In this section you will find all news related to festivals and initiatives as well as news from the VdFS office.

It is with deep sadness that we announce that the long-time chairperson of the VdFS board, Prof. DI Eva Ulmer-Janes, died on Friday, 12 May 2023 after a long and sometimes difficult time. Eva Ulmer-Janes was a member of the Austrian Filmdesigners Association (VÖF) and represented the interests of the professional group of costume designers on the board of VdFS from 1995 to 2013. She was a particularly endearing colleague who was highly esteemed among filmmakers and who worked for the interests of our society with the greatest commitment, for which we cannot thank her enough. Our thoughts are with her and her family!   On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Supervisory Board and the staff of VdFS

© EUJ

"MAN KANN GAR NICHT ANDERS ALS STREITEN" Interview with Ray Filmmagazin and Prof. DI Eva Ulmer-Janes und Dr. Walter Dillenz (german)

CV Prof. DI Eva Ulmer-Janes (german)

Dear beneficiaries,

from 21 to 26 March 2023 the Diagonale'23 will take place in Graz.

For this reason, the VdFS team will be out of the office from Tuesday 21 to Thursday 23 March and therefore cannot be reached by phone.
In urgent cases, please send us an email to office@vdfs.at.

From Friday, 24 March 2023, we will be available again as usual!

We look forward to seeing you in Graz. All information about the Diagonale'23 can be found here.

Dear beneficiaries,

our office will be closed from December 26 to December 30, 2022. During this time, your emails will not be answered.
From 02 January 2023 we will be back as usual for you.

The VdFS team wishes you a peaceful Christmas season, a Merry Christmas and a good start into the New Year!

At the first "Infotag Film" at the Stadtkino in the Künstlerhaus on November 24, 2022, numerous funding agencies presented themselves.

At the "Infotag Film", institutions of the Austrian film industry introduced themselves: What do they do and promote? When do they become relevant for young filmmakers? Who are the contact persons?

The focus of the 1st Info Day is on the topics of financing, distribution and working conditions, rights, representation of interests. The target audience was and is film creatives who are at the beginning of their career and/or are already professionalizing and establishing themselves.

In the course of the Info Day, a brochure was created with all the institutions that presented themselves and which is to be understood as a guide for (young) filmmakers.  You can download it here.

aac Check list

The aac - austrian association of cinematographers - has published a contract checklist with important information if you want to enter into an employment contract, freelance service contract or work contract.

https://www.aacamera.org/allgemein/vertragscheckliste/ (german)

Hardship fund: multiple-income and caseload employees

Find all relevant information here:

https://www.filmschaffende.at/coronanews/haertefallfonds-mehrfachgeringfuegig-und-fallweise-beschaeftigte/ (german)

Until now, anyone who wanted to become a member of VdFS had to fill out our membership contract in analog form and send it to us by mail. With the new digital membership contract, this is no longer necessary and you can do this directly via your smartphone or PC. Of course, you still have the option to send us the contract by postal delivery.

The contract can also be digitally signed using mobile signature or your own handwritten signature before it is sent to us. The digital process makes it easier for us to handle the requests so that you can become a member of our company even faster.

As part of the constituent meeting elections were also held of the newly elected Board of Directors on October 20, 2022.

Michael Kreihsl (Direction) was unanimously elected as the new Chairman of the Board.	Kristina Sprenger (Acting) was unanimously elected as the new Deputy Chairwoman of the Board.

On behalf of the beneficiaries, the committees and the team of VdFS, we would also like to express our sincere thanks to Florian Reichmann (Production Design), a long-standing member first of the Supervisory Board and subsequently of the Board of Directors (as Deputy Chairman), for his commitment and tireless efforts on behalf of the interests of Austrian filmmakers!

In the General Assembly of the VdFS on October 13, 2022, the resolution on the annual financial statements and transparency report 2021 were presented and in addition to that new elections to the Board of Directors were held.

Due to the resignation of Fabian Eder as Chairman and member of the Board of Directors, the mandate camera had to be newly elected.

Fabian Eder was Chairman of the Board of VdFS from June 2013 to October 2022 and also Chairman of the umbrella organization of filmmakers. On behalf of the beneficiaries, the committees and the team of VdFS, we would like to thank him for his many years of commitment and his tireless efforts for the interests of Austrian filmmakers!	Astrid Heubrandtner was unanimously elected at the General Assembly to succeed Fabian Eder (Mandate Camera) on the Board for the next three years. We are looking forward to a good cooperation!

