The Diagonal 2021 will be postponed. The Austrian film festival will be held in Graz from 8 to 13 June 2021. Following the measures announced by the federal government over the weekend to contain the rampant pandemic, the festival, with its numerous parallel projections and the necessary shifts, it no longer seems feasible for the date originally scheduled for March. Even at this early stage, preparations are proving to be very limited.

The decision to postpone the Austrian Film Festival is above all a decision for the cinema, per Graz come location, for filmmakers, for the public and for the industry. The new June date aims to give Austrian cinema as much attention as possible and offer an atmospheric cultural experience on the spot.

The Diagonal 2021 will take place in Graz from 8 to 13 June under a strict Covid-19 security concept. On its new date, the Austrian film festival continues to rely on the Styrian capital as its physical hub, as well as accompanying online offers. The change of date, agreed with the festival general assembly, it was carried out in close consultation with the partners and colleagues of the Diagonale team. Policy makers welcome this move.

“We hope to be able to celebrate an Austrian film festival, a festival for Graz in June. We look forward to a festival approaching what we call public life. We see the Diagonale as a social event that contributes to the public life of Graz and is firmly anchored in it: from going to the cinema to going to the pub, the festival needs the city. The disturbing development of the pandemic throughout Europe and the expected massive restrictions until late spring make it seem unrealistic and irresponsible to stick to the March festival date. Convinced that the postponement will allow us to offer guests, to professionals, to the public and to all those who care about the Diagonale, an atmospheric festival, we decided to take this step”.

— Sebastian Höglinger and Peter Schernhuber, Artistic directors of the Festival

The programming for this year's edition remains in effect. The Austrian Film Festival is committed to continue preparations with its regular staff and thanks its supporters.

The full festival program will be announced at the end of May.