| Diagonale | 2026 | Preview |

The Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film takes place from March 18 to 23, 2026, for the 29th time in Graz. Following successful additions and changes under the dirctor duo Dominik Kamalzadeh and Claudia Slanar, the festival will continue to expand as a place for encounters, including unexpected ones, for exchange and for setting new horizons.

The full program for the upcoming edition will be online March 5, 2026, at 1 p.m., ticket sales start March 14, 2026.

The film competition, in which Austria’s most prestigious film awards will be presented by international juries on March 23, will once again form the centrepiece of the upcoming festival edition, featuring feature films, documentaries, short films and innovative films. The Diagonale will also see the presentation of the Franz Grabner Prize, the Carl Mayer Screenplay Awards, the Thomas Pluch Screenplay Awards, the Kodak Analogue Film Prize and the Kleine Zeitung Audience Award. More information about the prizes and juries will be available soon → here

FILMSPECIALS AT DIAGONALE ’26:

| Position | Billy Roisz |
Diagonale 2026 is dedicating a comprehensive retrospective, including a live performance, to filmmaker, musician and performer Billy Roisz, who has been active since the late 1990s.

SUPPORTING PROGRAM ’26:

| Nachspann |
Cinema that goes beyond the screen for special conversations and discussions that require more time and space.

| Forum |
Festival location for discussion and debates in the Heimatsaal in the Volkskundemuseum at Paulustor.

| Film Meeting |
The festival’s industry meeting will take place for the 16th time in 2026 and will offer panels and discussion rounds on current topics as well as updates and news in the Diagonale Forum. The first day (March 19) is open to the public, while closed think tanks will take place on the second day (March 20). The detailed program will be announced at the beginning of March.

| Club Diagonale |
Again this year, there will be lots of opportunities to come together for dancing and drinks!

| Extras |
Exhibitions around Austrian film as part of the Diagonale.