Press Release #7/25
Festival Summary 2025
05.05.2025 //
Positive Summary: 22nd Crossing Europe Celebrated European Idea
The 22nd Crossing Europe Film Festival (29/4 – 4/5) drew to a successful close on 4 May after six dynamic festival days. 142 feature, documentary, and short films from 42 countries as well as around 100 film guests from Austria and abroad turned Linz into a European hot spot of cinema. Temperatures at almost mid-summer levels contributed their share to a great festival atmosphere experienced at all festival locations, but fortunately did not keep the audience from flocking to the festival cinemas Moviemento, City-Kino, and Central. Like the film screenings, the supporting program also found very positive acceptance, and the festival dramaturgy, from opening night to the newly designed Industry Afternoon to the atmospheric Awards Ceremony, worked out just as intended. All three Nightline evenings, hosted this year by Stream Festival and linzpride, among others, were also very well-attended and were impressive evidence of cooperative networking within the cultural scene of Linz.
What proved to be encouraging yet again was the involvement of the cinema audiences of Linz, which many of the film guests pointed out to be very positive. Visitors from all age groups actively participated in film talks and celebrated the feeling of a solidly united, open-minded Europe. A kids-oriented screening this year also meant the conscious creation of an offering for the young cinema generation – in addition to the already extremely well-established YAAAS! Youth Program.
The awareness of current political and social challenges in Europe has been part of Crossing Europe’s foundation since the start and was expressed particularly in the speeches held during the festival opening. The celebration of young European cinema was not the occasion to turn a blind eye to the present situation in the world but rather to take a close look, enter into a dialog and to heighten our perception of new perspectives – entirely according to the 2025 festival motto, “Don’t give up on Europe.”
The Awards Ceremony on 3 May saw cash and material prizes totaling around €31,500 awarded by the international juries, as well as the MIOB New Vision Award (€3,000) by the European festival network Moving Images – Open Borders. The award winners list can be found HERE.
14,500 Festival Visitors: Occupancy Rate Higher than in 2024
In 2025, Crossing Europe recorded approx. 14,500 visitors, thus keeping the level of the previous year despite a slightly lower number of screenings (146 compared to 160 in the year before). The Nightline took place on only three evenings. Overall, this meant an occupancy rate increase compared to the previous year.
The audience and around 550 accredited professional guests used the opportunity for low-threshold exchanges with around 100 film guests from all around Europe. In the spirit of a balanced gender programming, the films were directed as follows: by around 47 % females, around 36 % males, around 1 % diverse, around 14 % mixed female/male/diverse co-direction (2 % made no specification).
2025 was also a year of yet more concrete steps towards sustainable, climate-friendly festival work, with Crossing Europe again carrying the “GreenEvent OÖ” label. The close cooperation with our partner festivals within the European festival network “Moving Images - Open Borders (MIOB)” continued with, among other things, a screening of the short films nominated for the MIOB IN SHORTS Audience Award, followed by a voting by the Linz audience.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Media coverage on Crossing Europe 2025 as well as feedback given by guests, partners, and sponsors has been consistently positive, which can be considered a validation of the work of the Crossing Europe team and which in light of present challenges regarding festival organizing is no matter of course.
As the years before, 2025 has not been an easy one for the entire cultural sector, particularly as regards financing. There is a very good understanding in principle with long-term funding bodies (Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, Province of Upper Austria, City of Linz, CREATIVE EUROPE) and partners (FAMA, VdFS, AK OÖ/Kultur, et al.), which is also displayed in part in (moderate) funding amount increases. Moreover, we have been able to rely on long-term collaborations with various event and sponsoring partners (e.g. OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH, Moviemento/City-Kino, Central, Trumer Privatbrauerei and Linz AG), as well as on the continuation of our partnership with the ÖBB. A new sponsor could be acquired with the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, which, at a time when acquiring new partners in the cultural sector has become virtually impossible, has to be regarded as particularly positive.
Still, the fact remains that the organizational effort and associated costs in some areas inevitably become higher every year and, therefore, become harder to manage. Which is increasingly limiting the scope for action and the possibility of innovative advancement of a cultural event the size of Crossing Europe.
What we must not let go unmentioned is the dealing with future challenges (“fair pay” and “sustainable” festival work, among others) and the hard-to-foresee development of the economic situation in Europe as well as in the world, which to us is a cause for concern.
This is why we want to stress that further festival work on the present level and in the current scope will only be possible with a continued value adjustment of the amount of subsidies.
The elaborate press release, logo, festival motif and press photos are available as usual on our website.The 22nd Crossing Europe Film Festival (29/4 – 4/5) drew to a successful close on 4 May after six dynamic festival days. 142 feature, documentary, and short films from 42 countries as well as around 100 film guests from Austria and abroad turned Linz into a European hot spot of cinema. Temperatures at almost mid-summer levels contributed their share to a great festival atmosphere experienced at all festival locations, but fortunately did not keep the audience from flocking to the festival cinemas Moviemento, City-Kino, and Central. Like the film screenings, the supporting program also found very positive acceptance, and the festival dramaturgy, from opening night to the newly designed Industry Afternoon to the atmospheric Awards Ceremony, worked out just as intended. All three Nightline evenings, hosted this year by Stream Festival and linzpride, among others, were also very well-attended and were impressive evidence of cooperative networking within the cultural scene of Linz.
What proved to be encouraging yet again was the involvement of the cinema audiences of Linz, which many of the film guests pointed out to be very positive. Visitors from all age groups actively participated in film talks and celebrated the feeling of a solidly united, open-minded Europe. A kids-oriented screening this year also meant the conscious creation of an offering for the young cinema generation – in addition to the already extremely well-established YAAAS! Youth Program.
The awareness of current political and social challenges in Europe has been part of Crossing Europe’s foundation since the start and was expressed particularly in the speeches held during the festival opening. The celebration of young European cinema was not the occasion to turn a blind eye to the present situation in the world but rather to take a close look, enter into a dialog and to heighten our perception of new perspectives – entirely according to the 2025 festival motto, “Don’t give up on Europe.”
The Awards Ceremony on 3 May saw cash and material prizes totaling around €31,500 awarded by the international juries, as well as the MIOB New Vision Award (€3,000) by the European festival network Moving Images – Open Borders. The award winners list can be found HERE.
14,500 Festival Visitors: Occupancy Rate Higher than in 2024
In 2025, Crossing Europe recorded approx. 14,500 visitors, thus keeping the level of the previous year despite a slightly lower number of screenings (146 compared to 160 in the year before). The Nightline took place on only three evenings. Overall, this meant an occupancy rate increase compared to the previous year.
The audience and around 550 accredited professional guests used the opportunity for low-threshold exchanges with around 100 film guests from all around Europe. In the spirit of a balanced gender programming, the films were directed as follows: by around 47 % females, around 36 % males, around 1 % diverse, around 14 % mixed female/male/diverse co-direction (2 % made no specification).
2025 was also a year of yet more concrete steps towards sustainable, climate-friendly festival work, with Crossing Europe again carrying the “GreenEvent OÖ” label. The close cooperation with our partner festivals within the European festival network “Moving Images - Open Borders (MIOB)” continued with, among other things, a screening of the short films nominated for the MIOB IN SHORTS Audience Award, followed by a voting by the Linz audience.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Media coverage on Crossing Europe 2025 as well as feedback given by guests, partners, and sponsors has been consistently positive, which can be considered a validation of the work of the Crossing Europe team and which in light of present challenges regarding festival organizing is no matter of course.
As the years before, 2025 has not been an easy one for the entire cultural sector, particularly as regards financing. There is a very good understanding in principle with long-term funding bodies (Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, Province of Upper Austria, City of Linz, CREATIVE EUROPE) and partners (FAMA, VdFS, AK OÖ/Kultur, et al.), which is also displayed in part in (moderate) funding amount increases. Moreover, we have been able to rely on long-term collaborations with various event and sponsoring partners (e.g. OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH, Moviemento/City-Kino, Central, Trumer Privatbrauerei and Linz AG), as well as on the continuation of our partnership with the ÖBB. A new sponsor could be acquired with the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, which, at a time when acquiring new partners in the cultural sector has become virtually impossible, has to be regarded as particularly positive.
Still, the fact remains that the organizational effort and associated costs in some areas inevitably become higher every year and, therefore, become harder to manage. Which is increasingly limiting the scope for action and the possibility of innovative advancement of a cultural event the size of Crossing Europe.
What we must not let go unmentioned is the dealing with future challenges (“fair pay” and “sustainable” festival work, among others) and the hard-to-foresee development of the economic situation in Europe as well as in the world, which to us is a cause for concern.
This is why we want to stress that further festival work on the present level and in the current scope will only be possible with a continued value adjustment of the amount of subsidies.
Comprehensive press release HERE: