Beyond the Woods

At 6am on May 21, 2008, armed police burst into the apartment of Austrian dog trainer and animal-rights activist Sabine Koch, arresting her. After three months in custody, Koch, together with 12 other animal-rights activists, went on trial. They were charged with being members of a criminal organisation and therefore breaching article 273a of the Austrian Penal Code, introduced in the wake of 9/11. The article’s intention is to allow the state to stifle terrorist activity. Years of observation, house searches, and undercover agents – the police left no stone unturned in its bid to prove the animal-rights activists’ guilt. The sobering result: five million Euros worth of investigation, no proof and a great deal of scepticism towards the Austrian justice system – and democracy itself.

A documentary about the protests against Covid measures in Austria in 2020 and 2021.

Vienna, December 2012: A small group of young Afghans and Pakistanis occupy the Votive Church, the largest neo-Gothic church in the country. After accelerated processing, their applications for asylum were turned down, though they had fled extremely dangerous conditions in their home countries, witnessing schools being burned down, beheadings by religious fanatics and murders of their relatives.

The desert city of Agadez in Niger has been a hub of trade routes since time immemorial. The local Tuareg population always earned a good living by transporting goods and people across the Sahara. But Agadez is also a place where migrants pass through on their way to Europe.