Jean Epstein
Retrospective
October 17 to November 27, 2025
Jean Epstein (1897–1953) was a French filmmaker, critic, and theorist whose work bridged avant-garde experimentation and poetic realism. Born in Warsaw to a Polish-Jewish father and a French mother, he grew up in Switzerland and France, studying medicine before turning to cinema in the early 1920s.
Often associated with the French Impressionist movement, Epstein developed an intensely lyrical style, blending visual innovation with philosophical reflection, and subjective perception with complex rhythmic editing. His enormously diverse body of cinematic works is today perhaps best remembered for a series of films (both shorts and features, documentaries and fiction) that channel his lifelong fascination with the harsh, rugged beauty of Brittany's landscapes, seascapes, and human inhabitants, resulting in certified masterpieces like Finis Terrae (1929), Mor'Vran (1930), or Le Tempestaire (1947), while his La chute de la maison Usher (1928) remains the most hauntingly beautiful and poetic rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's eponymous story. Epstein's theoretical writings, especially on the concept of "photogénie," argued that cinema could reveal hidden aspects of reality.
The Austrian Film Museum has staged its first Jean Epstein retrospective exactly 20 years ago and published a book of his writings at the occasion, but thanks to preservation work of the past two decades several more films became available, thus prompting our current tribute to this giant of cinematic modernism. We have strived to present works by Jean Epstein from the finest surviving and available screening formats. Ten 35mm prints, all still in good condition, are supplemented by thirteen DCPs, all recent digitizations and restorations undertaken primarily by Cinémathèque Française, but also by Fondation Jérôme Seydoux – Pathé, Gaumont, and Cinémathèque de Bretagne.
The films will be accompanied by improvisations from internationally acclaimed silent film pianists Elaine Brennan, Meg Morley, and Maud Nelissen, complemented by two special film concerts featuring new compositions by drank (Ingrid Schmoliner and Alex Kranabetter), as well as by Electric Delights (Billy Roisz, Karolina Preuschl, and Isabella Forciniti).
A joint retrospective of the Viennale and the Austrian Film Museum
Special ticket regulations apply during the Viennale.
Jean Epstein (1897–1953) was a French filmmaker, critic, and theorist whose work bridged avant-garde experimentation and poetic realism. Born in Warsaw to a Polish-Jewish father and a French mother, he grew up in Switzerland and France, studying medicine before turning to cinema in the early 1920s.
Often associated with the French Impressionist movement, Epstein developed an intensely lyrical style, blending visual innovation with philosophical reflection, and subjective perception with complex rhythmic editing. His enormously diverse body of cinematic works is today perhaps best remembered for a series of films (both shorts and features, documentaries and fiction) that channel his lifelong fascination with the harsh, rugged beauty of Brittany's landscapes, seascapes, and human inhabitants, resulting in certified masterpieces like Finis Terrae (1929), Mor'Vran (1930), or Le Tempestaire (1947), while his La chute de la maison Usher (1928) remains the most hauntingly beautiful and poetic rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's eponymous story. Epstein's theoretical writings, especially on the concept of "photogénie," argued that cinema could reveal hidden aspects of reality.
The Austrian Film Museum has staged its first Jean Epstein retrospective exactly 20 years ago and published a book of his writings at the occasion, but thanks to preservation work of the past two decades several more films became available, thus prompting our current tribute to this giant of cinematic modernism. We have strived to present works by Jean Epstein from the finest surviving and available screening formats. Ten 35mm prints, all still in good condition, are supplemented by thirteen DCPs, all recent digitizations and restorations undertaken primarily by Cinémathèque Française, but also by Fondation Jérôme Seydoux – Pathé, Gaumont, and Cinémathèque de Bretagne.
The films will be accompanied by improvisations from internationally acclaimed silent film pianists Elaine Brennan, Meg Morley, and Maud Nelissen, complemented by two special film concerts featuring new compositions by drank (Ingrid Schmoliner and Alex Kranabetter), as well as by Electric Delights (Billy Roisz, Karolina Preuschl, and Isabella Forciniti).
A joint retrospective of the Viennale and the Austrian Film Museum
Special ticket regulations apply during the Viennale.
Related materials
Link Viennale | Ticket regulations | Mitwirkende
About Our Musicians
Essay Joël Daire on Jean Epstein (long version)
About Our Musicians
Essay Joël Daire on Jean Epstein (long version)
For each series, films are listed in screening order.
