EPO-Film has been a reliable partner for international film and television productions for 70 years. We know how to combine consistency with progress, ability and social engagement. Our family business has always focused on working with clients in a co-operative manner defined by team spirit, ensuring that our staff enjoy fair and equal working conditions, supporting up-and-coming talents and using resources in the most effective, sustainable way possible.
We are proud to be able to tell stories and bring the magic of film to life. However, we are also convinced that our responsibilities go beyond making great movies. They include protecting our environment.
In the future, we intend to increase our efforts to promote environmental awareness as well as diversity, equality and mutual respect, using the Green Producing guidelines and our Code of Ethics as a roadmap. We are great believers in teamwork and collaboration, so we look forward to the co-produktion opportunities offered by the new Austrian funding model.
Making movies together - making future together
The company and its directors recognise that we have a duty of care to those who work for us.
We encourage all those involved with the company to actively contribute to ensuring a constructive, respectful working environment, as this also promotes a greater spirit of productivity and creativity.
We have established and support measures against any form of discrimination, harassment, abuse, intimidation or bullying.
The tenets that guide our company:
Anti-Discrimination
No person may be disadvantaged or discriminated against because of their gender, sexual orientation, origin, appearance, ethnic, cultural, religious or social background, level of education, colour, age, size, relationship status or legal political opinions.
Respectful Behaviour
Our professional behaviour is founded in respectful interaction with others. The opinions of others are to be respected and should never be subjected to personal insults. We expect and support respectful behaviour that ensures people feel comfortable. The private space of all who work with us is to be respected both in the workplace and on location.
Harassment and Exclusionary Behaviour
We will not accept any form of harassment or exclusionary behaviour. This includes but is not limited to:
Child Protection
Protecting children is of exceptional importance. We therefore ensure the greatest possible level of security, for example by providing trained, suitable supervisors at all times. In addition, we commit to providing all underage participants and their parents or legal guardians with detailed information concerning their rights and duties, the working hours and conditions and the content of the film.
As a film production company, we intend to be trailblazers when it comes to sustainability and provide an example of how art, business and environmental protection can work together hand in hand. Our vision is to encourage a positive change in the film industry and to inspire our audiences to similarly make sustainable choices in their lives.
In order to achieve these goals, we commit to the following principles:
Sustainability
We ensure that our productions are as environmentally friendly as possible. We reduce our ecological footprint by using renewable energy sources, effective recycling and waste management programmes, as well as environmentally friendly materials and technologies.
Certification
We actively work towards meeting internationally recognised sustainability standards and continuously improving our processes. We also strive to receive acknowledged certifications that guarantee the quality and transparency of our efforts in this area. These certifications provide our partners with the certainty that they can trust us.
Collaboration
We believe in the efficacy of teamwork and work closely with other companies, organisations and experts to develop innovative solutions for environmentally friendly film production.
Education and Awareness
We hope to use our films to educate and raise awareness among our viewers by including relevant messaging in our films. We use our platform to draw attention to environmental issues and encourage positive change.
EPO-Film was founded in 1954 and remains a wholly independent company, now run by the third generation of the same family. The company focuses on international partnerships and co-productions in the fields of fiction and documentary filmmaking.
The company is owned and managed by Dieter and Jakob Pochlatko. Dieter serves as a mentor in various screenwriting workshops, is a regular jury member at film festivals and works to promote Austria's interests in the film industry. Jakob is a member of the board of both Film Austria and the "Akademie des österreichischen Films" (Academy of Austrian Film). In addition, he frequently serves as an accredited expert in the fields of film, television and cinema.
EPO-Film has 10 full-time employees and works with up to 500 freelance contributors every year. The company's commitment to equality is visible within its structure: half of the fulltime employees are female, and leading positions of a majority of the productions are staffed by women.
EPO-Film is a founding member of the Film Austria league of producers and a member of the Austrian Association of Film Producers (AAFP), as well as a member of the European Producers Club.
