Ruben Östlund’s socio-critical film "The Square" (2017) follows Christian (Claes Bang), the respected curator of a contemporary art museum in Stockholm. His next spectacular show is titled "The Square", an environment which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals—he lives isolated in a stylish apartment and would not park his Tesla unsupervised in a dubious neighborhood. Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for "The Square". The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.

After the screening, the director of the KM–, Sandro Droschl, will lead a discussion with Severin Dünser, the curator of Belvedere Quartier 21, Vienna, about the joys and hurdles of curatorial agency. Questions surrounding the staging of the role of the curator, as well as professional ethics and wishful thinking in consideration of the realities of the professional profile will be in the focus.

Severin Dünser (1980 Vienna, lives in Vienna) works as curator of contemporary art at the Belvedere in Vienna. In 2009, he founded the art club COCO together with Christian Kobald, which is being pursued on a project basis since 2012. Previously, he ran the project room of Galerie Krinzinger, curated exhibitions in and outside of Austria and wrote, among others, for Spike and mono.kultur. In the last years he realized the internationally perceived exhibitions "The Value of Freedom", "Instructions for Happiness", "The Grasping", "The Gestural", "The Concern" and "Flirting with Strangers".
Ruben Östlund (1974 Styrsö, Sweden) is a director and screenwriter. He studied at the Academy of Photography and Film Gothenburg and released his first feature film "Gitarrmongot" in 2004. For his feature film "Force Majeure" (2014), he was nominated for the Oscars and the Golden Globes. For his motion picture "The Square" (2017) which was presented at the film festival in Cannes, he won the Palme d’Or. In 2018, he was appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.