You can book tickets for the following films of the CALL Film Festival. We look forward to welcoming you to Bad Hofgastein.
You will find an overview of the films in chronological order, as they will be shown on the festival days, in the CALL Film Festival ticketshop.
From 15 May 2026, we will publish a second batch of further films and the final programme. Please be sure to visit our website again.
The Programme
Yanuni – The Voice of the Amazon
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 3.30 p.m., Kursaal. The grand festival finale with the stars.
AT/DE/BR/CA/US 2025 | 112 min
Directed by: Richard Ladkani
Starring: Juma Xipaia, Hugo Xipaia (documentary film)
Screenplay: Richard Ladkani
Director of Photography: Richard Ladkani
Music: H. Scott Salinas
Age rating: 12 and over
CALL for Nature Selection
YANUNI – THE VOICE OF THE AMAZON tells the story of Juma Xipaia, an indigenous leader from the heart of the Amazon who rises from environmental activism to the highest political circles in Brazil: into the world’s first Ministry for Indigenous Peoples. While her husband Hugo, as an agent of the Brazilian environmental authority, dismantles illegal gold mines, Juma navigates the tension between power, threat, and motherhood – taking great personal risks in the process.
Intimate and epic at once, YANUNI – THE VOICE OF THE AMAZON tells, in breathtaking images, a gripping story of indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent struggle for our planet.
Following the closing film „Yanuni“, the CALL Film Festival concludes with a festive farewell ceremony, bringing together on stage the defining guests of this edition of the festival, including Reinhold Messner and Kim Cattrall. Together with further festival guests, we look back once more on an intense festival week. An atmospheric finale that brings together film, art, and personal perspectives one final time.
Awards:
Oscars 2026: on the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature
Berlinale: Cinema for Peace Award (International Green Film Award)
Tribeca Film Festival: closing film
Savannah Film Festival: Best Director, Best Documentary
São Paulo Film Festival: Audience Award
SunCine Film Festival: Best Documentary
Montrose Film Festival: Audience Award, and many more
Köln 75
Friday, 29 May 2026, 3.00 p.m., Kursaal. With masterclass by Vera Brandes.
DE/PL/BE 2025 | 116 min
Directed by: Ido Fluk
Starring: Mala Emde, John Magaro, Alexander Scheer, Ulrich Tukur, Jördis Triebel, Susanne Wolff
Screenplay: Ido Fluk
Director of Photography: Itay Gross
Music: Keith Jarrett
Age rating: 12 and over
KÖLN 75 tells the rousing true story of the rebellious 18-year-old Vera Brandes, who passionately puts everything on the line to make her dream come true: against her parents’ wishes, she books the Cologne Opera House at her own risk in order to bring the jazz pianist Keith Jarrett to Cologne for a concert. What begins as an improvised hour at the piano and hangs by a thread to the very end is destined to make history as „The Köln Concert“.
An inspiring portrait of the courage of a young woman in a male-dominated industry and the magical power of music that connects generations.
At the CALL Film Festival, Vera Brandes will speak after the film in a masterclass about the true story behind Keith Jarrett’s legendary Cologne concert. She offers insights into the creation of this extraordinary moment in music history and recounts how an improvised idea became a world-famous concert – and why, despite this, Keith Jarrett has not exchanged another word with her ever since.
Awards:
Berlinale 2025: world premiere in the programme
German Film Award 2025: nominations including Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actress (Mala Emde)
Vier minus drei (Four Minus Three)
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Kursaal. With masterclass.
AT/DE 2025 | 121 min
Directed by: Adrian Goiginger
Starring: Valerie Pachner, Robert Stadlober, Hanno Koffler, Stefanie Reinsperger, Ronald Zehrfeld
Screenplay: Senad Halilbašić (based on the novel by Barbara Pachl-Eberhart)
Director of Photography: Paul Sprinz
Music: Arash Safaian
Age rating: 14 and over
CALL for (Inner) Peace Selection
VIER MINUS DREI (FOUR MINUS THREE) tells, based on a true story, of Barbara, who works as a clown and, through a sudden fatal accident, loses her husband and both of her children. In the midst of unimaginable loss, she searches for a way back into life. With unconventional humour and the power of memory, she transforms her grief into a message of hope.
