Wednesday, 13. May
INFO
Recommended for ages 6–11
Language: Dialect
Runtime: 87 min
Director: Ntascha Beller
Country: Switzerland
Year: 2026
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
School classes can register for a free movie screening. The film Plitsch Platsch Forever! was chosen to align with this year’s theme of Zuversicht. More infos can be found here.
POLA (11) and her best and only friend POLLY (11) spend every spare moment together at the local Plitsch Platsch swimming pool. Polly’s mums run the bistro there. But the pool is due to close, and Polly is moving to Toronto with her family. To get Polly back, Pola wants to save the pool – but the longer she fights, the more she realises that Polly won’t be coming back. Only when she realises that her strength can help others too does Pola manage to make a courageous fresh start. The film tells a heart-warming story of friendship, letting go and the courage to stand up for a greater cause – with a loving look at Swiss swimming pool culture.
INFO
Free Entry
Moderation: Sebastian Sorg, producer and dramaturg
The names of the guests will be published at the end of April.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Basel Region Film and Media Art Prize is awarded biennially. Nominees are films that have already been screened at festivals and in cinemas. In our discussion, we will focus on the four nominated feature-length films.
Rather than starting with the finished work, we examine the process that shaped the films together with the filmmakers. We start with specific scenes or moments in which key decisions were made. From there, we trace the steps back: What was the catalyst? What was the starting point? What research, observation or necessity led to this decision? What changed as the project developed? What alternatives were considered? What was discarded and why? At which stages did the film's form only become apparent during the process itself, i.e. during the writing, filming or editing stages?
The discussion unfolds from these key moments. Each work is examined through a few carefully selected examples. The moderator will guide the conversation back to the conditions under which decisions were made, keeping the focus on the process: origins, changes and alternatives.
- Descriptive subtitles
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Germany, Canada, Mexico 2026
OV/e/g
70 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Tere is a musician and composer who has lent her flat to a fellow artist for a television interview. But as soon as the conversation begins, it spirals out of control. Noise from outside, equipment fails, and her daughter, witty and sharp-tongued, interferes. Mother and daughter take pleasure in dissecting the rituals and vanities of the art world, exposing its attitudes and sexisms. They do so with refreshing honesty and calm.
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Nicolás Pereda
Nicolás Pereda (born 1982) is a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker whose work blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. His meticulously composed films and understated characters explore the mysteries of everyday life among Mexico’s working class. Seemingly banal situations unfold into a multi-layered blend of humor, absurdity, and social reality. Pereda frequently works with a core ensemble of professional and non-professional actors and actresses, incorporating biographical elements from his cast members.
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Canada 2025
OV/e
99 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Kunsel is a young woman of Tibetan descent who has only recently arrived in Canada. She is silent, introverted, yet alert. She lives in an apartment building, in a thoroughly Tibetan community, and observes people through her video camera – which isn’t even hers. Kunsel also steals other things, such as a precious piece of jewelry from a neighbor. And Kunsel befriends Passang, who has also recently moved there and is stuck in a marriage to a much older man. Fate takes a new turn when Kunsel steals from the husband. Nothing is fleeting, but everything is a deception.
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Kunsang Kyirong
Kunsang Kyirong (born 1991) is a Canadian filmmaker and artist who grew up in the Tibetan diaspora in Vancouver. Drawing on this perspective, she weaves personal experiences, observations, and stories into fictional narratives. She is interested in the dynamics of coexistence and the glimpses of identity that emerge in everyday moments. In 2021, the director herself moved to Parkdale near Toronto to become part of Canada’s largest Tibetan community, where 100 SUNSET, her feature film debut, was shot.
Thursday, 14. May
INFO
Free Entry
Advance registration is recommended: info@bildrausch-basel.ch
location
- Tramhaltestelle Hofmatt in Münchenstein
- 4142 Münchenstein
- Google Maps
The path starts directly in Münchenstein and leads us deep into the forest. Accompanied by landscape architect and plant expert Peter Steiger, we will discover the wonders that are often overlooked along the way. We sharpen our senses, leave everyday life behind and gather impressions that will transform our view of the landscape.
What will we experience more intensely during the walk when we consciously perceive our surroundings? And how will our heightened senses perceive the film?
When: Thursday, 14 May at 10:30 am
Meeting point: Münchenstein-Hofmatt tram stop (take line 10 from the theatre or SBB railway station)
What to bring: We’ll be walking whatever the weather! Please bring sturdy shoes, layered clothing, rain gear (which can also be used as a seat pad) and a drink of your choice.
Distance: about 2 kilometers
Duration: The walk will take approximately 3 hours. Refreshments will then be served on the Bildrausch Piazza before the film.
Film start: 3 pm at Stadtkino Basel
HEN
György Pálfi, DE/GR/HU, 2025, 96 minutes
A chicken flees toxic circumstances and ends up in a rundown restaurant on the Greek coast. There, it witnesses the depths of human depravity, from envy to violence. Yet it remains steadfast in its clear vision. With success! This is a visual experience that takes on a whole new resonance after the forest walk.
INFO
Free Entry
A collaboration with CinEuro and Balimage
Moderator: Sebastian Sorg, producer, dramaturg
location
- Foyer Public Theater Basel
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4010 Basel
- Google Maps
Conversations with filmmakers: From idea to a finished film – but how?
Our daily impulses provide a starting point for discussions on film development. Through moderated discussions, we establish a foundation of thematic and economic context, offering inspiration for tomorrow's film projects. Individual project consultations will follow.
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 15:00Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
South Korea 2025
OV/e
119 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Seventeen-year-old Jooin is a perfectly normal teenager. Confident, popular, loud, full of life, energetic, dramatic. But behind this facade, Jooin hides something unspeakable. A traumatic experience, a wound. She is determined not to give the trauma any room and not to become a victim of her wounds. For a while, she succeeds. But when she loses control in a fit of rage in front of her classmates, the truth bursts out. This changes the perception of those around her, but also her own.
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Yoon Ga-eun
It is the lives and experiences of girls and young women that Yoon Ga-eun (born 1982) portrays in her films. How they are perceived in and by their surroundings plays a central role, without the characters being reduced to their traumas.
Before Yoon graduated from the School of Film, TV & Multimedia in Seoul, she completed a degree in history.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 21:30Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Germany, Greece, Hungary 2025
OV/e/g
96 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Determined to put an end to her miserable life on an industrial chicken farm, a hen sets off to find a safe place for herself and her chicks to come. She goes on a dangerous journey, facing the depths of human cruelty, but guided by courage, creativity, and an untiring will to survive. She falls into the clutches of the elderly owner of a small, dreary restaurant on the Greek coast, who is under the influence of his daughter’s criminal boyfriend. The hen skillfully navigates the pecking orders of both humans and animals successfully.
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György Pálfi
György Pálfi (born 1974) has made a name for himself internationally with his idiosyncratic and often grotesquely exaggerated films, which nevertheless reach a wide audience. After making his first short films, Pálfi graduated from the Budapest Academy of Theater and Film in 2000, and his very first feature film (Hukkle, 2002) was submitted as Hungary’s entry for the Academy Awards. The same was true of his second film, «Taxidermia» (2006). HEN is a logical continuation of his whimsical body of work.
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Filmmakers share insights into their work and the conditions behind the scenes. Each session begins with an opening question and unfolds organically.
- Zoom Call with the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 12:15kult.kino atelier
INFO
USA 2025
E
76 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Olin Corporation has left a legacy in the United States, with its impact being felt through poisoned water, contaminated soil and above-average cancer rates. However, the John M. Olin Foundation is also part of this legacy. It has spent $370 million promoting an ultra-conservative agenda through books, think tanks and networks that glorify capitalism, morality and religion. The daughter calmly unmasks the history of the company her father worked for, reflecting on the rise of the new conservative movement and the consequences of 'dark money'. Considering the alarming attacks on women's rights and the current dominance of the Republican Party, this film essay provides a deep insight into the state of the USA today.
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Lee Anne Schmitt
In her films, Lee Anne Schmitt repeatedly explores American exceptionalism, racial violence, the mythology of the American West, and forms of trauma, narration, and loneliness. Her precisely composed, often contemplative works combine observation, text, and autobiographical perspectives into a distinctive cinematic language that bridges the gap between documentary and essay. The filmmaker and artist lives and works in Los Angeles.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 20:00kult.kino atelier
INFO
Finland 2025
E/g
90 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Louis has epilepsy. He suffers from a severe, complex, and debilitating form of it. It has stolen him years of his childhood and erased his memories. His parents, filmmakers Emma Matthews and Christopher Petit, tell his story through a collage of archival footage – including recordings of his seizures – film clips, works of art, among them Louis’s own paintings, and sequences from road movies. This family’s story is a personal account of suffering, but also of Louis’s journey toward his own future beyond the confines of institutions and systems.
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Emma Matthews
Emma Matthews is a British editor who has made a name for herself internationally as co-director of the BBC series «Arena – Night and Day» (2015–2020), a collection of 24-hour films compiled from the extensive archives of the legendary Arena series.
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Christopher Petit
Christopher Petit (born 1949) is a director whose debut film RADIO ON (1979) is now considered a cult classic of British cinema: a minimalist road movie strongly influenced by music, landscape, and atmosphere.
- Audio description
- Descriptive subtitles
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 19:45Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Germany 2025
G/e/g
90 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Cherry Season in Sangerhausen. Lotte is a maid at the castle where the poet Novalis is staying for some days. Without knowing, he encourages her to flee to France with Norbert, the stone-eater. But the escape fails and ends with Lotte having to hide in a cave. Ursula is exhausted and stuck in a passionless marriage. Early in the morning, she cleans a furniture store, and during the day, she works as a waitress. An unexpected encounter with musicians passing through sparks hope in her, but leads her into new troubles. The Iranian YouTuber Neda is stranded in Sangerhausen, where she runs into an acquaintance from back home and the tour guide Sung-Nam, with whom she sets off for the Kyffhäuser. On the way there, Ursula runs into their car and together they embark on a mysterious journey. In a cave, the ghost of Lotte appears to them. Neda leaves Sangerhausen and takes hold of the blue stone that Nobert once swallowed.
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Julian Radlmaier
According to Marx and Engels, class struggle is the driving force of history. Perhaps. It certainly runs through the central theme of Julian Radlmaier’s films. These Marxist comedies do not shy away from the supernatural. Even if they fail to overcome class divisions, the protagonists do not give up their belief in a better world. Julian Radlmaier (1984) studied film directing at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, as well as film theory and art history in Berlin and Paris. PHANTOMS OF JULY is Radlmaier’s fifth film.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 17:15kult.kino atelier
INFO
Lithuania, Norway, Sweden 2025
OV/e
111 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Danielius is from Lithuania, but now lives in Norway, where he has put down roots. He returns to his old home to sell his parents’ apartment. No big deal, but many small ones. Danielius visits places and meets people who bring back memories, awaken feelings, and evoke comforting nostalgia, without the familiarity of the past ever truly returning. He remains a wandering visitor through his own past. But as he intends to stay a bit longer, something surprising happens.
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Vytautas Katkus
It is places, spaces, and atmospheres that the Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Katkus captures in his films—rather than the supposedly grand human dramas. He prioritizes presence over performance and places observation above control. His films are imbued with a contented nostalgia. Vytautas Katkus (born 1991) is an experienced cinematographer, and after directing three short films, THE VISITOR is his first feature film.
INFO
Eintritt Frei
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
For all the wannabe rock and pop stars out there: This is your moment! Choose a song, grab the microphone and take your place in the spotlight. The audience will cheer for you, whether you sing beautifully or beautifully off-key.
