FILM SCREENING | ANNIVERSARY SERIES | IMPORT EXPORT
Import Export
by Ulrich Seidl
135 minutes
Austria 2007
In German with English subtitles
Seidl’s film tells two stories that at first glance appear unrelated. One is an import story, beginning in the Ukraine and leading to Austria. The other is an export story, in which the trajectory is reversed. Both protagonists are in search of work, a new beginning, an existence, life: Olga, from Eastern Europe, where unremitting poverty is the order of the day; Paul, from the West, where unemployment means not hunger, but a crisis of identity and a sense of uselessness. Both are struggling to believe in themselves, to find meaning; both travel to a new country, and thus into its depths. IMPORT EXPORT is a film about sex and death, living and dying, winners and losers, power and helplessness.
“IMPORT EXPORT is a work of the utmost political importance. It is also, in its rigor and fearlessness, its sorrow and pitilessness, an outstanding artistic achievement.” –Sukhdev Sandhu, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
This year, the Austrian Cultural Forum marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of its architectural landmark building in midtown Manhattan with a host of special programs. To celebrate this momentous anniversary, the ACFNY has joined forces with New York’s Anthology Film Archives and the Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film to present a series showcasing ten of the finest Austrian films produced since the Forum’s re-opening in 2002.
Featuring fictional, documentary, and experimental films made by Austrian filmmakers in the last ten years, the series demonstrates the richness and sophistication of contemporary Austrian cinema, and includes both internationally acclaimed films (The White Ribbon, Our Daily Bread, Import Export, Lourdes) and those which have had little or no exposure here in the United States (such as Ruth Beckermann’s Zorro’s Bar Mitzwa or Gerhard Benedikt Friedl’s Wolff Von Amerongen).
For more information, please visit >> anthologyfilmarchives.org/
VENUE
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue (at 2nd St.)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 505-5181
Tickets are $9 and are available at Anthology’s box office on the day of the show only. The box office opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day. There are no advance ticket sales. Reservations are available to Anthology members only.