Director Adrian Goiginger creates a deeply emotional and life-affirming work about the resilience of the human heart and the healing power of imagination.
Awards:
Austrian Film Award 2026: 8 nominations (including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay)
Carl Laemmle Producer Award 2025: nomination, Talent Award
Palästina 36 (Palestine 36)
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 1.00 p.m., Congress Centre.
AP/GB/FR/DK/QA/SA/JO 2025 | 120 min
Directed by: Annemarie Jacir
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Hiam Abbass, Kamel El Basha, Robert Aramayo, Saleh Bakri
CALL for Peace Selection
Palestine 1936: more and more villages rise up against the British colonial power, which is enforcing its influence with violence. At the same time, European Jews who have fled National Socialism are settling in the region. The impartial Yusuf travels back and forth between his rural home village and an increasingly tense Jerusalem. After a momentous event, the young man takes the side of the resistance. He joins allies such as the dockworker Khalid, who, in the face of the escalating situation, sees no other way out but to take up arms.
As personal fates and political upheavals become inexorably intertwined, the situation comes to a dramatic head – a defining moment that marks the origin of the conflict in the entire region.
Awards:
Oscars 2026: on the shortlist for Best International Feature Film
Nürnberg (Nuremberg)
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 1.00 p.m., Kursaal.
US/HU 2025 | 148 min
Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Richard E. Grant
Screenplay: James Vanderbilt (based on „The Nazi and the Psychiatrist“ by Jack El-Hai)
Director of Photography: Dariusz Wolski
Music: Terence Blanchard
Age rating: 14 and over
CALL for Peace Selection
NUREMBERG takes us into the rubble of the war-scarred city in 1945. The American military psychiatrist Dr Douglas M. Kelley is given the task of examining the imprisoned key figures of the Nazi regime before the trials begin. In the process, he becomes drawn into a gripping intellectual duel with the charismatic Hermann Göring, one that pushes Kelley’s own morals and psyche to their limits.
A gripping historical drama with a star-studded cast that illuminates the abysses of power and the human nature behind the greatest crimes in history.
Awards:
AACTA International Awards 2026: nominations including Best Film, Best Leading Actor (Russell Crowe)
World Premiere: Artifact
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 4.00 p.m. With masterclass by Parov Stelar.
Directed by: Marcus Füreder aka Parov Stelar
Screenplay: Marcus Füreder
Music: Parov Stelar
Music film
Never before has a musician used Artificial Intelligence to transfer a music album into visual worlds of imagery. Parov Stelar, Austria’s most internationally significant living music artist – the founder of the Electro Swing genre, who brought it to world recognition – has turned his concept album „Artifact“ into a film. „Artifact“ captivates with epically sustained music and sound carpets, paired with modern beats and bombastic arrangements, which he recorded together with an orchestra at the Brucknerhaus Linz. The themes: parallel worlds, different dimensions, the question: what is time? The film often feels like a blend of images from the silent-film era in the style of Fritz Lang’s „Metropolis“, paired with futuristic-looking dream sequences. Alongside this, Parov Stelar poses existential questions such as „Does reality exist at all?“ An incredible work that celebrates its world premiere at the CALL Film Festival.
In a dedicated masterclass on „Artifact“, Parov Stelar talks about the connection between music, visual design, and narrative structures in film. In doing so, he sheds light on how electronic music functions as a dramaturgical element and how emotions can be amplified in interplay with images. At the centre stands the creative dialogue between sound, movement, and performing arts as a shared space of expression.
Meet Monica Velour
Friday, 29 May 2026, 6.15 p.m., Kursaal. With masterclass by Kim Cattrall.