Friday, 15. May
INFO
Free Entry
A collaboration with CinEuro and Balimage
Moderator: Sebastian Sorg, producer, dramaturg
location
- Foyer Public Theater Basel
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4010 Basel
- Google Maps
Conversations with filmmakers: What fuels the creative writing process? How is a screenplay created?
Our daily impulses provide a starting point for discussions on film development. Through moderated discussions, we establish a foundation of thematic and economic context, offering inspiration for tomorrow's film projects. Individual project consultations will follow.
- Descriptive subtitles
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 17:15Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Great Britain 2025
OV/e/g
72 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Synthetic Sincerity Lab is a research project based at the University of the South of England. There, researchers are investigating whether AI-generated personas can learn authenticity. To this end, they use characters from Isaacs's documentaries. In return, Isaacs can film the research process. Isaacs is documenting the work of Lynn, a rebellious AI researcher, and Ablikim Rahman, a Uyghur chef who has volunteered to be a research subject. The project is a success, with the AI version of the chef being able to express things that would otherwise be beyond him. However, the situation takes an unforeseen turn when university executives interfere.
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Marc Isaacs
It is the so-called little people who interest Marc Isaacs—people on the margins of society, on the sidelines. But not as exotic stereotypes, not as quirky illustrations, but as barometers of the present and its upheavals. He gives them a voice, and we watch as they—just as casually—address the major issues of our time: identity, hope, fears.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 19:30kult.kino atelier
INFO
Brazil 2026
OV/e
97 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Picuí is a remote place in northeastern Brazil. But natural resources spark interest – uranium, for example. In a dystopian but very near future, the tiger mosquito, which transmits Dengue and Yellow fever, forces action. To get it under control, a government-funded international team of scientists conducts experiments. But they don’t go as hoped; instead, they get out of hand. And then, the fate of an entire region is at stake. But that’s not all.
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Tiago Melo
In 2007, Tiago Melo (born 1984) completed his studies in dramaturgy in Cuba, leaving behind his original passion: theater. Since then, he has produced over two dozen films and made his directorial debut in 2012 with a documentary about the uranium deposits in Picuí. And it is to this place that he returns with the feature film YELLOW CAKE.
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 14:00Stadtkino-Piazza
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Filmkritiker*innen, Filmschaffende und Persönlichkeiten aus der Basler Kulturszene im Gespräch zum thematischen Schwerpunkt des Festivals und zu ausgewählten Filmen. Du kannst über Funkkopfhörer live dabei sein.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 12:15Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Netherlands, Afghanistan 2025
OV/e
97 min.
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Born in Afghanistan, Dawood Hilmandi, his family calls him Paikar, lives in exile in the Netherlands and grew up in the shadow of his father. Now, Paikar returns to face his alienated father, once a mujahideen, now an imam, writer, and poet. The return is a quest for love, forgiveness, and recognition. It explores the emotional legacy of war and silence that shape generations. The relationship between fathers and their sons is often not easy. This one is no exception. Paikar means war.
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Dawood Hilmandi
Dawood Hilmandi (born 1987) is a Dutch-Afghan multimedia artist, experimental filmmaker, and photographer. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and the London Film Academy. PAIKAR is his first feature film.
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Mexico, Canada 2020
OV/e
70 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Luisa and Paco visit her parents, who are set to meet their daughter’s new boyfriend. The encounter goes as these kinds of encounters tend to. Paco is an actor in the hit series Narcos. And even though he doesn’t have a speaking part yet, he’s talked into acting out a scene. With silent glances and casual poses, Paco shows narco-culture as an absurd performance of male coolness. The visit, as comical as it is surreal, soon blends into a book that Luisa’s brother is reading – and transforms into a mysterious performance in which reality and fiction merge in a stunning way.
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Nicolás Pereda
Nicolás Pereda (1982) is a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker whose work blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. His meticulously composed films and understated characters explore the mysteries of everyday life among Mexico’s working class. Seemingly banal situations unfold into a multi-layered blend of humor, absurdity, and social reality. Pereda frequently works with a core ensemble of professional and non-professional actors and actresses, incorporating biographical elements from his cast members.
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Filmmakers share insights into their work and the conditions behind the scenes. Each session begins with an opening question and unfolds organically.
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
- Sun, 17. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Jataka Tales recount the Buddha’s past lives and explore themes of compassion, wisdom, and spiritual transformation. The Jataka Tales VR Art Gallery brings these ancient stories and their cultural and spiritual heritage to life for a modern audience. The VR Art Gallery offers more than mere observation; it creates a sense of presence. Visitors can walk through the ancient stories, experience them first-hand, and interact with them.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sat, 16. May — 12:15Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Spain, Portugal 2025
OV/e
112 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
A group of teenagers wade through the marsh and they tell each other about their wartime experiences in online games. They arrive at the Roman baths and spend the night sitting in the water; they bathe, they talk. The warm water opens their pores, making their skin porous and the young men sensitive toward one another, their dreams, their fates. Just like the legionnaires who sit in these baths over two thousand years ago and set out into an uncertain future. As dawn breaks, they say goodbye to one another.
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Gabriel Azorín
Gabriel Azorín (born 1981) is a graduate of the Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de Madrid, where he now heads the documentary film program. After a series of short films, he made his directorial debut in 2016 with the documentary «Los Mutantes», in which the themes of time travel and new beginnings are already foreshadowed and return in LAST NIGHT I CONQUERED THE CITY OF THEBES, his first feature film.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 12:15kult.kino atelier
INFO
OV
85 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Short Award
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
We encounter protagonists seeking stability in parallel worlds: between jazz and bureaucracy, in the silence of a deaf world, and amidst the raw pain of a hospital. Confidence is portrayed as a conscious choice — the courage to find oneself in others, or to not lose the music in the shadow of fear. From an ambitious sparrow to a healing zebrafish. A collaboration with the Solothurn Filmtage.
