In summer and autumn of this year thousands of refugees passed the Austrian border, many of them fleeing the war in Syria. This has led to an outpouring of support from the public as well as from national and private institutions. The ACF London will show two films by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, Code Unknown and Time of the Wolf, that explore themes of belonging and the limits of compassion.

In an undefined time, chaos reigns. When Anne and her family arrive at their holiday home, they find it occupied by strangers. This confrontation is just the beginning of a painful learning process in Michael Haneke’s dystopian post-apocalyptic drama. The family have to move on, have to ask for shelter and food and are all too often refused both. Eventually they reach a train station but must accept that their destinies depend on whether a train will stop and if there is room to board.

Austria & France 2003, 114 Minutes, directed by Michael Haneke, in French with English subtitles