© Mercan Falter
SLASH film festival is Austria’s largest event dedicated to Fantastic Cinema. It was founded in 2010 by Verein zur Förderung des Fantastischen Films in close collaboration with Filmcasino, which still serves as a main venue. Metro Kinokulturhaus in the heart of Vienna’s Inner City became the second main venue of the festival in 2018 and also houses the festival center in its mezzanine. SLASH quickly grew in size and scope, attracting close to 15.000 visitors annually over its 11-day run.
Right from its inception, the SLASH film festival was more than just a place to watch movies. The young creative team, led by film critic and curator Markus Keuschnigg, transfers the universe of Fantastic Film from the screen into the real world: meticulous location design, hand-picked special events, provocative performances as well as the cherished guests of the festival ensure that each and every festival edition is its own beast, a fabulous concoction of All Things Fantastique, on-screen as well as off-screen.
Each year’s program is comprised of 60+ Austrian premieres of international highlights from the field of Fantastic Film, ranging from crowd-pleasers to hot docs, from fiercely independent films to heritage revivals.
Apart from the main edition, the SLASH team also organizes the 3-day-long SLASH ½-festival – in collaboration with Crossing Europe film festival – in spring as well as a X-mas special with outrageous movie premieres destined to put you in a festive mood of a different kind.
Past guests of the festival include NICOLAS CAGE, UDO KIER, CRISPIN GLOVER, JULIEN MAURY, BEATRICE DALLE, LLOYD KAUFMAN, BERNARD ROSE, JOE DANTE, JÖRG BUTTGEREIT, DARIO ARGENTO, CORIN HARDY, ROAR UTHAUG and JOHN WATERS.