| The Loneliest Man in Town | |
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| Directed by | |
| Written by | Tizza Covi |
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| Cinematography | Rainer Frimmel |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Al Cook |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
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The Loneliest Man in Town is a 2026 Austrian docufiction drama film produced and directed by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, and written by Covi. Set in Vienna, it blends fiction and reality as blues musician Al Cook plays a version of himself in a story about memory, loss and resistance to erasure.
The film will have its world premiere at the main competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on 19 February 2026, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear. [1]
An aging blues musician’s fragile, memory-filled life is upended when developers target his home for demolition, forcing him to confront both material loss and emotional erasure.
The Loneliest Man in Town continues duo directors Covi and Frimmel’s signature approach of working with non-professional actors and naturalistic settings. The duo produced the film through their banner Vento Film. Co-producers include Österreichisches Filminstitut, OFI+, Filmfonds Wien and ORF (Film/Fernseh-Abkommen). [2]
Frimmel also served as director of photography, shooting the film in 16 mm film. [2]
It is set to premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival. [3] [4] Worldwide sales are handled by Brussels-based Be For Films, reuniting with the directors after Mister Universo and Vera . [2]