Annette accompanies her adopted son to South Korea to meet his biological mother. But the reunion does not primarily confront the son with a complex reality; rather, it confronts the two mothers with unspoken feelings, old wounds, and the question of whether a mother’s love can be shared.
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Hae-Sup Sin
Hae-Sup Sin (born 1991) is interested in stories where cultures, mentalities, and identities intersect. He graduated from the ZHdK in 2025 with a Master’s degree in Feature Film Directing.
It is her last working day when the justice of the peace is faced with a difficult case. Money is not so much of an issue. The amount the two business partners are arguing about is small. In fact, that’s not what this is all about. The conflict is fueled by hurt feelings, jealousy, and betrayal. They haven’t spoken to each other in too long, and too many issues have remained unsorted.
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Pablo Callisaya
Pablo Callisaya (born 1989) graduated from the Escuela de Cine y Televisión de Madrid Septima Ars in 2010 and then transferred to the Zurich University of the Arts to pursue a bachelor’s degree in film. He earned his bachelor’s degree in film in 2015 and his Master of Arts in Film and Screenwriting in 2020.
Amid pain, homesickness, and disgust, there are always absurd, funny moments in hospitals. And sometimes it’s not easy to navigate the hospital’s routines and hierarchies without losing your bearings. An emotional journey through the long underground corridors of the hospital’s parallel universe, filled with small talk and tubes.
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Luisa Zürcher
Luisa Zürcher (born 1998) captures the absurd, grotesque, and whimsical moments of everyday life and transforms them into poetic and humorous narratives in her films and visual works. She graduated with a degree in animation from Lucerne in 2021 and currently lives and works as a freelance artist and filmmaker in St. Gallen.
Naima is ten and lives with her father and his friends. One of them is undocumented. Protected by her innocence, Naima grows up in a perfect musical world – or at least a close to perfect world – amidst jazz rehearsals and paperwork. As the group prepares for a conc
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Khalissa Akadi
Khalissa Akadi (born 2003) studied social sciences at the University of Lausanne from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, she transferred to the Haute École d'Art et de Design in Geneva, where she is now studying film.
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Solveig Carnajac
Solveig Carnajac (born 2003) is studying cinematography at the Haute École d'Art et de Design in Geneva. She is part of a young generation of filmmakers who are rediscovering analog filmmaking.
December 8, 2024. The long-awaited fall of the Assad regime. After 54 years, time stands still. And it feels unreal. Like a dream, you don’t want to wake up from, even if the backdrop is a bombed-out city. Anything is possible. There is room for everything. For dreams, for hope, but also for all uncertainties.
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Julie-Yara Atz
Julie-Yara Atz (born 1993) is a Swiss-Syrian artist, actress, and director. In 2017, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Film Directing from HEAD (Haute École d’Art et de Design) in Geneva, in the Cinéma du réel department. In 2018, she earned a Master’s degree in Acting from the GFCA (Giles Foreman Centre for Acting) in London. She lives in and between London and Switzerland.
Every day, a sparrow is bombarded with images of ostriches: on billboards, in advertisements, on his smartphone. The ostrich’s long neck, perfect gaze, and muscular legs have captivated him – he wants to be just like that. Through rigorous leg workouts, visits to the neck-stretching studio, and makeup tutorials, he comes very close to his goal. When a real ostrich comes to town one day and the sparrow meets his idol in person, he realizes something.
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Marie Kenov
Marie Kenov (born 1990) earned a bachelor’s degree in Poster Design and Visual Communication from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 2016 and graduated from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts with a degree in Animation in 2020. She has been working as a freelancer in the fields of graphic design, illustration, and animation since 2020.
A deaf woman believes that the sun is the loudest thing on Earth. On her journey, it becomes clear that deaf people can “hear” too – in their own imaginary world.
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Maurizius Staerkle Drux
Maurizius Staerkle Drux (born 1988) studied film directing with a focus on sound and sound design at the Zurich University of the Arts and earned a master’s degree in experimental film from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In addition to his work as a director, he has shaped the soundscapes of over fifteen feature films and documentaries as a sound designer.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 15:00kult.kino atelier
INFO
Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain 2025
OV/e
107 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Stela is 36 years old, a unsuccessful writer, and repeatedly unemployed. The only thing that gives her life any sense of direction is her obsession with an aging Serbian pop star. Hoping to get closer to her idol, she counts on a friend. She is a notorious mistress of the idol, but also more or less successful in her sex toy and lubricant business. When Stella finally meets the sleazy pop star, the world doesn’t go up in smoke – at most, a house of cards collapses.
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Ivana Mladenovic
Ivana Mladenovic (born 1984) is from Serbia, but has lived and worked in Romania for over twenty years, having moved there to study film directing in Bucharest. In 2012 her first documentary film releases. The stories she tells straddle the fine line between reality and autofiction. Once one leaves behind the search for the actual border, emotional and thematic truths are revealed that can be even more real than reality itself.
- Zoom Call with the director
Other screenings
- Sun, 17. May — 17:30kult.kino atelier
INFO
USA, Morocco, Italy 2025
OV/e
83 min.
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Bouchra is a 35-year-old queer animator of Moroccan descent who lives and works in Brooklyn, Bouchra in a coyote. After experiencing a creative dry spell, she goes on a journey of self-discovery and exploration of her sexual identity while working on an autobiographical film set in Morocco. In the film, her character embarks on a romantic affair with a woman and comes to terms with her family. Bouchra wants to advance her career, but she also longs for reconciliation with her mother nine years after writing a letter to her parents about her sexuality. Eventually, Bouchra and her mother meet for dinner.
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Orian Yani Barki & Meriem Bennani
Orian Barki is an Israeli filmmaker who has created commercials for companies such as Nike, Vogue, American Express, and Urban Outfitters, and who gained recognition for the 2020 web series «2 Lizards» which she developed in collaboration with Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani. The series tells the story of two talking, anthropomorphized lizards navigating life during lockdown.
