: