Canadian Premiere
Vienna-based musician Al Cook (born Alois Koch) plays a fictionalized version of himself in this deadpan but poignant portrait of a bluesman at a crossroads. The sole remaining occupant of his apartment building, Al relies on his memories and an informal archive of obsolete media to keep him company. But with a real estate developer’s wrecking ball looming, Al must grapple with the reality that the first 80-year chapter of his life is coming to an end. Might America — birthplace of his musical influences and cultural touchstones — offer the chance for a new beginning?
Interweaving footage from Cook’s real career with staged scenes of urban alienation that recall Aki Kaurismäki, directors Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel craft an extraordinary character study in which moments of humour never detract from the drama. Loneliest Man in Town is a beguiling minor-key medley of melancholy and nostalgia that draws you fully into its thrall.
Alois Koch, Brigitte Meduna, Alfred Blechinger, Flurina Schneider
Austria
2026
In German with English subtitles
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
Producer
Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
Screenwriter
Tizza Covi
Cinematography
Rainer Frimmel
Editor
Tizza Covi, Emily Artmann
Production Design
Lotte Lyon, Christian Gschier
Original Music
Al Cook
Photo by Anna Stöcher HR
Tizza Covi
Born in Bolzano in 1971, Tizza Covi lived in Paris and Berlin before studying photography in Vienna. Since 1996, she has worked together with Rainer Frimmel on films, theatre, and photography, and in 2002 they founded their own film production company, Vento Film. The pair have received numerous awards for their works, including the FIPRESCI Award at Locarno for their 2016 feature Mister Universo, and Best Director and Best Actress (Vera Gemma) from the Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti section) for their 2022 film Vera, which was also selected as the Austrian entry for the 96th Academy Awards.
Filmography: Mister Universo (2016); Notes from the Underworld (2020); Vera (2022)
Rainer Frimmel
Rainer Frimmel was born in Vienna in 1971, where he also studied photography. Since 1996, he has worked together with Tizzi Covi on films, theatre, and photography, and in 2002 the pair founded their own film production company, Vento Film. Frimmel and Covi have received numerous awards for their documentaries and fiction features, including the FIPRESCI Award at Locarno for this 2016 feature Mister Universo, and Best Director and Best Actress (Vera Gemma) from the Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti section) for their 2022 film Vera, which was also selected as the Austrian entry for the 96th Academy Awards.
Filmography: Mister Universo (2016); Notes from the Underworld (2020); Vera (2022)
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