Meriem Bennani (born 1988) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union in New York and a Master’s degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions. She lives and works as an animator in New York.
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Ceiling projection
At the invitation of the Bildrausch Filmfest Basel, Ruth Baettig is creating the site-specific video work Echoes of Depth and Distance. Following its performative world premiere, the work will be installed as a ceiling projection in the foyer of Stadtkino Basel for a period of one year. The work combines the artist’s own 360° footage with found footage from the cosmos and the deep sea. In a spatial arrangement developed specifically for the venue, image, architecture and duration intertwine. A QR code also provides access to the live musical improvisation, thereby expanding the visual space sonically.
Performative intervention with trio and audience
The world premiere of Echoes of Depth and Distance will take place in the auditorium of the Stadtkino Basel as part of the Bildrausch Filmfest Basel. Ruth Baettig combines video art, found footage, live music and audience participation in the spirit of Cinema Expanded. Cosmic and subaquatic visual spaces open up the cinema auditorium as a space for experience – a space that itself becomes a cosmos. Moving trails of light from the audience merge with the projection before the Badalmanti’s Quest Trio from Basel (Marco Guglielmetti, Paul Pedrazzini, Matteo Simonin) begins their live performance. Image and improvised sound enter into dialogue and expand the experience of the cinema space. After the approximately 30-minute intervention, Echoes of Depth and Distance moves to the ceiling above the bar in the foyer and remains there – like a visual canopy.
Saturday, 16. May
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 17:30Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Spain, Portugal 2025
OV/e
112 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
A group of teenagers wade through the marsh and they tell each other about their wartime experiences in online games. They arrive at the Roman baths and spend the night sitting in the water; they bathe, they talk. The warm water opens their pores, making their skin porous and the young men sensitive toward one another, their dreams, their fates. Just like the legionnaires who sit in these baths over two thousand years ago and set out into an uncertain future. As dawn breaks, they say goodbye to one another.
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Gabriel Azorín
Gabriel Azorín (born 1981) is a graduate of the Escuela de Cinematografía y del Audiovisual de Madrid, where he now heads the documentary film program. After a series of short films, he made his directorial debut in 2016 with the documentary «Los Mutantes», in which the themes of time travel and new beginnings are already foreshadowed and return in LAST NIGHT I CONQUERED THE CITY OF THEBES, his first feature film.
- Zoom Call with the director
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 17:30Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
USA 2025
E
76 min.
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Olin Corporation has left a legacy in the United States, with its impact being felt through poisoned water, contaminated soil and above-average cancer rates. However, the John M. Olin Foundation is also part of this legacy. It has spent $370 million promoting an ultra-conservative agenda through books, think tanks and networks that glorify capitalism, morality and religion. The daughter calmly unmasks the history of the company her father worked for, reflecting on the rise of the new conservative movement and the consequences of 'dark money'. Considering the alarming attacks on women's rights and the current dominance of the Republican Party, this film essay provides a deep insight into the state of the USA today.
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Lee Anne Schmitt
In her films, Lee Anne Schmitt repeatedly explores American exceptionalism, racial violence, the mythology of the American West, and forms of trauma, narration, and loneliness. Her precisely composed, often contemplative works combine observation, text, and autobiographical perspectives into a distinctive cinematic language that bridges the gap between documentary and essay. The filmmaker and artist lives and works in Los Angeles.
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Foyer Public Theater Basel
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4010 Basel
- Google Maps
Jelena Januskevic paints in real time using VR and digital brushes, translating intuition into flowing, three-dimensional art forms. Inspired by the simplicity and subtlety of Japanese haiku, each stroke becomes a fleeting visual poem, where color, line, and light capture the quiet beauty of the present moment.
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 14:00Stadtkino-Piazza
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Filmkritiker*innen, Filmschaffende und Persönlichkeiten aus der Basler Kulturszene im Gespräch zum thematischen Schwerpunkt des Festivals und zu ausgewählten Filmen. Du kannst über Funkkopfhörer live dabei sein.
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Canada 2025
OV/e
99 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Kunsel is a young woman of Tibetan descent who has only recently arrived in Canada. She is silent, introverted, yet alert. She lives in an apartment building, in a thoroughly Tibetan community, and observes people through her video camera – which isn’t even hers. Kunsel also steals other things, such as a precious piece of jewelry from a neighbor. And Kunsel befriends Passang, who has also recently moved there and is stuck in a marriage to a much older man. Fate takes a new turn when Kunsel steals from the husband. Nothing is fleeting, but everything is a deception.
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Kunsang Kyirong
Kunsang Kyirong (born 1991) is a Canadian filmmaker and artist who grew up in the Tibetan diaspora in Vancouver. Drawing on this perspective, she weaves personal experiences, observations, and stories into fictional narratives. She is interested in the dynamics of coexistence and the glimpses of identity that emerge in everyday moments. In 2021, the director herself moved to Parkdale near Toronto to become part of Canada’s largest Tibetan community, where 100 SUNSET, her feature film debut, was shot.
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Mexico, Canada 2025
OV/e
78 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
On his way to the copper mine where Lázaro works, he discovers a dead body by the side of the road. His fragile world is thrown off balance. At home, his mother and aunt urge him to keep quiet. But he cannot get out of his mind what he has seen, nor can he speak about it. Those around him treat him with growing suspicion. When a lung disease forces him to take a break from work, doubts about his actual state of health arise and fuel rumors of a possible involvement in the crime. Lázaro finds support in his aunt, but even this support could be an illusion.
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Nicolás Pereda
Nicolás Pereda (1982) is a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker whose work blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. His meticulously composed films and understated characters explore the mysteries of everyday life among Mexico’s working class. Seemingly banal situations unfold into a multi-layered blend of humor, absurdity, and social reality. Pereda frequently works with a core ensemble of professional and non-professional actors and actresses, incorporating biographical elements from his cast members.