EPO-Film productions have received many awards, including from:
Cannes Film Festival, Romy Awards, Austrian Film Award, Bavarian TV Awards, Germany's Bambi Awards, Zurich Film Festival, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, Diagonale, Baden-Baden Award and the Biarritz Film Festival.
| 6.6.1943 | Born in Graz |
| 1964 | Matriculated in Graz, Romance Studies and German at the University of Graz |
| 1966 | State champion in enduro motorcycling |
| 1967 | Started as a cameraman at EPO-Film |
| 1969 | Partnership in the EPO-Film/Graz |
| 1970 | Received the concession for film production |
| 1975-2003 | Head of the Audiovisual and Film Industry Section of the Styrian Chamber of Economics |
| 1977 | Acquisition of Graz's Reichbauer cinema, which remains a significant cultural institution to this day |
| 1977-2001 | Jury member for the Styrian Film Awards |
| 1978-1982 | Manager of Styria' Audio-Visual Centre (AVZ) |
| seit 1978 | Managing partner / EPO-Film, Graz |
| 1984-2004 | Head of the Documentary group within the Audiovisual and Film Industry Section of the Styrian Chamber of Economics |
| 1987-2003 | Jury member – Austrian Federal Award for Advertising |
| 1990 | Establishment of an EPO-Film production facility in Vienna |
| 1990-2002 | Jury member – Graz's Mountainfilm International Filmfestival |
| 1991-1998 | President of the Association of Austrian Filmproducers |
| 1992-2005 | Head of the Audiovisual and Film Industry Section of the Styrian Chamber of Economics Board member at the Verwertungsgesellschaft Audiovisuelle Medien (VAM) rights organisation Member of the Austrian Film Commission (AFC) |
| 1996-2003 | Member of the board of trustees at the Austrian Film Institute |
| 1998-2003 | Advisory board, Diagonale film festival |
| 2009 | Jury member – Austrian Federal Award for Advertising |
| seit 2013 | VAM auditor |
| seit 2014 | AFC auditor |
| seit 2016 | Senior member of the FISA advisory board |
Awards
| 1980 | Received Graz's medal for artistic achievement |
| 1997 | Romy for Best Producer for the TV series EIN IDEALER KANDIDAT |
| 2004 | Cine Styria Film Award |
| 2006 | Grand Josef Krainer Award |
| 2006 | Grand Medal of Honour of Styria |
| 2008 | Bestowal of the honorary title "Kommerzialrat" |
| 2011 | Best Producer Romy for the film VIELLEICHT IN EINEM ANDEREN LEBEN (IN ANOTHER LIFETIME) |
| 2012 | Diagonale 2012: VAM Award for "Innovative Production Achievements" |
| 2013 | Austrian Film Award for the film ATMEN (BREATHING) |
| 2013 | Austrian Ticket for the most successful Austria film, ATMEN (BREATHING) |
| 2014 | Romy for the best TV Movie, POLT |
| 2016 | Best TV movie, Germany's Biberach Film Festival, DRACHENJUNGFRAU (THE WATERFALL MURDER) |
| 2017 | Best TV movie, Germany's Biberach Film Festival, DIE NOTLÜGE |
Teaching
| 1978-1988 | Head of the Film Department at Graz Polytechnic Lecturer for Media Studies at the University of Graz Guest lecturer at La Fémis/Paris and Danube University/Krems |
Cinema Manager
| Since 1977 | Leaseholder and, from 1988, owner of the Rechbauer Cinema in Graz |
| Since 2014 | Manager of the Stadtkulturkino Bruck an der Mur. |
| 4.12.1984 | Born in Graz |
| 2003 | Matriculated in Graz, Law Studies at the University of Graz |
| 2010 | Master's Degree, Law Studies |
| 2009 – 2011 | Work at a renowned law chambers in Vienna |
| 2012 | Junior Producer at EPO-Film |
| since 2013 | Board member in Austria's VAM producer's association, responsible for the Verwertungsgesellschaft für Audiovisuelle Medien rights organisation |
| since 2015 | Member of the TV Movie Committee at the Austrian Chamber of Economics |
| since 2015 | Member of the Advertising and Educational Film Committee at the Austrian Chamber of Economics |
| since 2016 | Manager of the EPO-Film |
| since 2016 | Majority shareholder, EPO-Film |
| since 2017 | Accredited expert in the fields of film, television and cinema |
| since 2018 | Member of Graz's Media and Film advisory board |
| Frequent jury member for various film festivals |
Teaching
Guest lecturer for the Film, TV and Media Production course at the BFI Wien technical college |
