Michaela Grill

Tomorrow a very interesting and fun collaboration with The Vienna Reed Quintet will have its premiere at Kaleidophon Ulrichsberg. The Quintet has created a new soundtrack with the composition of Klaus Lang for The Great Thaw Redux.

More info:

Kaleidophon 2026

Day 2

Come join us for the first day of What’s Up Vienna! What’s Up Montréal! Part 1 at echoraum Wien tomorrow April 23 at 8pm at Echoraum with

Sophie Trudeau / Michaela Grill

Stephanie Castonguay / Gabriela Golder

Mark Molnar / noid / Martin Brandlmayr

Exiting news: The Great Thaw is part of Unstable Grounds: Artistic Research Lines of Flight exhibition in Lisbon. If you are in the neighbourhood, check it out. Lots of interesting artists and activities surrounding the event. Thanks so much for including our work!

ARE 2026 Unstable Grounds: Artistic Research Lines of Flight

15 April 2026 to 25 April | Online until April 2027 | https://are.filmeu.eu/

Location BEATO INNOVATION DISTRICT – Fábrica de Moagem, Confeitaria Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, 141. 1960 – 406 Lisboa

Tuesday to Saturday: 14h30 to 18h30 FREE ENTRY

In a world rattled by ecological breakdown, algorithmic control, political extremism and deepening instability, ARE 2026 arrives with urgency. Titled Unstable Grounds: Artistic Research Lines of Flight, this year’s Artistic Research Exhibition brings together international artists and researchers whose work confronts the fractures of the present and, in doing so, refuses paralysis or retreat. Developed within the European WIRE project of FilmEU, ARE has become a major platform for transdisciplinary artistic research, presenting works that move beyond the academy to engage directly with the cultural, political and social pressures reshaping contemporary life.

Rather than treating instability solely as a crisis, ARE 2026 frames it as a volatile space of possibility: a site where dominant structures begin to crack and new forms of relation, expression and knowledge can take shape. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of line of flight, the exhibition brings together audiovisual and media-based works that challenge fixed narratives, expose systems of control, and imagine alternative futures in motion. The result is a bold and timely exhibition that positions artistic research not as commentary emitted from the margins, but as a vital force for navigating, resisting and rethinking an unstable world.

When Fire Turns to Ash has been selected for the Latino and Native American Film Festival, LANAFF in New Haven, Connecticut and will screen on April 17. Thanks so much for the invitation!

Multimedia Cultural Centre Split, as part of the Novi šum 2026 program, presents a film cycle that will take place at the Amphitheatre of Dom mladih. Screenings begin at the end of March and will precede the concerts within the program.

While the musical segment of Novi šum focuses on contemporary alternative and electronic music, the film program expands it both thematically and conceptually, maintaining genre curiosity and openness. Through a selection of documentary portraits, film essays, and experimental titles, the cycle creates dialogues between filmmakers and musicians, explores innovative sound practices, the history of the avant-garde, the social role of music, as well as the future of sonic expression.

Admission to all screenings is free, and films are shown with Croatian subtitles.

PROGRAM

• April 24 at 19:30 | Soundtrack Dialogues for Short Film (51′)

The Great White Emptiness, dir. Michaela Grill (AT, 2015, 16′)

An audiovisual contemplation of Arctic horizons and the soundscapes of Philip Jeck.

• Joy, dir. Jodie Mack (US, 2005, 3′)

An abstract animation created directly on film for the Four Tet project.

• Black and White Tryptych No. 3, dir. Ben Russell (US, 2007, 12′)

A transformation of the audience into a ritual trance of the highest order at a noise concert by the legendary Lightning Bolt.

• Reel to Reel, dir. Stefano Canapa (FR, 2020, 20′)

A diptych on transitions from reel to reel, from magnetic tape to film, inspired by the improvisational skill of Jérôme Noetinger.

Its always special for me to present work at the Diagonale. Festival des österreichischen Films. It’s the place where I’ve presented my first film, where I had my first retrospective and nearly cried on stage when I won a prize.
It makes me very happy that this year I can present my first feature length film „When Fire Turns to Ash“ and I’m very thankful to Claudia Slanar and Dominik Kamalzadeh for the selection.

The screenings are on Saturday, 21.03., 17:00, Schubertkino 2 and Monday, 23.03., 11:00, Annenhof Kino 5.

I will be there in person and look forward to another fun Diagonale!

https://www.diagonale.at/filme-a-z/?ftopic=finfo…

VIENNA 2026

with Steve Bates ·Martin Brandlmayr ·Stephanie Castonguay ·Gabriela Gordillo · Michaela Grill ·Christof Kurzmann ·Mark Molnar · Noid · Sophie Trudeau ·Elizabeth A. Vajagic · Sara Zlanabitnig

What’s up Vienna! What’s up Montréal! is a cross-cultural event series and multimedia festival that connects Vienna and Montréal as vibrant centres of experimental music, sound art, performance, film and video. The series, which was first held in 2010, is curated by Michaela Grill, Christof Kurzmann and Steve Bates and brings together artists from both cities to explore new artistic concepts and interdisciplinary working methods. The focus is on cross-border artistic encounters: the participating positions demonstrate the diversity and independence of their experimental approaches by performing together, collaborating and developing innovative formats. Projects and performances range from audiovisual experiments to performative interventions that make local scenes visible and promote international networking. The series offers participating artists the opportunity to initiate longer-term collaborations and explore creative potential beyond established conventions.

Programm

23. April 2026, 8pm, Echoraum
Sophie Trudeau / Michaela Grill
Stephanie Castonguay / Gabriela Gordillo
Mark Molnar / noid / Martin Brandlmayr

24. April 2026, 8pm, Echoraum
Mark Molnar / Sara Zlanabitnig
Elizabeth Anka Vajagic / Steve Bates / Christof Kurzmann

I am so exited for the world premiere of my first feature length film at the Native Women in Film Festival, March 9-13 in Los Angeles/US at The Grove. When Fire Turns to Ash explores how the genocide of Indigenous Peoples in Tierra del Fuego remains inscribed in the landscape. Developed over three years in close collaboration with the Selk’nam and Yahgan communities, this essay film proposes a decolonial reading of the territory.

Thank you to my team: Nick Kuepfer, Mariana Frandsen, Alba Chaile, Miguel Pantoja Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Barbara Pichler and Harris Newman.

I will forever be indebted to the Selk’nam and Yaghan communities who opened their hearts and shared their stories with me: Daniela Bogarin, Alba Chaile, José Gonzalez Calderon, Estela Maris Maldonado, Margarita Maldonado, Rubén Maldonado, Miguel Pantoja, Maria Salamanca,Maria Olinda Vargas, Tarsicio Vargas, Teresa Catalina Vargas, Tahali Ayelen Villanueva, Luis Gomez Zarranga!

You can watch the entire interviews unedited at: https://www.youtube.com/@migrill

is part of the competition at the Iran International Documentary Film Festival „Cinema Vérité“ and will be screened on Sunday Dec 14th at 5.30 at Mellat Cineplex, Salon 4 in Tehran. I will be there and am very exited about it!