Austria

Coordinates: 47°20′N 13°20′E / 47.333°N 13.333°E / 47.333; 13.333

Austria (ⁱ/ˈɒstriə, ˈɔː-/;German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç]), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich,  listen ), is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.66 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,879 square kilometres (32,386 sq mi). Austria's terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and Austrian German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene.

Graz

Graz (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʁaːt͡s]) is the capital of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. On 1 July 2015, it had a population of 310,391 (of which 278,050 had principal residence status). In 2014, the population of the Graz Larger Urban Zone who had principal residence status stood at 605,143.

Graz has a long tradition as a "university town": its six universities have more than 44,000 students. Its "Old Town" is one of the best-preserved city centres in Central Europe.

Politically and culturally, Graz was for centuries more important for Slovenes than Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and still remains influential.

In 1999, Graz was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites, and the site was extended in 2010 by Schloss Eggenberg. Graz was sole Cultural Capital of Europe for 2003 and got the title of a City of Culinary Delights in 2008.

Etymology

The name of the city, Graz, formerly known as Gratz,(see the Slavic settlement Grad), and some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, which in time became a heavily defended fortification. In literary Slovene, gradec literally means "small castle", which is etymologically a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradьcъ, itself by means of liquid metathesis descending from Common Slavic *gardьcъ, by Slavic third palatalisation from Proto-Slavic *gardiku (cf. Ancient Greek toponym Γαρδίκι) originally denoting "small town, settlement". The name thus follows the common South Slavic pattern for naming settlements as grad. The German name 'Graz' was first used in 1128.

Film festival

A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians do not consider Film Festivals as official releases of film, like Jerry Beck. The best known film festivals are the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the latter being the largest film festival worldwide, based on attendance. The Venice Film Festival is the oldest major festival. The Melbourne International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest in the world. A 2013 study found 3,000 active films festivals worldwide—active defined as having held an event in the previous 24 months.

Mountain film

A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of man against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlightenment.

Bergfilme

Although the first mountain film, depicting the ascent of the Mont Blanc by the American climber Frank Ormiston-Smith, was released in 1903, the mountain film genre is most associated with the German bergfilme released in the 1920s. Some critics describe the German mountain film as an indigenous national / cultural genre, comparable to the American western.

The most important director of mountain films was Dr. Arnold Fanck. According to an essay by Doug Cummings in the DVD release of the landmark The Holy Mountain (1926), Fanck shot his first motion picture in 1913, and after serving in World War I, purchased a rare Ernemann slow-motion camera, taught himself to shoot on location during an expedition to climb the Jungfrau, taught himself to edit on his mother's kitchen table, and distributed the finished product himself. The film was eventually called The Wonders of Skiing (1920) and was an instant success.