It's The Real Thing 5

“It's The Real Thing - Basel Documentary Platform” is a festival of documentary and propaganda arts. Unique in Europe in its focus, “It's The Real Thing” highlights the diverse ways in which we represent, imitate, propagate, and produce reality in different media and spheres of society.
The festival was founded by Boris Nikitin. 

Contrary to what the subtitle suggests, it is not about a representation of the documentary genre, but rather with how the non-fictional can be appropriated, falsified, distorted, subverted, transformed, propagated, destroyed, or altered. The focus is on the artistic act. We borrowed the title “It's The Real Thing” from a former Coca-Cola campaign.

The fifth edition took place from 25 - 29 March 2026.

With:
Ahmed Milad Karimi - The last fiction (opening lecture)
Carolina Bianchi Y Cara de Cavalo. CADELA FORÇA TRILOGY Chapter 1  - The Bride or the Goodnight Cinderella 
Cade/McCaskill - The Making of Pinnocchio 
Rabih Mroué - Before Falling Seek the Assistance of Your cane 
Ali Cherri - Double Feature: The Watchman & The Dam 
Diego Aramburo - Die Letzte Todestrafe Boliviens 
Kenda Hameidan & Sebastina Nübling - To Be In A Time Of War 
Aleksander Plotnikov - Alpha Centauri 
Max Czollek - The post-documentary theater
Manuel Gerst - The Metamorphosis 
Markus&Markus Kollektiv - Ibsen:Gespenser 
Beatrice Fleischlin - My Ten Favorite Ways To Undress
and exhibitions, lectures, panels

More information here.

In collaboration with Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Museum Tinguely, SALTS und Hirscheneck.