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ABOUT PORTAL FILMS

In our films we travel through time to meet people in their present.

Portal Films is a documentary production company based in Vienna, founded in 2020 by Bernhard Riener and Jonathan Vaughan. We make films for television and cinema, approaching historical, cultural and socio-political subjects with curiosity, care and an eye for their relevance today.

Our work connects individual experience with the wider currents of history and society. Through different voices and perspectives, we uncover unexpected relationships and invite audiences to reconsider familiar narratives.

Research, personal testimony and cinematic storytelling guide our approach. We enter the past as a world of possibilities and uncertainties, shaped by people who could not yet know what would follow.

Our backgrounds in film, photography, music and art bring a shared spirit of experimentation to each project and inform the way we work together.

For collaborations, co-productions, licensing or production enquiries, please get in touch.

Direction, Script & Production

Bernhard Riener

With roots in the DIY world, action art, music, photography & film have been accompanying me around the world. I look into the past, into the future, the life in the now and how it can be combined in intriguing documentaries.

I want voices of social engagement and their themes throughout history to be heard.
Camera, Editing & Production

Jonathan Vaughan

Grown up in a film production house, where everything was about stories, always surrounded with colorful people, curiosity became the fuel of my life. Finding intriguing people and talents, capturing their knowledge and working together with them are my vision.

I want to create films that take people on a journey and that can be reflected on.
Production MANAGEMENT - PROJECT BASED

ALINA PARIGGER

After a study in photography in the Netherlands, I settled in Vienna, where I studied Cultural Management and started working in photography galleries. From there I moved into producing film- and photoproductions in the field of advertising and eventually landed where my true passion lies: in the production of documentary films. 

I like organized things and find beauty in chaos.

RESEARCH & DIRECTION - PROJECT BASED

MONA KRIESCH

Going from the abstract of our big and pressing issues to the tangible, the humans behind it – that, to me, is the beautiful power of documentaries. With my background in investigative journalism I love to dig deep and take my time – whether it is in extensive research or in long conversations.

If you listen closely, everyone has a story to tell – I want to take people with me to listen to them.

MUSIC & SOUND - PROJECT BASED

MIKE KLEMENT

Since I was five years old, I am deeply fascinated in and all about music and sounds. All the many instruments I have had the pleasure of learning throughout my life have been giving me the chance to an even bigger expression of myself. Like speaking a foreign language it offers me new connections.

When story, picture, athmo and music symbiotically combine to fantastic magic moments on screen, this is my motivation.

WRITER & DIRECTOR - PROject based

Mehdi Kazemi

In all my endeavors, whether in everyday routines or the craft of filmmaking, I strive to comprehend the pain and sorrow around me. I have a great appreciation for the lives of others, particularly people for whom life has been harsh or unfair to. Despite the sadness, I want my viewers to see the beauty of these people and the hope that they offer.

Life is the stage of our artistry where each person assumes a unique role. May this art be so beautiful, that it lingers as a lasting testament for humanity.

FOLLOW US @PORTAL-FILMS_VIENNA

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