Ulrike Ottinger — HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark

Film screening

aktuelle kunst in graz – Galerientage 2026

*Bildnis einer Trinkerin* (Ticket of No Return), Berlin
Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger, www.ulrikeottinger.com

Ulrike Ottinger is considered one of the most important avant-garde contemporary filmmakers of her generation, having gained particular recognition for her cinematic work. Born in Konstanz in 1942, Ottinger can now look back on more than six decades of artistic work, which has not only taken her to many different places, but has also led her from the visual arts to filmmaking. In the process, she developed a non-linear, surreal, and sometimes bizarre film style.

Ottinger’s Berlin Trilogy was created between the late 1970s and early 1980s and will be shown on three consecutive evenings during this year’s Galerientage in Graz, also known as aktuelle kunst in graz. The trilogy comprises the films Bildnis einer Trinkerin (Ticket of No Return) (1979), Freak Orlando (1981), and Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse (Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press) (1984), featuring performances across the three films from Tabea Blumenstein, Delphine Seyrig, Magdalena Montezuma, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Eddie Constantine, Nina Hagen, Orpha Termin, and Kurt Raab, with music by composer Peer Raben.

24.4.2026, 6 pm: Opening aktuelle kunst in graz, HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark

24.4.2026, 6:30 pm: Bildnis einer Trinkerin (Ticket of No Return), 1979 (107 min.)

In Bildnis einer Trinkerin (Ticket of No Return) with Tabea Blumenstein, viewers are taken on a journey to West Berlin in the 1970s, with its stylized aesthetic. In a somewhat detached manner, this experimental masterpiece of German cinema visualizes the topography of the city with a nameless and beautiful protagonist. She is a traveler arriving at Tegel Airport who wants to pursue her passion undisturbed: drinking – in order to forget.

25.4.2026, 7 pm: Freak Orlando, 1981 (126 min.)
26.4.2026, 7 pm: Dorian Gray im Spiegel der Boulevardpresse (Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press), 1984 (150 min.)

Artists

Participating artists

is an internationally renowned film director, author, and visual artist. She studied etching techniques with Johnny Friedlaender in Paris.

Films (selection): The Enchantment of the Blue Sailors (1975), Madame X – An Absolute Ruler (1978), Ticket of No Return (1979), Freak Orlando (1981), Dorian Gray in the Mirror of the Yellow Press (1984), Johanna d’Arc of Mongolia (1988), The Korean Wedding Chest (2008), Paris Calligrammes (2019), The Blood Countess (2026).

Her multifaceted oeuvre has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Venice Biennale, documenta, the Berlin Biennale, the David Zwirner Gallery and MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou and the Cinémathèque française in Paris, the Deutsche Kinemathek, the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, the Witte de With – Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, and the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

She has received numerous awards for her artistic work, including the Hannah Höch Prize of the State of Berlin (2011), the Hans Thoma Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg (2012), and the Award for Avant-Garde Achievements in Film at EnergaCAMERIMAGE (2022).

Ottinger has been a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin since 1997 and a member of the Bavarian Academy of Arts in Munich since 2020. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presents the Academy Awards annually, since 2019.