Talent LAB 2

Alva, a depressed actress in her early thirties, poses as a teenager to join a group of young people. Through her encounter with 17-year-old Yasmin and their friends, Alva is able to relive her youth. Soon Yasmins feelings for Alva change and a once innocent adventure turns into a fatal, never-ending performance. A reverse coming-of-age tragicomedy about wanting to turn back time.

Elena Wolff

Elena Wolff is a director, actor, and screenwriter, currently studying directing and screenwriting at the Film Academy Vienna. Elena’s independently financed feature film „ASCHE“ (90 min) premiered at the Diagonale, Graz in 2024, where it won the award for Best Cinematography. Their independent debut feature „Para:Dies“ (79 min), which Elena wrote, directed, and starred in, was shot in just seven days, screened in competition at film festival Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken in 2022, and won the Acting Award at the Diagonale, Graz. From 2015 to 2019, Elena studied acting at the Anton Bruckner Private University and has since appeared in several theatre productions as well as in film and television.

Elli Leeb

Elli Leeb (*1998, Vienna) is a producer and curator. She produced the feature film „ASCHE“ (dir.: Elena Wolff, 2024), which won awards at the Diagonale, Graz and the Filmkunsttage Saxony-Anhalt before its release in Austrian cinemas. She studied Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna and at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Active in talent development, she is Co-Project Director of the Austrian talent platform Cinema Next as well as initiator and Co-Director of ENCOURAGE Film Talents in the D-A-CH region. She is currently developing two feature films within the ÖFI Talent LAB: Elena Wolff’s fiction feature „Alva (Renaissance)“ and Simon Maria Kubiena’s fiction feature „Das Blühen einer Chimäre“ (AT), which has already been part of La Résidence du Festival de Cannes, Locarno Pro (Alliance 4 Development) and Sarajevo CoPro Market CineLink.

Julie Stempelová

Julie Stempelová (*2000) is a young producer from Prague, currently based in Vienna. In 2019, she began studying Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna and, since 2021, she has been studying Production at the Film Academy Vienna. She is continuously involved in film projects in both Austria and the Czech Republic, gaining diverse experience on set. Her most recently produced short films — „Nelly’s Story“ (dir.: Jonas Steinacker), „Söder“ (dir.: Raoul Bruck), and „Die Letzte Wette“ (dir.: Meike Wüstenberg) — premiered at festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs, Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis, Hof Film Festival, and the Diagonale, Graz. Additional films, which she produced herself, are currently in post-production for 2025.

Das Blühen einer Chimäre (AT) // The Flowering of a Chimera (wt)

After a dark event, Jakob, recently turned 18, drops out of school and starts to work in a factory for pesticides close to Vienna. Meanwhile his family grows increasingly distant from him. They are unable to face what he did, and isolating Jakob allows them to maintain a fake sense of harmony. Things start to change when he forms an unusual connection with Marius, a factory colleague who is over thirty years older than him. But as the two of them draw closer, Jakob‘s past rises to the surface.

Simon Maria Kubiena

Simon Maria Kubiena, born in Vienna in 1998, is studying directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg since 2019 and completed a master’s degree in screenwriting at the London Film School in 2024. In addition, he spent a guest semester at La Fémis in Paris. His short film „Blaues Rauschen“ won an award at the 72nd Berlinale, followed by „Mise à nu“ (co-directed, 73rd Berlinale, Sarajevo Film Festival, a.o.) and „At home I feel like leaving“ (2025, Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis, Premiers Plans d’Angers, a.o.). In 2025, he was part of the Locarno Filmmakers Academy. With the screenplay for his first feature film, „The Flowering of a Chimera“ (wt), Simon was invited to the 49th Résidence du Festival de Cannes.

www.simonkubiena.at

Elli Leeb

Elli Leeb (*1998, Vienna) is a producer and curator. She produced the feature film „ASCHE“ (dir.: Elena Wolff, 2024), which won awards at the Diagonale, Graz and the Filmkunsttage Saxony-Anhalt before its release in Austrian cinemas. She studied Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna and at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Active in talent development, she is Co-Project Director of the Austrian talent platform Cinema Next as well as initiator and Co-Director of ENCOURAGE Film Talents in the D-A-CH region. She is currently developing two feature films within the ÖFI Talent LAB: Elena Wolff’s fiction feature „Alva (Renaissance)“ and Simon Maria Kubiena’s fiction feature „Das Blühen einer Chimäre“ (AT), which has already been part of La Résidence du Festival de Cannes, Locarno Pro (Alliance 4 Development) and Sarajevo CoPro Market CineLink.

Fabian Leonhardt

Fabian Leonhardt (*1997, Karlsruhe/Germany) has worked on a range of productions at Studio Babelsberg and for The Match Factory. He has produced international short films with ARTE, SWR, and The New Yorker Studios, screened at renowned festivals and nominated for the CIVIS Media Prize and the German Film Critics’ Award. His work is shaped by international collaboration, including studies in producing at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and exchange at Kibbutzim College, Tel Aviv. The feature „The Flowering of a Chimera“ (wt) was selected for the 49th La Résidence du Festival de Cannes and was presented at Alliance 4 Development at Locarno Pro and CineLink’s CoPro market in Sarajevo in 2025.

Private security guards have long since become part of public order. They take on tasks outsourced by the Austrian state to private companies – at shopping centers, in front of nightclubs, or in emergency shelters. The lettering on their uniforms promises us: SECURITY. But how is this actually enforced, when the people behind the uniforms understand “security” in very different ways? And how safe is the job for the security guards themselves?

