When the first Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) opened in 1951, Vienna was a city in transition. Marked by war and divided into occupation zones, the city was looking for a new identity – a cultural breath of life. From the start, the Vienna Festival was more than just a festival. It was a promise to experience art as a unifying element, to open spaces where there used to be borders.

The documentary film 75 Jahre Wiener Festwochen - Schönheit und Provokation (75 Years of the Vienna Festival – Beauty and Provocation) takes us on a journey through the history of one of the most important cultural festivals in Europe. Rare historical TV footage meets scenes from the rehearsals for the anniversary production The Best Play Ever by artistic director Milo Rau. Interviews with contemporaries, artists, former artistic directors and employees draw a lively picture of art, new beginnings and cultural shifts in Vienna. It is a story of ruptures and continuities, visions and resistance.

A documentary film by Felix Breisach in an ORF/Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) collaboration