After a break and countless inquiries, the fifth edition of “It's The Real Thing—Basler Documentary Platform,” the festival of documentary and propaganda arts, is here. Contrary to what the subtitle suggests, it is not about a representation of the documentary genre, but rather with how the nonfictional can be appropriated, falsified, distorted, subverted, transformed, propagated, destroyed, or altered. The focus is on the artistic act.
Thus, the festival once again deals with the question of how we represent and fabricate reality in different spheres. One thing is clear: since the festival’s last edition in 2019, our sense of reality has undergone a spectacular transformation. At the first edition in 2013, the topic was of special interest to nerds. Today, it is a mass phenomenon. Digital reality has overtaken physical reality as the primary frame of reference. “Reality” has become the ultimate bargaining chip, appearing in all areas of everyday life. As a mystery, a danger, a business model, a provocation. Tempers are running high; nothing can be taken for granted. But don't panic, there's theater.
The topic chosen for this edition is “metamorphosis.” All of the invited works have a passionate connection to reality. But they do not remain stuck in it; instead, they transcend it with powerful artistic statements, outstanding craftsmanship, and conceptual and aesthetic boldness. They respond to the present with art that continues to embrace the political. But they do not make themselves dependent on it; instead, they confront the audience with something lively and ambivalent. May it be daring, pathetic, sometimes with wicked humor, and in any case unpredictable. Once again, “It's The Real Thing—Basel Documentary Platform” is a declaration of love for theater. Or in the words of the immortal Toni Morrison: “How dull, how subhuman, how unlivable life becomes when the dimension of art is taken away from it.”
This festival will present lectures, exhibitions, theater performances, and films; for a full list of events, visit their website.

Website
itstherealthing.ch/en/die-verwandlung/

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