Taking place for the 43rd time (14 –26, 2005), the VIENNALE will present 291 films from 48 countries.

The VIENNALE 2005 will open with the gala screening of Woody Allen’s Match Point. (following its sensational premiere at Cannes. A public screening of the program will take place at the Gartenbau at 11pm. The VIENNALE closing gala on Wednesday, October 26, 8.30pm will feature the screening of George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck – a highlight from this year’s Venice Film Festival. During the gala, the FIPRESCIPrize, the Vienna Film Award and the Prize of Der Standard’s readers’ jury will be awarded to outstanding participants of the festival.

The main program consists of about 100 feature films, just under half of which are documentaries – by now a long established feature of the festival. A selection of new short films will complete the main program.
This year’s VIENNALE program includes a large number of first films by young unknown directors from all across the globe as well as reruns of forgotten and suppressed films of the history of cinema such as two American key works of the 1960s: Coming Apart (1969) by Milton Moses Ginsberg and Captain Milkshake (1970) by Richard Crawford.
Exciting newcomers such as Brilliante Mendoza, Denis Côte, Jin Yang and Naomi Iguchi are juxtaposed to renowned representatives of contemporary cinema such as Takeshi Kitano, Gus van Sant, Philippe Garrel, Lars van Trier and the Dardenne Brothers.
Special events will include
A Jane Birkin Concert
The Andy Warhol retrospective, Working Class "Why Warhol Matters"
Fotoexhibition: Gerard Malanga in Retrospect
Videoinstallation Pedro Costa: Minino macho; minino fêmea
Tribute to Jane Birkin
Buenos Aires Dreams Itself

The VIENNALE will capture some wonderful and surprising cinematic moments of this past year that could not be more diverse. These include: El cielo gira, Between the Devil and the Wide Blue Sea, Following Sean, Me and you and everyone we know, Eli, Eli lemma sabachthani and Forty Shades of Blue.
The VIENNALE’s cinematic dimension spans from the one-minute festival trailer – this year by Ken Jacobs – to the 643-minute Filipino family epos Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino (The Evolution of a Filipino Family) by Lav Diaz.
The VIENNALE’s international standing, which has been steadily rising over the years, manifests itself in the large number of world premieres and international first screenings shown at the festival – this year there are fifteen.
World premieres include the latest works by William E. Jones, Yervant Gianikian/Angela Ricci Lucchi and Les LeVeque, films by Martina Kudlácˇek, Kristina Konrad and Gerard Malanga, and the specialty of a music video by
Pedro Costa on the actress and singer Jeanne Balibar. In addition the exceptional Chinese feature film Alian by Wei Xueqi and the astounding Western paraphrase Black Dragon Canyon by Jay Keitel will be shown in Vienna for the
first time.

Among the international premieres to be presented at the festival are: Addict by Edo Bertoglio, the Vietnam documentary Sir No Sir! by David Zeiger, new films by Jean-Claude Rousseau and the European premiere of Martin Scorsese’s outstanding Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, which will have a one-time special screening at the VIENNALE.

The selection of new feature films and documentaries is accompanied by the film series «Propositions» – introduced last year – which consists of twelve works.
Propositions aims to direct attention to some particular works of
the VIENNALE. These are films, which due to their aesthetic strategies and political stance deserve a second glance and additional attention in the program. This year’s propositions include Eine andere Welt (Klaus Wyborny), Les
États nordiques (Denis Côté), Frammenti elettrici N. 4–5. Asia–Africa (Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi), Masahista (Brilliante Mendoza), Moartea Domnului Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu) and Who is Bozo Texino? (Bill Daniel).
The international recognition of the VIENNALE is also reflected in the guest list of the festival. In addition to actors such as Danny Glover and Jane Birkin, a number of important directors will be our guests, including Stanley
Kwan, Naomi Kawase, Nobuhiro Suwa and the great Portuguese doyen Manuel de Oliveira.