PRÄSENZ / PRESENCE
Austria 2020
Directors, Producers, Cinematographers: Aleksandra
Kolodziejczyk and Karl Wratschko
Post-Production: Johannes
Gierlinger
Runtime: 6 minutes
Original Format: 16mm, b&w, silent

In most cities, women are severely underrepresented in the urban
landscape — a far cry from gender parity. In Vienna, about 90% of all
places and streets named after people bear the names of men. The film PRÄSENZ
brings Viennese locations named after women into view and closer to the
awareness of the viewer. Similarly to what happens in our perception
while we traverse public space, the 397 areas bearing women’s names
flash up on the film screen one at a time, a single shot dedicated to
each. The countdown effect in these shots, which begin at the periphery
and move towards the city center, draws attention to the significance
and distribution of places named after women. PRÄSENZ is a kind
of inventory, a contribution to an active culture of remembrance and
gender equality as well as a critical examination of the representation
of women in public space, which can also symbolically stand for other
areas of society and reflect the reality of other cities.
With the support of the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna - MA7,
Otto Mauer Fund, and the Future Fund of the Republic of Austria
World premiere: Kassel DokFest 2020, Germany
this human world - International Human Rights Film Festival 2020, Austria
Regensburger Kurzfilmwoche 2021, Germany
Internationales Frauenfilmfestival Dortmund | Köln 2021,
Germany
CURRENT - Kunst und urbaner Raum. Glitsch-Kitsche, Stuttgart 2021, Germany
Öffentlicher Raum und Geschlechtergerechtigkeit - Ein Kurzfilm. Interview with Aleksandra Kolodziejczyk and Karl Wratschko in [fernetzt] 2021
Award: EXP:AN:DED SHORTS JURY AWARD at this human world - International Human Rights Film Festival 2020, Austria
Acquired by the City
of Vienna for their contemporary art collection (Wien
Museum MUSA)