The managing director of VdFS, Mag. Gernot Schödl, LL.M. in an interview with mica - music austria about the new copyright law.

Gernot Schödl (c) 2021 Martin Jordan Fotografie 

"Seit der Urheberrechtsreform haften Online-Plattformen für ihre Inhalte. Ist dadurch eine Verbesserung für Musikerinnen und Musiker eingetreten? Und: Kommt das Geld bei den Künstlerinnen und Künstlern an? GERNOT SCHÖDL ist Geschäftsführer der VdFS, der VERWERTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT DER FILMSCHAFFENDEN, Koordinator der INITIATIVE URHEBERRECHT ÖSTERREICH und als solcher einer der betont Künstler*innen-freundlichen Urheberrechtler dieses Landes. Mit Markus Deisenberger sprach er über Nutzen und Schwachpunkte des neuen Urheberrechtsgesetzes." 

Read the entire conversation with Markus Deisenberger about the benefits and weaknesses of the new copyright law here (german). 

Dear beneficiaries, dear members of VdFS,

we are pleased to invite you again to our annual general meeting (allottee meeting) in 2022! Please find details in the invitation (german).

We request your registration by 25.09.2022 at the latest by e-mail to presse@vdfs.at.  

This year, the election for the succession of the beneficiary representative Enid Löser will also take place during the meeting. She was admitted as a cooperative member of VdFS in 2022 and is therefore no longer available as a representative of the beneficiaries. To date, VdFS has received the following candidacy:

 - Katharina Haring / Stage Design (You can find the application form here.)

Any other candidacies for the professional group Stage Design (incl. letter of motivation, filmography and curriculum vitae) must be submitted by e-mail to office@vdfs.at by 29.09.2022 at the latest.

We look forward to your participation in this year's general meeting!

Dear beneficiaries, dear ordinary members of VdFS,

please note the following dates:

Mitgliederversammlung 

06/10/2022, 18.00 Uhr / Metro Kinokulturhaus

Generalversammlung

13/10/2022, 18.00 Uhr / DG ÖGV / Löwelstraße 14

We will send your personal invitations in due time.

We are looking forward to seeing you! 

Dear beneficiaries,

extensive maintenance work is currently taking place on our online platform MyVdFS.
Therefore, access to your MyVdFS account will be limited during the period from August 16 to probably August 31, 2022.

If you need anything in the meantime, please feel free to contact us at office@vdfs.at.

Thank you for your understanding!

Already for the 12th time the Austrian Film Award was presented on June 30, 2022. In the Auditorium Grafenegg, the gala, directed by Clara Stern, took place together with about 1000 guests.

The big winner of this year's award is "Große Freiheit" by director Sebastian Meise. The film won no less than 8 awards, including "Bester Spielfilm" and "Beste Regie". The prize for best female lead actress goes to Maria Hofstätter for her work in "Fuchs am Bau", Georg Friedrich is happy about the prize for best male lead actor.

All award winners and a review can be found here. We congratulate all winners!

Film Award 2022
1/11

eSeL.at - Lorenz Seidler

VdFS was elected for the third time in a row to the Board of the European audiovisual authors' association SAA, based in Brussels!

33 collecting societies from 25 EU member countries (and the UK) voted on the new composition of the 8-member governing body during the General Assembly on June 28, 2022 in Brussels. The line-up of the SAA Board for the next 3 years is as follows:

• AIPA, Slovenia (Gregor Štibernik)

• ALCS, UK (Barbara Hayes)

• Copyswede, Sweden (Lars Grönquist)

• LITA, Slovakia (Jana Vozarova)

• SACD, France (Patrick Raude)

• ZAPA, Poland (Dominik Skoczek)

• VdFS, Austria (Gernot Schödl)

• VG Wort, Germany (Robert Staats

Find more details here  https://www.saa-authors.eu/en/pages/332-board-of-directors#.Yr2MmnZByUl

The Board of Directors, with Cécile Despringre, Executive Director. Photo: Sophie Degroote 

The VdFS has a position for a vacation internship in the summer of 2022! We are looking for a

