Austrian cinema from the 1980s is an often overlooked era of radical cinema production. During our watchAUT film festival we organsied the first ever UK screening of Angst and we will continue to highlight some of these forgotten films over the Spring.

Jack (Johann) Unterweger (1950 – 1994) was one of Austria's most infamous serial killers. Willi Hengstler's cinematic adaptation of Unterweger's autobiography of the same title, which was written while serving a life sentence, traces his journey from a tormented childhood to his first murder and consequential imprisonment. Hengstler's non-indulgent direction and Jiri Stibr's black and white photography give this film a timeless elegance that should be revisited.

The film premiered at Cannes Director's Fortnight and received the Vienna Film award.

Austria 1988, 83 minutes, German with English sub-titles, directed by Willi Hengstler