Personal Estates / Donations

As an international center for film history, the Austrian Film Museum regularly acquires donations and bequests from filmmakers, film collectors and private individuals from Austria and abroad.

Vast amounts of films and film-related materials still lie forgotten in attics and cellars, in private households and offices – often lacking appropriate care and stored under questionable conditions. This poses a safety hazard that should not be underestimated, especially when it comes to older films – early on, films were produced on highly flammable cellulose nitrate stock. We therefore invite individuals and companies to deposit films and film-related objects that have been passed down in the family or company at the Film Museum, where they will be professionally archived and securely stored. This applies to films as well as film-related materials such as photographs, film programs, memory albums, portfolios with newspaper clippings, etc.

In 2008/09, with the support of the Film Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture, the Austrian Film Museum was able to purchase an extensive bequest from the field of film documentation. Film critic and historian Goswin M. Dörfler's collection, assembled during 60 years, has thereby been retained in its entirety. The contents cover film literature, photographs, autographs, posters and a well-structured archive of documents.

In spring 2009, the Municipality of Vaduz in Liechtenstein donated Edwin Marock's interesting and vast film documentation collection to the Film Museum. It includes a special focus on censorship materials since 1950.

The Film Museum also houses a collection of Michael Haneke's non-film materials and the private library of Amos Vogel.

If you are in possession of film footage, film stills or other objects that you would like to entrust to the Austrian Film Museum, please contact us.