US 2010 | 98 min
Directed by: Keith Bearden
Starring: Kim Cattrall, Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy, Keith David, Brian Dennehy
Screenplay: Keith Bearden
Director of Photography: Frank Godwin
Music: Nathan Larson
Age rating: 12 and over
MEET MONICA VELOUR tells the story of the shy teenager Tobe, who travels across the country in his grandfather’s borrowed motorhome to meet his secret idol: the once-celebrated adult-film icon Monica Velour. But instead of glamour, he finds a woman who, far from her former fame, lives in a small town and wrestles with the shadows of her past. Between the two, an unexpected connection develops, full of warmth, longing, and new perspectives. A touching tragicomedy starring Kim Cattrall in a bold and multi-layered role, telling of broken dreams, second chances, and the search for dignity.
As part of the CALL Film Festival, Kim Cattrall offers insights into her Hollywood career in an exclusive masterclass held before the film. In it, she talks about formative roles, the changes in the industry, and the work behind iconic characters such as Samantha in „Sex And The City“, who brought her international fame. A personal exchange on acting, attitude, and the dynamics of a long artistic career.
Five Minutes of Heaven.
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Kursaal. With masterclass by Oliver Hirschbiegel.
IE/GB 2009 | 89 min
Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinca, Niamh Cusack
Screenplay: Guy Hibbert
Director of Photography: Rainer Klausmann
Music: Harry Escott
Age rating: 16 and over
FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN takes us into a Northern Ireland scarred by violence, where two men meet again decades after a devastating murder. The former perpetrator Alistair Little and Joe Griffin, whose brother was killed back then, are to be reconciled as part of a TV project. But behind the planned conversation lie suppressed guilt, deep pain, and the question of whether forgiveness is possible at all. An intense drama by Oliver Hirschbiegel with Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, which illuminates with great emotional force the scars of the conflict and the power of human encounter.
Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, President of the CALL Film Festival 2026, offers insights in a masterclass following the screening into the making of his film and talks about the challenges of telling, on film, a highly emotionally charged chapter of Northern Irish history. At the centre lies the engagement with guilt, memory, and the question of possible reconciliation between perpetrator and victim. Hirschbiegel explains his way of working with actors such as Liam Neeson and the decision to tell major political themes through deeply personal encounters. An intense conversation about the responsibility of cinema and the power of telling stories of historical conflict.
Dieses bescheuerte Herz. (This Crazy Heart.)
Friday, 29 May 2026, 12.00 noon, Kursaal. With masterclass by Lars Amend.
DE 2017 | 111 min
Directed by: Marc Rothemund
Starring: Elyas M’Barek, Philip Schwarz, and others
Screenplay: Maggie Peren, Andi Rogenhagen
Director of Photography: Florian Emmerich
Music: Martin Todsharow
Age rating: none
DIESES BESCHEUERTE HERZ (THIS CRAZY HEART) tells of Lenny, a spoiled young man from a wealthy family who spends his life between parties and irresponsibility. When his father cuts off his money, he is to take care of David, who is 15 years old and gravely ill with a heart condition. From initial rejection, an extraordinary friendship develops that changes them both and shows them what really matters in life. A warm-hearted tragicomedy based on the bestseller by Lars Amend and on a true story, starring Elyas M’Barek and Philip Noah Schwarz, which tells with humour, feeling, and great humanity of courage, joie de vivre, and genuine closeness.
Following the film, bestselling author Lars Amend, who has sold two million books and on whose true story this film is based, offers insights into his work and the lessons he drew from the film in an exclusive masterclass. Daniel Meyer, the then 15-year-old terminally ill boy who in 2012 was given only one more year to live by his doctors, and whose bucket list Lars Amend worked through with him in real life, is now 29 years old. The two are still friends.
The Grand Reinhold Messner Retrospective
Gasherbrum – The Luminous Mountain
Thursday, 28 May 2026, 1.30 p.m., Kursaal. The grand CALL Film Festival opening. Opening film and masterclass with Reinhold Messner.
The grand opening event of the CALL Film Festival, with some of the festival’s stars on stage, including Reinhold Messner and Kim Cattrall.
Following this, Reinhold Messner speaks in an exclusive masterclass about boundary experiences, courage, and the power of great visions. The legendary extreme mountaineer offers personal insights into his extraordinary life and shows how determination, risk, and passion can also be transferred to creative processes. An inspiring encounter with one of the most fascinating personalities of our time.
