© Elias Fleischer
SLASH (the) INDUSTRY is an initiative to boost the quality of Austrian fantastic cinema. It is conceived as a regular project in the annual eleven-day main edition of the SLASH Film Festival at the end of September.
SLASH (the) INDUSTRY is aimed at established members of the domestic film scene and – with its deliberately accessible program – also addresses amateurs and semiprofessionals across Austria in order to connect them internationally.
This year’s SLASH (the) INDUSTRY is curated and organized by the Berlin-based production company SCHATTENKANTE with the participation of Anna de Paoli, Linus de Paoli, Till Kleinert and Hannah Kretzschmar. They state their mission as follows:
When the tank is empty, HERZBLUT must make the engine purr again. This year’s SLASH (the) INDUSTRY is dedicated to this combustible feedstock, without which no good movie could be made—and no audience would show up. Yet its use carries considerable risks. Lifeblood is always both the depletion of one’s own resources and an infinitely renewable source of energy.
© Schattenkante
In a time when safety nets are yanked away left and right—politically, economically, ecologically—the makers of Fantastic Cinema also find themselves faced with great challenges. But that’s no reason for us to play possum or be catapulted into an existential crisis. Historically, it has always been uncanny, speculative, down-and-dirty genre movies that have captured the crises and challenges of their times more acutely and immediately than any other form of filmmaking.
Given this, we wanted to dedicate our series of workshop talks, panel discussions, and masterclasses to the day-to-day insanities of producing contemporary genre films. What aesthetic strategies enable the filmmakers featured in our programs to break through the boundaries of everyday life and sharpen their eyes for uncertain horizons despite limited resources? What tricks and desperate measures were necessary to develop, finance, and complete their projects? And what options do they have in finding their audiences beyond the billion-dollar marketing machineries of streaming services and legacy sequels?
Following SLASH’s philosophy of community, HERZBLUT aims for an accessible exchange between festival audiences, filmmakers, and industry professionals. Veterans like Ben Wheatley (Kill List, High-Rise) or practical-FX guru Dan Martin (special makeup FX for Brandon Cronenberg) encounter young creatives at the start of their careers—and of course our lifeblood-thirsty SLASH community. Genre up-and-comers can use the speed-dating format as an opportunity to take the pulse of far-traveled professionals. Concurrently, a 48-hour filmmaking challenge with director and mentor Josefine Scheffler lets participants find out if, having talked the warmblooded talk, they can also walk the lifeblood-soaked walk.
We hope that mainlining a concentrated dose of inspiration will give the next generation of genre filmmakers nothing less than the support, courage, and desire to make their dreams (and nightmares) come true on the screen.