In the Beginning Was the Word ...
In Memoriam Harry Tomicek
September 9, 2026
For forty years, Harry Tomicek's program notes for the Austrian Film Museum were inspired by the first line of the Gospel of John. Trained in philosophy, he wrote about films, directors, and retrospectives. Be it colors, moods, sounds or things invisible to the eye: nothing escaped his unerring instinct for the essential qualities of a film, which makes his prose miniatures so inimitable. Two lines from Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony as a leitmotif of hope for a memorial evening: "With wings that I won [...] To the light to which no sight has penetrated!" (Elisabeth Streit / Translation: Ted Fendt)
In the presence of family and friends
For forty years, Harry Tomicek's program notes for the Austrian Film Museum were inspired by the first line of the Gospel of John. Trained in philosophy, he wrote about films, directors, and retrospectives. Be it colors, moods, sounds or things invisible to the eye: nothing escaped his unerring instinct for the essential qualities of a film, which makes his prose miniatures so inimitable. Two lines from Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony as a leitmotif of hope for a memorial evening: "With wings that I won [...] To the light to which no sight has penetrated!" (Elisabeth Streit / Translation: Ted Fendt)
In the presence of family and friends
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