Lisa Polster

Lisa Polster (*1996 in Korneuburg) is a screenwriter and director. After completing her multimedia training at “die Graphische” in Vienna, she worked for several years in social work. In 2025, she graduated with a degree in Screenwriting from the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF. Her short films as a writer have been shown at numerous international film festivals (including Clermont-Ferrand, PÖFF Tallinn, interfilm Berlin). In 2023, she received the „If she can see it, she can be it“ Award from Drehbuchforum Vienna. Her first independently produced feature documentary “BÜRGLKOPF” premiered in 2025 at the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Film and the Youth Jury Prize for Best Newcomer Film at the Diagonale, Graz. She lives in Vienna and Berlin.

Rebecca Fuxen

Rebecca Fuxen (*1992 in Wermelskirchen/Germany) studied cultural studies with a focus on film and literature in Hildesheim. 2022 she completed the Critical Studies master program at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, specializing in time-based media and film. Early in her academic journey, she developed a passion for film production, being involved in the production of two feature films as a producer. This includes “No Hard Feelings”, which won the First Steps Award and two Teddy Awards at the Berlinale 2020. Since 2022, she has been working as a production coordinator and junior producer for HORSE&FRUITS Filmproduktion in Vienna with a particular focus on the development and production of documentary films. 2024¬-25, she was an expert at the DOK.forum at DOK.fest Munich and a jury member for the DOK.talent Award 2025.

After her aunt’s death, young Filipino-Austrian scientist Mae returns to the Philippines to reluctantly take over as a ritual healer. When she develops feelings for her mysterious neighbor, her worldview is shaken — the boundaries between science and spirituality blur, and she realizes she must face her past.

Divina Kuan

Divina Kuan, born in Hamburg/Germany in 1988, is a Filipino-German director, screenwriter, and producer. After completing her studies in Frankfurt, she received a Fulbright scholarship to study in New York, where she earned her M.A. at Parsons, The New School University. She then worked as a director and producer and taught film and media theory at the University of the Philippines. She is the showrunner of the queer “Tomorrow TV Show” and worked as an executive producer at Stinkfilms Berlin where headed the talent incubator Stink Rising. Her series concept „TWISTED TRACKS“ won the MadeFor Film Comedy competition and is currently in development. Together with Weina Zhao, she is working on her feature film debut „SPIRIT SKY“ as part of the Talent LAB.

Weina Zhao

Weina Zhao, born 1986 in Beijing and raised in Vienna, is a director, writer and producer. She began working in documentary film during her sinology studies and has been creating her own film and radio projects since 2014. In 2020 she also started working as a producer. Her films have won the Franz Grabner Preis at Diagonale, Graz, VIKTOR DOK.deutsch, and the Grand Prize at Taiwan IDFF amongst others. She is co-founder of GEWÄCHSHAUS BIPOC Film Network and the production company Ripe. She has been part of various national and international juries and industry programs like Vision du Réel – INDUSTRY and EFM Doc Toolbox. She is also a patron of the SAA SOCIETY OF AUDIOVISUAL AUTHORS and a regular speaker on the topics of equity in filmmaking and Asian diasporic identity.

https://gewaechshaus.network/

Arman Kirimtay

Born in 1990 and raised in Berlin, Arman first discoveredhis passion for film in his early 20s, working as an extra on major German feature productions. After studying Industrial Engineering and gaining years of international project management experience while also leading the Cultural Diversity Initiative, he shifted his focus to directing and producing — combining organizational strengths with creative vision. Since completing Film School Vienna, Arman has produced numerous short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials. And as of July 2025, he supports the BIPOC network Gewächshaus in their mission of making the film industry more diverse.

A rare cosmic event disrupts the flow of time, allowing a young girl to meet a boy from the past who is mysteriously linked to her family’s history – a meditation on the meaning of the unsaid, loss, and repetition.

Raphaela Schmid

Raphaela Schmid studied Philosophy at University of Vienna, FU-Berlin, University of São Paulo before starting her studies in screenwriting and directing at the Filmacademy Vienna. Her short films were screened at numerous national and international film festivals, e.g. Sarajevo Film Festival, Viennale and Hofer Filmtage. With her films „ENE MEINE“ and „FISCHE“, she won the award for best short film at Diagonale, Graz in 2019 and 2020. „FISCHE“ was also awarded best short film at the Film Festival Max Ophüls Preis in 2021, received the Jury and Audience Awards at Vienna Shorts 2020, and was nominated for the Austrian Film Award in 2021. She has participated in several labs, including ZFF Academy and Les Arcs Talent Village. In 2021 she received the scholarship for Cinematic Art from the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Culture.

Marija Burtscher

Marija Burtscher, born in Tyrol in 1991, studied theater, film, and media studies before gaining several years of experience on various feature film and TV series sets. In 2019, she began studying production at the Film Academy Vienna, where she made numerous short films, including „DER RISS“ (directed by Paul Ertl), which won the First Steps Award for Best Medium-Length Film in 2023. After completing her studies, she worked as a production coordinator on renowned cinema productions, most recently on Dani Levy’s „Kochschule Schwarz“ and Johanna Moder’s „Mother’s Baby“, among others. Marija currently works as a production manager and coordinator for feature films and TV series at Wega Filmproduktion in Vienna.

marija.burtscher@wega-film.at