The unique contribution of Austrian avant-garde film to world cinema is universally acknowledged. Yet there is no single English book dedicated to illuminating its historical and aesthetic evolution. We intend to address this lack with a comprehensive publication. The core of this book will consist of a richly illustrated text that provides an exhaustive description of avant-garde film production in Austria, both past and present.

The unique contribution of Austrian avant-garde film to world cinema is universally acknowledged. Yet there is no single English book dedicated to illuminating its historical and aesthetic evolution. We intend to address this lack with a comprehensive publication. The core of this book will consist of a richly illustrated text that provides an exhaustive description of avant-garde film production in Austria, both past and present. This overview written by editor Peter Tscherkassky will be accompanied by a compilation of essays authored by an international constellation of respected thinkers. Each will focus upon the work of individual filmmakers as well as contextualize their emergence. Reprints and facsimiles of important texts relating to the Austrian avant-garde will further enhance understanding of seminal works. The book will also be a handy reference, including short biographies and complete filmographies of all the artists, as well as an extensive bibliography. People interested in art and film as well as educators, students, programmers, curators and journalists constitute our target audience. Austrian Avant-Garde Cinema will bring alive and enrich understanding and enjoyment of one of the strongest and most influential well springs of innovative film in the world today.

Our book will address an international audience that may be familiar with some of the works involved, though perhaps not with specific details of how they came to be nor the greater context and artistic tradition within which they were generated. Many renowned and well-respected authors from various countries will be included in order to complement the perspective of Austrian authors.

Authors
Peter Tscherkassky (A): Introduction. An Initial Mapping of an Expanded Territory.
Stefan Grissemann (A): The initiation: cinematic predecessors Walter Kudrnofsky,
Kurt Steinwendner, Herbert Vesely
Peter Tscherkassky (A): Peter Kubelka
Stefan Grissemann (A): Kurt Kren
Norbert Pfaffenbichler (A): Marc Adrian
Maureen Turim (USA): VALIE EXPORT
Hans Scheugl (A): Expanded Cinema (Scheugl, Weibel, Export, Schmidt jr.)
Peter Tscherkassky (A): Ernst Schmidt jr.
Stefan Grissemann (A): Hans Scheugl
Maya McKechneay (A): Maria Lassnig
Bert Rebhandl (D): Dietmar Brehm
Jonathan Rosenbaum (USA): Lisl Ponger
Maureen Turim (USA): Peter Tscherkassky
Steve Anker (USA): Martin Arnold
Livio Belloï (BE): Gustav Deutsch
Christa Bluemlinger (F): Mara Mattuschka
Andréa Picard (CAN): Josef Dabernig
Nicole Brenez (F): Siegfried A. Fruhauf
Christoph Huber (A): Norbert Pfaffenbichler
Steve Bates (CAN): Michaela Grill
Barbara Pichler (A): The Young Generation
Adrian Martin (AUS): I dream of Austria

Peter Tscherkassky started making films in 1979. Today he is counted among the most widely renowned and critically acclaimed film artists in the world. His work has been honored with more than 45 awards – the most recent was Prize for Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival in Sept. of 2010 for Coming Attractions.
Tscherkassky earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy, writing a dissertation about the aesthetics of avant-garde film entitled Film as Art – Towards a Critical Aesthetics of Cinematography in 1986. Since 1984 Tscherkassky has been continuously writing and publishing essays and articles about the history and theory of avant-garde filmmaking. He is editor of the only German book dedicated to the work and thought of Peter Kubelka (co-ed. G. Jutz: Peter Kubelka, Vienna 1995). As of 1988 Tscherkassky started teaching the history and aesthetics of avant-garde film at various art academies. He organized several large film festivals and curated countless film programs in Austria and abroad. In 1991, together with Brigitta Burger-Utzer, Martin Arnold, Alexander Horwath and Lisl Ponger he co-founded sixpackfilm, an independent film sales and distribution company.