In times of great uncertainty, the question arises: how is risk-taking valued in film? Which risks are glorified or rewarded in cinema, and which are deplored or punished? Film history is full of risk-taking figures who have a great deal to gain or lose, who have taken high-stakes gambles or jumped headfirst into the unknown when life-changing events occurred. These might be films depicting (youthful) recklessness, daring, tempting wagers and the thrill of breaking taboos. Or they might be films that grapple with desperate, all-or-nothing moments, such as escape, exile and life-or-death decisions.

Film history would look different today, had many filmmakers not taken great financial or artistic risks – or both. According to film scholar Vinzenz Hediger, cinema history has celebrated “risk as an aesthetic virtue,” despite, or perhaps because of, the film industry’s uniform offerings on the whole. This is particularly the case for productions that explore new themes or use unorthodox styles. Some have received immediate widespread acclaim, some limited or only late recognition, while others have been labelled as flops. The distribution and viewing of certain films has often been risky too – when, for example, censorship regulations made access difficult or even criminalized it. Other films broke ground outside official channels as pirated versions.

The festival will also address the risks involved in carrying out challenging restorations, whether the focus is on dealing with unique surviving elements of a film and heavily damaged material, or the opportunities and dangers brought about by the artificial intelligence revolution. The festival particularly encourages a constructive discussion of both the successful and unsuccessful outcomes of high-risk restorations. This topic aims to render the demanding work of film archives more visible.