Living in an idyllic country home outside Vienna, Andreas (Philipp Hochmair) and Stefan (Lukas Turtur) have built a harmonious lifestyle together, along with their beloved tomcat, Moses. Andreas manages a respected orchestra in the city, and Stefan plays the French horn in the ensemble. They have a gorgeous garden where Moses can wander and where they host dinner parties with their close-knit circle of friends. Their sex life is as lively and passionate as it has ever been. But their Garden of Eden–like existence unravels after a shocking, violent incident that shatters the two lovers’ perceptions of one another, as well as their understanding of themselves.

Winner of this year’s prestigious Teddy Award for Feature Film at the Berlinale, Händl Klaus’s sophomore feature plays like a queer Force Majeure, if it were directed by Michael Haneke (the director himself had small acting roles in that Oscar-winning filmmaker’s The Piano Teacher and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance). Anchored by strong, daring performances from noted stage actors Turtur and Hochmair and accompanied by a lovely classical score, Tomcat is a provocative, stirring examination of what happens to a loving couple when trouble finds its way into paradise.

Additional support for this screening provided by the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles.