In the spring of 1975, just months before his untimely death, Pier Paolo Pasolini published an article lamenting the disappearance of fireflies. He used these once-abundant creatures of the countryside as a metaphor for fragile and magical presences, now vanishing under the pressure of industrialisation, pollution, and urbanisation. Pasolini linked this ecological loss to broader cultural and political transformations, critiquing the homogenising forces of modern progress. He argued that the relentless pursuit of productivity not only extinguished nature’s delicate lights but also erased the most magical aspects of society. His words warned against cultural conformity and the dismissal of what is deemed ‘unproductive’.
Fifty years later, in the spring of 2025, Pasolini’s text remains deeply resonant. It also reflects for us the foundations of this festival, now celebrating its 30th edition—a commitment to defend the unusual, reclaim heterogeneity in visions and forms, and foster a space for debate and dissent over consensus; to support and share artists with singular perspectives and performances that may be ephemeral as fireflies, yet, like them, shine magically in the dark.
The festival opens with two striking new creations, each radiating irreverent light and force—Carolina Bianchi presents a stirring and thought-provoking theatre piece for the big stage, delving into themes of masculinity; Nadia Beugré embarks on a journey to her birthplace, connecting with her female ancestors. Both artists assert their powerful, distinctive voices, challenging the contexts in which they grew up or worked. For the first time on a theatre stage in Brussels, Satoko Ichihara plays with vegetarianism, the pornification of desire, and the homogenisation of sexual identity. From Brazil to Côte d’Ivoire to Japan, these three singular voices dismantle expectations, boldly challenging norms and conventions around sexuality and identity, shared with us without reservation.
Exceeding the boundaries of moderation is almost a political force, and the choice of excess as a statement crosses three other works. Mette Ingvartsen invites audiences into a mesmerising delirium of contagious dance; Miet Warlop’s newest creation is constructed like a potent wave of energetic joy; and María del Mar Suárez La Chachi makes her Brussels debut with a deconstructed form of flamenco that overwhelms like an avalanche, leaving us with no shelter. We abandon what is quantifiable, measurable, or necessary, and enter the uncontrollable world of pleasure.
As a complement to overwhelming excess, the delicacy of poetry might be a second necessary way to fight the disappearance of magic in our society. Alberto Cortés, a revelation on the international scene, brings an ode to poetry, anonymous sex, and the fragility of the night. Set in a real forest, Saodat Ismailova draws from the history of hallucinations in Central Asian forests to create an immersive experience. Radouan Mriziga’s new creation, crafted for six dancers and a musician, evokes the desert as a site of wisdom and contemplation, guiding us to other ways of looking at the world.
Puppet theatre is a form that holds this potential for enchantment and takes on a prominent role in this year's edition. Artists have always used puppetry to tell stories the human body can not articulate: dissident stories that craft a counternarrative to dominant histories. Among these projects, Justice Kasongo Dibwe presents his cinemarionette in Europe for the first time, animating the history of exploitation in Congo by activating a single crank. In Wael Shawky's latest video installation, the characters seem depersonalised, like puppets. And William Kentridge’s legendary Faustus in Africa! returns in a reworked version for this 30th edition after being presented in the festival’s early years.
Exploring society’s lesser known aspects, political complexity, and economic structure has always been a central focus of the festival. Anacarsis Ramos collaborates with his mother to delve into issues of class and economic insecurity in the southern Mexican state of Campeche; Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha investigates Amazonian river pollution through photography. Silence emerges as another compelling terrain of inquiry: Adeline Rosenstein interrogates silence within the context of revolutionary struggles, while Lina Majdalanie and Rabih Mroué address Europe’s ongoing silence on Palestine. Choreographer Mang Tri Ray Dewantara disrupts the Western standardisation of Balinese dance: performing live with century-old video footage, he reclaims this dance as alive and impossible to capture.
The notion of the uncapturable has become a defining fascination in recent editions, with works that defy disciplinary boundaries and invite audiences into unknown spaces. For this edition, visual artist Ann Veronica Janssens presents her first-ever performance, immersing viewers in a poetic interplay of words and a mist of colours. Tarek Atoui and Noé Soulier collaborate on a shared creation at the crossroads of dance and visual arts. Try Anggara crafts an elusive form where the rhythm of Jakarta and his storytelling transform unexpectedly into an abstract choreography. This uncapturable quality lies at the heart of the project by Tianzhuo Chen and Siko Setyanto, and another by Trajal Harrell, both unique experiences which challenge the fixed nature of traditional performances.
These and the many other works you can discover on the following pages and throughout May form the 30th edition of the festival. An edition that rejects triumphant celebration to open a reflective and critical gaze that might reaffirm the festival’s foundational mission as a space that questions the present and seeks what lies beyond the visible. This year's anniversary opens with a joyous and free performance by William Forsythe in public space, paired with Rébecca Chaillon's subversive cake that reveals the darker layers beneath the idea of celebration.
The annual Free School closes this year's edition. Named The School of Fireflies, it explores what is at risk of disappearing today in cities and landscapes. Workshops, debates, poetry, and screenings examine the interconnected themes of resistance to gentrification, extinction, and genocide. From Anna Dantes and Ailton Krenak’s Selvagem to Archivo de la Memoria Trans; from Revive Gaza’s Farmland to Jordi Colomer’s collective strategies to combat gentrification and a poetry intervention of Cecilia Vicuña, commissioned by the festival and found in the brochure you have in your hands.
On the occasion of this 30th edition, the festival wants not only to celebrate but also reflect on the importance of protecting darkness. So we can see the fireflies, fight against their disappearance, exist beyond homogenisation, and exceed boundaries. In that way, this festival could be seen as an invitation to revisit Pasolini’s famous words: “They will teach you not to shine. And you will shine instead.”
Daniel Blanga Gubbay & Dries Douibi