The Last Austrians (2020)

• 77%
• 2020
• Documentary
• Lukas Pitscheider
• Peter Sojma
• Vitali Fedak
• Joseph Horkawtschuk

In a remote village in the Carpathian forests, forgotten by the outside world, the last Austrians of Ukraine wrestle with the question of whether they should turn their backs on their homeland.Königsfeld is an Austrian village in the middle of the Ukrainian Carpathians. As far as the eye can see, the small community is surrounded by thick forest. Lorries loaded with heavy logs race through the valley road, which is crisscrossed by deep potholes. Wood dominates the village, including the houses, whose construction is reminiscent of that from the Alpine Austria. On the side of the road, mostly older people watch the goings-on with a nostalgic look.The ancestors of the Austrian inhabitants were relocated from the west to the east of the then Habsburg monarchy in the 18th century. Today the German-speaking community has only a few dozen members. In a wave, the majority of the population emigrated to the west in the 1990s, and their houses were largely taken over by neighbouring villages. 'Emigrate or stay?' is still the most important question today. While migration appears to be the only way of survival for some community members, others draw new hope bringing tourism into the valley.Four protagonists and their families are accompanied in the film over a period of three years in their life decisions.Elisabeth Kais spent the 84 years of her life in her village, when all of a sudden she is forced to leave her home forever. Peter Sojma did already emigrate to Germany in the 90s, but he returned after a short time. Today, as vice-mayor, he tries to repair the bad roads in order to make the valley accessible again from the outside. Vitali Palinkash is the father of a young daughter. Since the wages from his work in the sawmill are no longer sufficient to support his family, he is faced with the question of whether he should go to the Czech Republic to work. For Joseph Horkawtschuk, emigration was never an option, he discovered tourism as a source of income and wants to open the first local ski area. Therefore he is looking for a used ski lift to import from the west.