INFO
Free Entry
Moderation: Susanna Guggenberger
location
- Refektorium Elisabethenkirche
- Elisabethenstrasse 14, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Dr. Andreas Krafft (Universität St. Gallen) erforscht seit Jahrzehnten Hoffnung und hat ein Hoffnungsbarometer für die Schweiz entwickelt. Gemeinsam mit ihm diskutieren wir, was das kreative Schaffen antreibt, wie Zuversicht in verschiedenen Generationen gelebt wird und was wir voneinander lernen können.
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
- Sun, 17. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Jataka Tales recount the Buddha’s past lives and explore themes of compassion, wisdom, and spiritual transformation. The Jataka Tales VR Art Gallery brings these ancient stories and their cultural and spiritual heritage to life for a modern audience. The VR Art Gallery offers more than mere observation; it creates a sense of presence. Visitors can walk through the ancient stories, experience them first-hand, and interact with them.
- Descriptive subtitles
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 12:15Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Great Britain 2025
OV/e/g
72 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Synthetic Sincerity Lab is a research project based at the University of the South of England. There, researchers are investigating whether AI-generated personas can learn authenticity. To this end, they use characters from Isaacs's documentaries. In return, Isaacs can film the research process. Isaacs is documenting the work of Lynn, a rebellious AI researcher, and Ablikim Rahman, a Uyghur chef who has volunteered to be a research subject. The project is a success, with the AI version of the chef being able to express things that would otherwise be beyond him. However, the situation takes an unforeseen turn when university executives interfere.
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Marc Isaacs
It is the so-called little people who interest Marc Isaacs—people on the margins of society, on the sidelines. But not as exotic stereotypes, not as quirky illustrations, but as barometers of the present and its upheavals. He gives them a voice, and we watch as they—just as casually—address the major issues of our time: identity, hope, fears.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 19:45kult.kino atelier
INFO
Lithuania, Norway, Sweden 2025
OV/e
111 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Danielius is from Lithuania, but now lives in Norway, where he has put down roots. He returns to his old home to sell his parents’ apartment. No big deal, but many small ones. Danielius visits places and meets people who bring back memories, awaken feelings, and evoke comforting nostalgia, without the familiarity of the past ever truly returning. He remains a wandering visitor through his own past. But as he intends to stay a bit longer, something surprising happens.
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Vytautas Katkus
It is places, spaces, and atmospheres that the Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Katkus captures in his films—rather than the supposedly grand human dramas. He prioritizes presence over performance and places observation above control. His films are imbued with a contented nostalgia. Vytautas Katkus (born 1991) is an experienced cinematographer, and after directing three short films, THE VISITOR is his first feature film.
INFO
Freier Eintritt
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
We are now presenting an award for outstanding artistic direction and screenplay. Every great cinematic vision begins with the first written word. It is at the point where a vague idea becomes a concrete treatment or screenplay that the narrative’s courage is forged. For the first time, BILDRAUSCH 2026 is presenting an award for a screenplay or treatment in the documentary film category. In doing so, we are supporting the creative process and honouring those scripts that already ‘go all out’ on paper. Masha Chernaya (winner of the 2025 Peter Liechti Challenge Trophy) and François Sculier will present the award. A short film will be selected by a jury, comprising Myrien Barth, Caroline Feder and Jonas Jäggy this year. And who will win the Audience Award?
More information about the 2026 jury
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 17:30kult.kino atelier
INFO
Finland 2025
E/g
90 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Louis has epilepsy. He suffers from a severe, complex, and debilitating form of it. It has stolen him years of his childhood and erased his memories. His parents, filmmakers Emma Matthews and Christopher Petit, tell his story through a collage of archival footage – including recordings of his seizures – film clips, works of art, among them Louis’s own paintings, and sequences from road movies. This family’s story is a personal account of suffering, but also of Louis’s journey toward his own future beyond the confines of institutions and systems.
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Emma Matthews
Emma Matthews is a British editor who has made a name for herself internationally as co-director of the BBC series «Arena – Night and Day» (2015–2020), a collection of 24-hour films compiled from the extensive archives of the legendary Arena series.
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Christopher Petit
Christopher Petit (born 1949) is a director whose debut film RADIO ON (1979) is now considered a cult classic of British cinema: a minimalist road movie strongly influenced by music, landscape, and atmosphere.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 15:00Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Germany, Greece, Hungary 2025
OV/e/g
96 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Determined to put an end to her miserable life on an industrial chicken farm, a hen sets off to find a safe place for herself and her chicks to come. She goes on a dangerous journey, facing the depths of human cruelty, but guided by courage, creativity, and an untiring will to survive. She falls into the clutches of the elderly owner of a small, dreary restaurant on the Greek coast, who is under the influence of his daughter’s criminal boyfriend. The hen skillfully navigates the pecking orders of both humans and animals successfully.
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György Pálfi
György Pálfi (born 1974) has made a name for himself internationally with his idiosyncratic and often grotesquely exaggerated films, which nevertheless reach a wide audience. After making his first short films, Pálfi graduated from the Budapest Academy of Theater and Film in 2000, and his very first feature film (Hukkle, 2002) was submitted as Hungary’s entry for the Academy Awards. The same was true of his second film, «Taxidermia» (2006). HEN is a logical continuation of his whimsical body of work.
Sunday, 17. May
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Foyer Public Theater Basel
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4010 Basel
- Google Maps
All prizes are awarded on the recommendation of an independent jury of experts. The jury is appointed by the two cultural departments of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. Prizes are awarded in the categories of Basel Film Prize, Basel Short Film Prize and Basel Media Art Prize. The jury may also award a special prize.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 15:00kult.kino atelier
INFO
Netherlands, Afghanistan 2025
OV/e
97 min.
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Born in Afghanistan, Dawood Hilmandi, his family calls him Paikar, lives in exile in the Netherlands and grew up in the shadow of his father. Now, Paikar returns to face his alienated father, once a mujahideen, now an imam, writer, and poet. The return is a quest for love, forgiveness, and recognition. It explores the emotional legacy of war and silence that shape generations. The relationship between fathers and their sons is often not easy. This one is no exception. Paikar means war.
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Dawood Hilmandi
Dawood Hilmandi (born 1987) is a Dutch-Afghan multimedia artist, experimental filmmaker, and photographer. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and the London Film Academy. PAIKAR is his first feature film.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 17:30kult.kino atelier
INFO
OV
85 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Short Award
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
We encounter protagonists seeking stability in parallel worlds: between jazz and bureaucracy, in the silence of a deaf world, and amidst the raw pain of a hospital. Confidence is portrayed as a conscious choice — the courage to find oneself in others, or to not lose the music in the shadow of fear. From an ambitious sparrow to a healing zebrafish. A collaboration with the Solothurn Filmtage.
Annette accompanies her adopted son to South Korea to meet his biological mother. But the reunion does not primarily confront the son with a complex reality; rather, it confronts the two mothers with unspoken feelings, old wounds, and the question of whether a mother’s love can be shared.
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Hae-Sup Sin
Hae-Sup Sin (born 1991) is interested in stories where cultures, mentalities, and identities intersect. He graduated from the ZHdK in 2025 with a Master’s degree in Feature Film Directing.
It is her last working day when the justice of the peace is faced with a difficult case. Money is not so much of an issue. The amount the two business partners are arguing about is small. In fact, that’s not what this is all about. The conflict is fueled by hurt feelings, jealousy, and betrayal. They haven’t spoken to each other in too long, and too many issues have remained unsorted.
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Pablo Callisaya
Pablo Callisaya (born 1989) graduated from the Escuela de Cine y Televisión de Madrid Septima Ars in 2010 and then transferred to the Zurich University of the Arts to pursue a bachelor’s degree in film. He earned his bachelor’s degree in film in 2015 and his Master of Arts in Film and Screenwriting in 2020.
Amid pain, homesickness, and disgust, there are always absurd, funny moments in hospitals. And sometimes it’s not easy to navigate the hospital’s routines and hierarchies without losing your bearings. An emotional journey through the long underground corridors of the hospital’s parallel universe, filled with small talk and tubes.
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Luisa Zürcher
Luisa Zürcher (born 1998) captures the absurd, grotesque, and whimsical moments of everyday life and transforms them into poetic and humorous narratives in her films and visual works. She graduated with a degree in animation from Lucerne in 2021 and currently lives and works as a freelance artist and filmmaker in St. Gallen.
Naima is ten and lives with her father and his friends. One of them is undocumented. Protected by her innocence, Naima grows up in a perfect musical world – or at least a close to perfect world – amidst jazz rehearsals and paperwork. As the group prepares for a conc
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Khalissa Akadi
Khalissa Akadi (born 2003) studied social sciences at the University of Lausanne from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, she transferred to the Haute École d'Art et de Design in Geneva, where she is now studying film.
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Solveig Carnajac
Solveig Carnajac (born 2003) is studying cinematography at the Haute École d'Art et de Design in Geneva. She is part of a young generation of filmmakers who are rediscovering analog filmmaking.
December 8, 2024. The long-awaited fall of the Assad regime. After 54 years, time stands still. And it feels unreal. Like a dream, you don’t want to wake up from, even if the backdrop is a bombed-out city. Anything is possible. There is room for everything. For dreams, for hope, but also for all uncertainties.
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Julie-Yara Atz
Julie-Yara Atz (born 1993) is a Swiss-Syrian artist, actress, and director. In 2017, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Film Directing from HEAD (Haute École d’Art et de Design) in Geneva, in the Cinéma du réel department. In 2018, she earned a Master’s degree in Acting from the GFCA (Giles Foreman Centre for Acting) in London. She lives in and between London and Switzerland.
Every day, a sparrow is bombarded with images of ostriches: on billboards, in advertisements, on his smartphone. The ostrich’s long neck, perfect gaze, and muscular legs have captivated him – he wants to be just like that. Through rigorous leg workouts, visits to the neck-stretching studio, and makeup tutorials, he comes very close to his goal. When a real ostrich comes to town one day and the sparrow meets his idol in person, he realizes something.
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Marie Kenov
Marie Kenov (born 1990) earned a bachelor’s degree in Poster Design and Visual Communication from the National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 2016 and graduated from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts with a degree in Animation in 2020. She has been working as a freelancer in the fields of graphic design, illustration, and animation since 2020.
A deaf woman believes that the sun is the loudest thing on Earth. On her journey, it becomes clear that deaf people can “hear” too – in their own imaginary world.
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Maurizius Staerkle Drux
Maurizius Staerkle Drux (born 1988) studied film directing with a focus on sound and sound design at the Zurich University of the Arts and earned a master’s degree in experimental film from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In addition to his work as a director, he has shaped the soundscapes of over fifteen feature films and documentaries as a sound designer.
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 12:15Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
South Korea 2025
OV/e
119 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Seventeen-year-old Jooin is a perfectly normal teenager. Confident, popular, loud, full of life, energetic, dramatic. But behind this facade, Jooin hides something unspeakable. A traumatic experience, a wound. She is determined not to give the trauma any room and not to become a victim of her wounds. For a while, she succeeds. But when she loses control in a fit of rage in front of her classmates, the truth bursts out. This changes the perception of those around her, but also her own.
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Yoon Ga-eun
It is the lives and experiences of girls and young women that Yoon Ga-eun (born 1982) portrays in her films. How they are perceived in and by their surroundings plays a central role, without the characters being reduced to their traumas.
Before Yoon graduated from the School of Film, TV & Multimedia in Seoul, she completed a degree in history.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 20:00Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain 2025
OV/e
107 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Stela is 36 years old, a unsuccessful writer, and repeatedly unemployed. The only thing that gives her life any sense of direction is her obsession with an aging Serbian pop star. Hoping to get closer to her idol, she counts on a friend. She is a notorious mistress of the idol, but also more or less successful in her sex toy and lubricant business. When Stella finally meets the sleazy pop star, the world doesn’t go up in smoke – at most, a house of cards collapses.
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Ivana Mladenovic
Ivana Mladenovic (born 1984) is from Serbia, but has lived and worked in Romania for over twenty years, having moved there to study film directing in Bucharest. In 2012 her first documentary film releases. The stories she tells straddle the fine line between reality and autofiction. Once one leaves behind the search for the actual border, emotional and thematic truths are revealed that can be even more real than reality itself.
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Filmmakers share insights into their work and the conditions behind the scenes. Each session begins with an opening question and unfolds organically.
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
- Sat, 16. May — 16:00Stadtkino-Piazza
INFO
Free Entry
location
- Stadtkino-Piazza
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
The Jataka Tales recount the Buddha’s past lives and explore themes of compassion, wisdom, and spiritual transformation. The Jataka Tales VR Art Gallery brings these ancient stories and their cultural and spiritual heritage to life for a modern audience. The VR Art Gallery offers more than mere observation; it creates a sense of presence. Visitors can walk through the ancient stories, experience them first-hand, and interact with them.
- In the presence of the director
INFO
Germany, Canada, Mexico 2026
OV/e/g
70 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Tere is a musician and composer who has lent her flat to a fellow artist for a television interview. But as soon as the conversation begins, it spirals out of control. Noise from outside, equipment fails, and her daughter, witty and sharp-tongued, interferes. Mother and daughter take pleasure in dissecting the rituals and vanities of the art world, exposing its attitudes and sexisms. They do so with refreshing honesty and calm.
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Nicolás Pereda
Nicolás Pereda (born 1982) is a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker whose work blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. His meticulously composed films and understated characters explore the mysteries of everyday life among Mexico’s working class. Seemingly banal situations unfold into a multi-layered blend of humor, absurdity, and social reality. Pereda frequently works with a core ensemble of professional and non-professional actors and actresses, incorporating biographical elements from his cast members.
- Zoom Call with the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 20:00kult.kino atelier
INFO
USA, Morocco, Italy 2025
OV/e
83 min.
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Bouchra is a 35-year-old queer animator of Moroccan descent who lives and works in Brooklyn, Bouchra in a coyote. After experiencing a creative dry spell, she goes on a journey of self-discovery and exploration of her sexual identity while working on an autobiographical film set in Morocco. In the film, her character embarks on a romantic affair with a woman and comes to terms with her family. Bouchra wants to advance her career, but she also longs for reconciliation with her mother nine years after writing a letter to her parents about her sexuality. Eventually, Bouchra and her mother meet for dinner.
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Orian Yani Barki & Meriem Bennani
Orian Barki is an Israeli filmmaker who has created commercials for companies such as Nike, Vogue, American Express, and Urban Outfitters, and who gained recognition for the 2020 web series «2 Lizards» which she developed in collaboration with Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani. The series tells the story of two talking, anthropomorphized lizards navigating life during lockdown.
Meriem Bennani (born 1988) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union in New York and a Master’s degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions. She lives and works as an animator in New York.
- In the presence of the director
Other screenings
- Fri, 15. May — 12:15kult.kino atelier
INFO
Brazil 2026
OV/e
97 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- kult.kino atelier
- Theaterstrasse 7, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Picuí is a remote place in northeastern Brazil. But natural resources spark interest – uranium, for example. In a dystopian but very near future, the tiger mosquito, which transmits Dengue and Yellow fever, forces action. To get it under control, a government-funded international team of scientists conducts experiments. But they don’t go as hoped; instead, they get out of hand. And then, the fate of an entire region is at stake. But that’s not all.
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Tiago Melo
In 2007, Tiago Melo (born 1984) completed his studies in dramaturgy in Cuba, leaving behind his original passion: theater. Since then, he has produced over two dozen films and made his directorial debut in 2012 with a documentary about the uranium deposits in Picuí. And it is to this place that he returns with the feature film YELLOW CAKE.
- Descriptive subtitles
- Audio description
- Zoom Call with the director
Other screenings
- Thu, 14. May — 19:45Stadtkino BaselTicket
INFO
Germany 2025
G/e/g
90 min.
Award
Part of the Award: Artistic Achievment & Screenplay
location
- Stadtkino Basel
- Klostergasse 5, 4051 Basel
- Google Maps
Cherry Season in Sangerhausen. Lotte is a maid at the castle where the poet Novalis is staying for some days. Without knowing, he encourages her to flee to France with Norbert, the stone-eater. But the escape fails and ends with Lotte having to hide in a cave. Ursula is exhausted and stuck in a passionless marriage. Early in the morning, she cleans a furniture store, and during the day, she works as a waitress. An unexpected encounter with musicians passing through sparks hope in her, but leads her into new troubles. The Iranian YouTuber Neda is stranded in Sangerhausen, where she runs into an acquaintance from back home and the tour guide Sung-Nam, with whom she sets off for the Kyffhäuser. On the way there, Ursula runs into their car and together they embark on a mysterious journey. In a cave, the ghost of Lotte appears to them. Neda leaves Sangerhausen and takes hold of the blue stone that Nobert once swallowed.
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Julian Radlmaier
According to Marx and Engels, class struggle is the driving force of history. Perhaps. It certainly runs through the central theme of Julian Radlmaier’s films. These Marxist comedies do not shy away from the supernatural. Even if they fail to overcome class divisions, the protagonists do not give up their belief in a better world. Julian Radlmaier (1984) studied film directing at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, as well as film theory and art history in Berlin and Paris. PHANTOMS OF JULY is Radlmaier’s fifth film.