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Congress Centre. Matinee with two films: Gasherbrum – The Luminous Mountain. Sturm am Manaslu (Storm on Manaslu).
DE 1985 | 45 min
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Starring: Reinhold Messner, Hans Kammerlander, Werner Herzog
Screenplay: Werner Herzog
Director of Photography: Rainer Klausmann
Music: Popol Vuh (Florian Fricke)
Age rating: 6 and over
GASHERBRUM – THE LUMINOUS MOUNTAIN is an incisive portrait of the psychological state of exception at the heart of extreme mountaineering. The film accompanies Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander on what was then a revolutionary endeavour: the double traverse of Gasherbrum I and II without supplemental oxygen and without a fixed base camp. Director Werner Herzog focuses less on the athletic achievement than on the existential motivation and the deep fears of the men.
A cinematic masterpiece that fathoms the soul of those who push their limits and captures, in spectacular, raw images, the inhospitableness of the eight-thousanders.
Awards:
German Film and Media Rating (FBW): rating „Highly Recommended“
Everest – The Last Step
Thursday, 28 May 2026, 4.30 p.m. With masterclass by Reinhold Messner and prominent guests.
AT/DE 2018 | 90 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Simon Messner, Philipp Brugger, Peter Habeler, Reinhold Messner
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner, Leo Dickinson
Director of Photography: Martin Hanslmayr
Music: Michael Kadelbach
Age rating: 6 and over
EVEREST – THE LAST STEP reconstructs 8 May 1978 – the day on which Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler made the impossible real and became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. In a mixture of original footage and elaborate re-enactments (with Messner’s son Simon in the leading role), the dramatic ascent through the „death zone“ is rendered tangibly close.
A gripping documentary about one of the greatest pioneering achievements of the 20th century and the overcoming of both medical and mental limits.
Awards:
Romy 2019: Best TV Documentary
Still Alive – Drama on Mt. Kenya
Friday, 29 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Kursaal.
AT 2016 | 88 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Hansjörg Auer, Vitus Auer, Gert Judmaier, Oswald Ölz
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner, Hans-Peter Stauber
Director of Photography: Andreas Gradl, Martin Hanslmayr
Music: Mattia Cupelli
Age rating: 12 and over
STILL ALIVE tells the incredible true story of one of the most spectacular rescue operations in the history of mountaineering. In 1970, the young medical doctor Gert Judmaier falls on Mount Kenya and suffers an open fracture of the lower leg – at the time, a certain death sentence. Messner stages the drama of camaraderie and Judmaier’s will to survive while, in an unprecedented international effort, a rescue is organised from Tyrol.
Messner’s directorial debut is not a classic mountain film, but a deeply emotional study of friendship and the thin line between life and death.
K2 – The Great Dispute
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Congress Centre.
IT 2025 | 67 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Reinhold Messner (narrator), archive material
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner
Director of Photography: Archive material / various
Music: various
Age rating: 12 and over
K2 – THE GREAT DISPUTE addresses one of the darkest chapters in the history of mountaineering: the first ascent of K2 in 1954 by an Italian expedition. Behind the official heroic narrative lay, for decades, a story of betrayal, defamation, and false testimony against the young Walter Bonatti. Reinhold Messner meticulously revisits the case and restores the truth about solidarity and egotism on the mountain.
An investigative documentary that shows how myths are constructed and how long the battle for historical truth can take.
Sturm am Manaslu (Storm on Manaslu)
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 10.00 a.m., Congress Centre. Matinee with two films: Gasherbrum – The Luminous Mountain. Sturm am Manaslu (Storm on Manaslu).
AT 2020 | 52 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Reinhold Messner, Hans Kammerlander (archive)
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner
Director of Photography: various
Music: various
Age rating: 12 and over
STURM AM MANASLU (STORM ON MANASLU) looks back on the tragic expedition of 1972. While Reinhold Messner reaches the summit of Manaslu solo, an inferno breaks loose on the mountain. His companions lose their bearings in the snowstorm; one of them disappears without a trace, a second dies during the dramatic search. The film works through the trauma and the feelings of guilt that accompanied Messner for decades.
