Bianca Poletti directed this three-minute short titled Vienna Bites for the Vienna Tourist Board, launching a campaign developed by Viennese agency seite zwei. The film was produced by Viennese production company Muellers Bureau. (Poletti continues to be repped in the U.S. and U.K. by Biscuit Filmworks).
The short marks the opening of Vienna’s 2026 culinary theme year–also dubbed Vienna Bites–and positions Viennese cuisine as both cultural heritage and creative inspiration but with a darkly comic twist as we are told the fictional story of a clan of vampires on the hunt through Vienna at night. The vampires covet their victims’ blood because it is fueled by the mouth-watering cuisine of Vienna. The blood is of the most refined quality thanks to the denizens of the city’s superior dining options.
Iconic dishes–from Wiener Schnitzel to Kaiserschmarrn–become visual and symbolic elements within Poletti’s stylized, atmospheric film world. The concept deftly builds on Vienna’s lesser-known historical link to vampirism, first documented in 1725, and connects it to today’s renewed global appetite for vampire and horror narratives.
The cinematic production combines Viennese locations with an international aesthetic, supported by a soundtrack created in collaboration with the U.S.-based composer and songwriter Morgan Kibby, known for her work with artists including Lady Gaga and Harry Styles, as well as the band The Graveyard Club.
Vienna Bites has launched online and is now being rolled out internationally across key markets, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S.
