Virgil Widrich facts for kids

Virgil Widrich in 2016

Virgil Widrich (born May 16, 1967, in Salzburg, Austria) is a talented Austrian director, screenwriter, and multimedia artist. He has created many films and multimedia projects. These projects have won over 290 film awards! Virgil Widrich is especially famous for his many short films and creative digital art projects.

About Virgil Widrich
Exhibitions and Art Projects
Stage Works
Filmography
Awards and Honors
See also

About Virgil Widrich

Early Life and Film Beginnings

Virgil Widrich grew up in Salzburg, Austria. His father was a journalist, and his mother was a health expert. He lived in a very old house, more than 500 years old. Famous artists like Peter Handke and Wim Wenders were often around. Virgil got his first camera, a Super-8, when he was just 13 years old. He quickly started making his own films. In 1980, he made three films: "My Homelife," "Gebratenes Fleisch," and 3 mal Ulf. He also created an animated cartoon called Auch Farbe kann träumen. When he was 15, he made Monster in Salzburg. For this film, he worked with actors for the first time. He used a special technique called stop-motion to make the monster move. From 1983 to 1985, he worked on his first full-length movie, Vom Geist der Zeit (Spirit of Time). He even worked as an extra at the Salzburg Festival to pay for his films. In 1984, he started learning about computers and even programmed some simple games.

Film Career and New Ventures

After finishing school, Virgil Widrich briefly attended the Vienna Film Academy. He left to work on a science fiction film script, but that movie was never made. In 1987, he started a film company called Classic Films. It focused on distributing artistic movies. He later worked in Hollywood with cinematographer John Bailey. After selling his company in 1991, Virgil Widrich explored how computers could be used for art. He also helped create a new festival for Austrian film, called Diagonale, in 1993. He even helped build film databases and interactive CD-ROMs.

Making His Own Films Again

In 1997, Virgil Widrich focused on making his own films again. He made the short film "tx-transform," which was very successful. In 1999, he filmed Heller als der Mond ("Brighter than the Moon"), which premiered in 2000. His short film Copy Shop (2001) became one of his most famous works. It won 35 awards, was nominated for an Oscar, and was shown at over 200 film festivals. His next short film, Fast Film (2003), was also a big hit. It won 36 international awards. In 2001, he founded his own company, checkpointmedia AG, and continued making films. He also co-founded Amour Fou Film, a company that supports art-house movies by new directors.

Teaching and Film Academy Roles

From 2007 to 2010, Virgil Widrich was a professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. He taught "digital arts." Since 2010, he has been the main professor for the "Art & Science" Master's program. He was also the chairman of the Austrian Film Directors’ Association and is a member of the Academy of Austrian Film. In 2024, he became a member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Virgil Widrich has three sons with film director Anja Salomonowitz. One of his sons, Oskar, who was also an actor, passed away in 2020.

Exhibitions and Art Projects

Virgil Widrich has created many computer-animated installations and art projects for museums and exhibitions.

2006: He made computer animations for the Mozarthaus Vienna.
2009: He was the art director for the "Linz. City in Luck" exhibition.
2009: He worked on "Alias in Wonderland" with his students.
2010: He was the artistic director for the "90 Jahre Salzburger Festspiele" (90 years of the Salzburg Festival) exhibition.
2015: He created "Parallaxis," a media installation for the "A Rush of Color" exhibition.
2017: He contributed to the "Aesthetics of change" exhibition at the MAK, Vienna.
2018: He helped create "Sound of Music World" in Salzburg.
2019: He was the artistic director for the Sconarium visitor center.
2020: He directed the art for "Music Everywhere!" at DomQuartier Salzburg.
2025: He is designing exhibitions for "Klimt. Pigment & Pixel" and "IN-SIGHT: Gustav Klimt – The Bride" at the Belvedere museums.

Stage Works

Virgil Widrich has also worked on stage productions, combining film and visuals.

2012: He helped create the concept, stage design, and film projections for "New Angels." This show premiered in Luxembourg.
2019: He directed the set and film for the opera Nova – Imperfecting Perfection.

Filmography

Here are some of the films Virgil Widrich has directed:

1980: My Homelife (A) 6 mins. (A documentary about an old house)
1980: Gebratenes Fleisch (A) 11 mins. (A crime thriller)
1980: 3 mal Ulf (A) 12 mins. (A documentary)
1981: Auch Farbe kann träumen (A) 12 mins. (An animated film about a worm and a man escaping environmental destruction)
1982: Monster in Salzburg (A) 12 mins. (An animated film where a monster causes chaos in Salzburg)
1983-85: Vom Geist der Zeit (A) 112 mins. (A mix of different film styles)
1998: tx-transform (A) 5 mins. (An experimental animated film)
2000: Heller als der Mond (Brighter than the Moon) (Europe) 88 mins. (A comedy about being a foreigner in Vienna)
2001: Copy Shop (A) 12 mins. (A man keeps copying himself until he fills the world)
2001: LinksRechts (A, F) 4 mins. (Interviews about "Left and right" in film and politics)
2003: Fast Film (A, LUX) 14 mins. (An animated film using pieces of other films to tell a chase story)
2010: make/real (A), 5 mins. (A film made from old footage for an exhibition)
2011: warning triangle (A), 6 mins. (Another film made from old footage for an exhibition)
2015: back track (A), 7 mins. (A 3D film made from old footage)
2016: Vienna table trip (A), 1 min. 22 sec. (An animated film made from old footage)
2016: Night of a 1000 Hours (A full-length movie)
2018: Icon Island – a live battle of pictures and sounds (AUT), 70 min. (A live film and music show)
2018: Nena & Dave Stewart: Be my Rebel (D), 3 min. 45 sek., (A music video)
2018: Light Matter (A), 5 min, (An experimental film)
2019: tx-reverse (A, D), 5 min, (An experimental film)
2021: There is exactly enough time (A), 1 min, (An animated film made with Oskar Salomonowitz)

He is also developing a full-length animated film called "Micromeo."

Awards and Honors

Virgil Widrich's work has won more than 290 international awards!

Awards for Heller als der Mond (Brighter than the Moon) (2000)

Scriptwriting prize of the City of Salzburg (1997)
Jean Carment Award for Lars Rudolph (2000)
Laser Vidéo Titres Award (2000)

Awards for Copy Shop (2001)

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short
Best Music and Sound Design at Clermont-Ferrand (2001)
Best Experimental Short at Toronto (2001)
Kodak Award (2001)
Silberne Taube at Leipzig (2001)
Best Short film at Lleida (2001)
Best Experimental at New York (2001)
1st Comunidad de Madrid Award (2001)
Best Short film at Barcelona (2001)
Jury Prize at Leuven Kort (2001)
Best Of Festival at Boston (2002)
Prix des télévisions européennes at Brussels (2002)
Special Prize at Hiroshima (2002)
Best Experimental Film at Thessaloniki (2002)
Jury's special prize at Tehran (2003)
Best Experimental Film at Reale Film Festival (2022)
Best Back to the Future at Absurd Film Festival (2022)

Awards for Fast Film (2003)

Official selection at Festival de Cannes (2003)
Best Animated Short at Toronto (2003)
Grand Prix for Animation at Vila do Conde (2003)
Best Experimental Short Film at Melbourne (2003)
Audience Award at Bearded Child Film Festival (2003)
Most Imaginative Film at Odense (2003)
High Risk Award at Fantoche (2003)
Best Experimental Film at Thessaloniki (2003)
Most innovative short at Leipzig (2003)
Grand Prix at Uppsala (2003)
Premio de la Comunidad de Madrid (2003)
Onda Curta, 2nd prize at Cinanima (2003)
Innova Award at Animadrid (2003)
Film Critics Award at Animafest Zagreb (2004)
ASIFA Korea Prize for best Experimental SICAF (2004)
Cartoon d'or (2004)
Part of the Animation Show of Shows

Awards for Nena & Dave Stewart: Be my Rebel (2018)

Mindfield Film Festival – Los Angeles – Best Music Video: Platinum Award
UNDO Divergent Film Awards – Best Music Video
Mindfield Film Festival – Albuquerque – Best Music Video: Platinum Award
EIFA – European Independent Film Award – Best Music Video: Bronze Award
Snowdance Film Awards – Best Visual VX
Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase – Best International Music Video
NYC Indie Film Awards – Best Music Video
Hollywood Sun Awards – Best Music Video
Cosmic Film Festival – Best Music Video
Rosarito International Film Festival – Best Music Video
Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival – Best Music Video
Royal Wolf Film Awards – Best FX, Best Director, Best Music Video: Gold Award
Top Indie Film Awards – Best director, Best FX
Enginuity Film Awards – Best New Media Director
West Wing Film Competition – Music Video: 1st Place Winner
Lake View International Film Festival – Best Music Video of the Month
Jaipur International Film Festival – Top 2nd Music Video/Song
LA Edge Film Awards – Best Music Video, Best Editing, Best Visual FX
Silicon Beach Film Festival – Best Music Video
Berlin Flash Film Festival – Monthly category winner April 2018 – Music Video
SFAAF – South Film and Arts Academy Festival – Best FX in a short film
Mediterranean Film Festival (MedFF) – Music Video Competition: Best Music Video

Awards for tx-reverse (2019)

Best Experimental Short Film – Eden International Film Festival (2022)
Best Experimental Short Film – Black Mountain Film Festival (2022)
Best Experimental Short Film – Edison International Film Festival (2022)

Awards for There is exactly enough time (2021)

Best Animation – Harlem International Film Festival (2023)
Best Drama – MicroShort – Panther City Film Festival (2023)
Best Editing – Monza Film Fest (2023)
Honorable Mention – British Indie Festival Film & Music (2023)
Award Winner – Blow-Up Arthouse Filmfest (2024)

Awards for checkpointmedia

September 2006: National Award for the “Mozarthouse Vienna” for "culture and entertainment."
Also an award for the “Visitor Center of the Austrian Parliament” for "Public information and services."