An intimate chamber piece set against the mighty backdrop of the Himalayas, about the unpredictability of nature and the price of ambition.
Ama Dablam – The Sacred Mountain
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 11.45 a.m., Congress Centre. With masterclass by Reinhold Messner.
AT 2018 | 50 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Reinhold Messner, Simon Messner
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner
Director of Photography: Martin Hanslmayr
Music: various
Age rating: 6 and over
AMA DABLAM – THE SACRED MOUNTAIN portrays one of the most beautifully shaped peaks in the world, regarded as sacred by the Sherpas. Messner sheds light on the myths surrounding the mountain and the history of its ascents. In doing so, he also reflects on the transformation of mountaineering into mass tourism and on the importance of respect for other cultures and their religious sites.
Aesthetically striking, the film captures the magical aura of the mountain and combines alpinism with spiritual depth.
The Cerro Torre Myth – Reinhold Messner Investigates
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 1.45 p.m., Congress Centre.
AT 2020 | 90 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Reinhold Messner, David Lama (archive), Cesare Maestri
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner
Director of Photography: various
Music: various
Age rating: 6 and over
THE CERRO TORRE MYTH grapples with what is arguably the most contested ascent in history: did Cesare Maestri really tell the truth about his success on the „impossible mountain“ in Patagonia in 1959? Messner travels to the location to investigate, interviews those involved, and analyses the evidence. The film weaves the historical riddle together with modern climbing artistry and shows why this granite spire continues to stir tempers to this day.
As gripping as a criminal case, the film documents the struggle for honour and the unrelenting reality of the Patagonian storms.
Messner’s Himalayas (3 Episodes)
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 4.00 p.m., Congress Centre.
AT/DE 2018 | 3 x 45 min
Directed by: Reinhold Messner
Starring: Reinhold Messner, local inhabitants of the Himalayas
Screenplay: Reinhold Messner
Director of Photography: various
Music: various
Age rating: none
MESSNER’S HIMALAYAS is a monumental journey through the „roof of the world“. In three parts, Messner sheds light on the ecological, cultural, and mountaineering significance of this vast mountain range. He visits remote monasteries, talks with nomads about climate change, and reflects on his own expeditions. It is the cinematic legacy of his lifelong connection with this region.
An epic of stunning imagery that shows the Himalayas not only as a sporting arena, but as a fragile habitat and spiritual centre.
CALL Open Air Cinema at the Alpenarena
Michael
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 9 p.m. | Alpenarena Bad Hofgastein
US 2025 | 149 min
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Larenz Tate, Mike Myers
Screenplay: John Logan
Director of Photography: Robert Richardson
Music: Michael Jackson and others
Age rating: 12 and over
CALL for Peace & Nature Selection
FREE ADMISSION
It had the most successful film opening of any biopic in history: „Michael“, the film about the life of pop superstar Michael Jackson, depicting his meteoric rise up to 1988, took an astonishing 217 million dollars at the worldwide box office on its opening weekend. Sharply criticised by the media for leaving out controversial themes of his life, the film nevertheless became a global audience hit. We are showing the film above all for one reason: Michael Jackson was the first pop megastar to campaign throughout his life for the preservation of our environment and our planet. Songs such as „Earth Song“ remain a manifesto and a sign of how art can package a complex subject musically in order to make people think. That is why „Michael“ is screening as part of our „CALL for Nature & Peace Selection“.
Parov Stelar: Artifact
Saturday, 30 May 2026, 11.15 p.m. | Alpenarena Bad Hofgastein
Directed by: Marcus Füreder aka Parov Stelar
Music: Parov Stelar
Music film
Description see above.
Immediately following „Michael“ – at around 11 p.m. – visitors to the Alpenarena will experience another highlight: Marcus Füreder aka Parov Stelar will personally present his first concept film „Artifact“, the cinematic adaptation of his album of the same name created with the help of AI-generated visual worlds. The film celebrates its world premiere at the CALL Film Festival.