Employee*in data processing

Your responsibilities will include:

Supporting the data management team in the areas of

1. Data research
2. Data entry and data import
3. Data evaluation

Your activities will include in particular:

• Input of new works/features/broadcast data into the database (Filemaker)
• Research of films in the Internet Movie Database
• Manual actor/actress categorization in the database
• Editing and control of claim and broadcast lists
• Program research & identification of member repertoire
• Preparation of payment lists

We expect:

• Experience in handling and processing large amounts of data.
• Experience with FileMaker or comparable database systems is an advantage
• Very good Office skills (esp. Excel)
• Very good knowledge of German and English, both written and spoken
• High quality awareness
• Analytical thinking skills
• Independent, structured and proactive way of working
• Good communication and teamwork skills
• Cultural and film affinity

We offer you:

• Temporary part-time position: 20 h/week
• Time period: July 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022
• A responsible task in a dynamic team
• Good public accessibility
• The provided Brutto salary amounts to EUR 1.300,-. Depending on qualifications and experience, overpayment is also possible.

We look forward to receiving your detailed application by e-mail no later than June 15, 2022, addressed to Managing Director Gernot Schödl, LL.M. at: bewerbung@vdfs.at.

Update 21.06.2022: The position has been recruited. Thank you for your interest and applications!

The online portal MyVdFS, which is freely accessible for our members, is now also available as a mobile app -
with all functions and even more clearly arranged!

Dear beneficiaries,

we are pleased to present you our new app!

VdFS sees itself as a modern service provider that enables its beneficiaries to communicate electronically in line with the requirements of the EU Directive for collecting societies and the VerwGesG 2016. As the first collecting society in Austria, we now also offer our members access to our electronic membership system MyVdFS via app.

We hope that you like the new MyVdFS app and that you will use it and look forward to your feedback!

With the MyVdFS app, you can manage your membership, make new works notifications, view your credits, and update your member data - all while on the go with your smartphone or tablet.

Need help with the installation or have feedback?

Feel free to contact us at myvdfs@vdfs.at We look forward to hearing from you!

Dear beneficiaries,

we will be in Graz for Diagonale'22 from Tuesday, April 04, up to and including Thursday, April 07, 2022 and therefore our office will not be staffed and we will have limited accessibility.
Please contact us at office@vdfs.at, we will read and process your mails. In urgent cases we can also be reached by phone.

We wish you a nice Diagonale'22 and a good time in Graz!

On 23/03/2022 we remembered Daniela Padalewski-Gerber with a special evening at the Metrokino with family, friends, colleagues and companions.
After numerous postponements due to the pandemic, the evening for Daniela could finally take place. Kristina Sprenger, Maria Anna Kollmann and Fabian Eder led through the evening. The movie 'Der Narr von Wien' (John Goldschmidt, 1982) was shown, for which Daniela was responsible for the editing. With a small buffet and drinks the evening found a nice ending for Daniela.

Daniela was the longest serving board member of VdFS, representing the mandate film editing from the beginning - until her completely unexpected death on 27/03/2020. She was for many years chairwoman of the Austrian Association Film Editing aea and always engaged in the Dachverband der Filmschaffenden.For the entire film industry, this loss was and is difficult. Therefore, it was a pleasure for us to come together and commemorate our dear colleague and friend.

One evening for Daniela
1/20

Florasign - Flora Hübl

Since holding virtual meetings is also becoming increasingly important for collecting societies, we have technically upgraded our meeting room and given it an acoustic treatment.
With a new flatscreen and a video conferencing system, VdFS and its partners, such as the professional associations of filmmakers, who also regularly use the meeting room for their meetings, are now optimally equipped to participate in virtual conferences.

Dear beneficiaries, 

our online platform MyVdFS will be subject to maintenance over the weekend. The site will be unavailable from Friday 04/02/2022 until Sunday 06/02/2022.

Thank you for your understanding!

Welcome to February 2022!

We are currently working for you from the home office and from the office.

The office is staffed Monday through Thursday from 09:00 to 17:00 and Friday from 09:00 to 15:30. We still ask you to refrain from unannounced visits and to make an appointment with us if necessary. We are available by phone and e-mail.

Starting November 22, 2021, the VdFS team will be back to working for you mainly from the home office, but the office at Löwelstraße will be staffed daily. We kindly ask you to refrain from visiting our office at the moment.

Of course, we are available for you via email and phone and will do our best to answer your inquiries as soon as possible.

Take good care of yourself and stay healthy!

We ask for your support and ask you to sign and spread the following online petition! 

On September 2, 2021, the official draft of the Ministry of Justice for the UrhG Amendment 2021  was sent out for review.

Measured against the working papers of the Ministry of Justice from December 2020 and the implementation of the EU Internal Market Directive 2019 in five Member States - especially Germany - which has already taken place, this official draft unfortunately represents a significant step backwards.
 
Creators in general and filmmakers in particular should be protected, especially on the important issues of

• Liability of the major online platforms (YouTube, Facebook, etc.) and the participation of artists in revenues, as well as
• Copyright contract law (protective provisions for authors and performers against unilaterally disadvantageous contract clauses, entitlement to appropriate and proportionate remuneration, possibility of being represented by representative associations, etc.).

are massively disadvantaged in comparison to their German colleagues.

VdFS, coordinator of the Copyright Contract Law Initiative (Initiative Urhebervertragsrecht), demands the same level of protection in the implementation of the UrhG Amendment 2021 in Austria as in Germany!

 
Please sign the following online petition.
This will only take a few minutes of your time.
Your vote counts!

www.openpetition.eu/initiativeuvr

 
We thank you for your assistance and will keep you informed about further developments!

Dear beneficiaries,

we are pleased to invite you once again to our annual general meeting (beneficiaries' meeting) in 2021. Due to the Corona situation, this will be held in hybrid form, as was the case last year. Please refer to the invitation for details!

VdFS beneficiaries' meeting
14/10/2021, 18.00  / Entrance from 17.00

METRO Kinokulturhaus
Johannesgasse 4
1010 Wien

This year, the election of the beneficiary representatives for the next term of office (4 years) will take place during the meeting. To date, VdFS has received the following nominations:
 
- Drack Julia (film editing)
- Ebner-Laszek Theresa (Costume Design)
- Frey Gerald (camera)
- Groll Jabob (Director)
- Löser Enid (Production Design)
- Nelska Liliana (Acting)                       
 
Any other candidacies (incl. letter of motivation, filmography and curriculum vitae) should be submitted by e-mail to office@vdfs.at by October 7, 2021 at the latest, indicating the professional group for which candidacy is sought.

We request that you submit your application by email to office@vdfs.at no later than 07/10/2021.
If you wish to attend the meeting virtually, please indicate this when registering. You will then receive a link (MS Teams) from us in due time.

We look forward to your physical or virtual participation in this year's General Assembly!

The team of VdFS has now been increased to a total of 7 and on this occasion we have also created new team photos. We are looking forward to the collaboration with you!

Austrian Film Award 2021

Under the banner We are cinema, the Austrian Film Award was presented for the 11th time on 08.07.2021.
The gala, directed by Arash T. Riahi and Arman T. Riahi, focused on the appreciation of Austrian filmmaking and the most important factor of togetherness.

The Trouble With Being Born" by Sandra Wollner was awarded as best feature film, "Die Dohnal" by Sabine Derflinger as best documentary film.
We are especially pleased with our board member Niki Mossböck, who received the award for Best Editing, also for "Die Dohnal".

All award winners as well as a review can be found here.

VdFS congratulates all winners. It was a wonderful evening!

 © eSeL.at - Lorenz Seidler

"Endlich wieder Kino, endlich wieder Festival!"

Diagonale 2021
1/11

© Diagonale/Lilly Mörtz & Sebastian Reiser

Member Meeting

This year's member meeting for all VdFS beneficiaries will not be held in June as usual, but has been postponed to October 2021. Keep the following date free:

Thursday, 14 /10/21, 18.00 / METRO Kinokulturhaus in Vienna.

Details and your invitation will follow in due time. We are looking forward to your visit!

General Meeting

The General Meeting (Members' General Meeting) for all ordinary members (Genossenschafter*innen) will also take place in October 2021. Please keep the following date free:

Thursday, 21/10/2021, 18.00 / house of ÖGV in Vienna.

Details and your invitation will follow in due time. We are looking forward to it!

© 2020 Ray/Magdalena Blaszczuk