{"id":12289,"date":"2025-07-22T12:26:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T04:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asef.org\/aecfest\/?page_id=12289"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:38:44","slug":"2025-edition-main-festival","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/asef.org\/aecfest\/2025-edition-main-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Edition – Main Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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2025 EDITION
MAIN FESTIVAL<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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3 SEPTEMBER - 9 OCTOBER | CHINA\u200b<\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The <\/span>Asia-Europe Cultural Festival<\/span><\/b> (AECFest)<\/span><\/b> is a public arts festival that celebrates the artistic diversity of Asia and Europe <\/span>by<\/span> promoting dialogue and exchange amongst artists from the two regions. Presented by the <\/span>Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)<\/span><\/b> since 2018, the Festival features a rich array of programmes\u2014including performances, exhibitions, and roundtables\u2014that showcase the most compelling contemporary art forms and practices. The <\/span>7th edition<\/span><\/b> of the Festival will be held in <\/span>Shanghai, China<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>from 3 September to 9 October 2025 <\/span>, in collaboration with the <\/span>prestigious<\/span> Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (SDAC)<\/span><\/b>, and its <\/span>ACT Shanghai International Contemporary Theatre Festival<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Renowned for its innovative productions and dedication to fostering the performing arts, SDAC is at the heart of Shanghai\u2019s cultural landscape. Through its annual ACT Festival, it brings together cutting-edge, multidisciplinary performances from across the globe. This <\/span>year\u2019s <\/span>partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to celebra<\/span>te<\/span> artistic diversity and promot<\/span>e<\/span> dialogue <\/span>amongst <\/span>artists from Asia and Europe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Taking place across the <\/span>Drama Salon and Arts Theatre of SDAC,<\/span><\/b> and the <\/span>Cervantes Institute in Shanghai<\/span><\/b>, the 2025 edition presents a curated programme of bold choreographic works, experimental theatre, and a unique film screening that explore the artistic connections and shared cultural landscapes between <\/span>Asia and Europe<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The Festival opens on <\/span>3 and 4 September<\/span><\/b> at the <\/span>Drama Salon, SDAC<\/span><\/b>, with <\/span>That\u2019s All Folks!<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, conceived by <\/span>Damiano Ottavio Bigi<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>Alessandra Paoletti<\/span><\/b> of the <\/span>FRITZ Company (Italy)<\/span><\/b>. Inspired by the metaphor of a black hole\u2019s event horizon, the piece delves into the physical and emotional vertigo of being drawn into the unknown\u2014a realm where fixed perspectives dissolve and boundaries blur. Developed in collaboration with an international group of artists from <\/span>Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Korea<\/span><\/b>, and beyond, the work envisions four characters suspended in a liminal, ephemeral space\u2014a grey zone beyond time and place\u2014where they confront unconscious memories and navigate themes of identity, farewell, and connection. Both playful and thought-provoking, the performance offers an ever-evolving live experience that is easy to watch yet rich with meaning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

On <\/span>6 and 7 September<\/span><\/b>, also at the Drama Salon, renowned French choreographer <\/span>J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bel<\/span><\/b> will present his newest piece<\/strong><\/a> in collaboration with Chinese artist <\/span>Xiao Ke<\/span><\/b>. Turning the spotlight on himself, Bel reflects on three decades of artistic practice, tracing the personal and political forces that have shaped his approach to contemporary dance. This intimate, minimalist work blends autobiography, critical reflection, and performance. Reimagined with and for Xiao Ke, a prominent figure in China\u2019s independent performance scene, the piece becomes <\/span>a dialogue between two artists, two cultures, and two creative trajectories.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

On <\/span>10 September<\/span><\/b>, the <\/span>Cervantes Institute in Shanghai<\/span><\/b> will host a special film screening of <\/span>China 354<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, a documentary-style project by Spanish filmmaker <\/span>Luis Castro<\/span><\/b>. Filmed over the course of a year in 2019, the work compiles 354 one-minute video fragments capturing Castro\u2019s daily encounters across China. The resulting visual diary is an intimate and <\/span>unfiltered portrait of contemporary Chinese society<\/span><\/b>\u2014interrogating notions of nationhood, tradition, family, identity, and the urban-rural divide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The following weekend, on 13 and 14 September, the Arts Theatre at SDAC will stage <\/span>Foe of an Arrow Wound<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a>, a research theatre piece by Beijing-based Paper Tiger Theatre Studio, led by influential Chinese director Tian Gebing<\/span><\/b>. This production was developed in close collaboration with the Humboldt Forum in Berlin and its programme director Jan Linders. It draws inspiration from an 18th-century Chinese scroll painting housed at the East Asian Museum, Staatliche Kunst Museum, Berlin, which depicts a historic moment in Qing dynasty China and reflects the <\/span>complex cultural exchanges between East and West<\/span><\/b>. Through a mix of movement, text, sound, and multimedia, the performance explores <\/span>themes of language, trauma, and cultural memory,<\/span><\/b> inviting the audience to engage with history\u2019s layered legacies from both Chinese and European perspectives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Finally, from <\/span>7 to 9 October<\/span><\/b>, the <\/span>Drama Salon<\/span><\/b> will transform into an immersive space for <\/span>Ocean Cage<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, an experimental performance by Chinese multimedia artist <\/span>Tianzhuo Chen<\/span><\/b>. Known for his provocative, ritualistic style, Chen creates an immersive, hallucinatory space where movement, installation, and music blend to explore perception, belief, and the subconscious. Collaborating with Indonesian dancer and choreographer Siko Setyanto, the piece reflects on life in Lamalera, a remote fishing village on Lembata Island, where traditional fishing and whaling remain vital. <\/span>Combining installation, film, and dance<\/span><\/b>, Setyanto leads the performance alongside musicians Kadapat and Nova Ruth, creating a <\/span>fusion of tradition and ecology, spirituality and technology, progress and interspecies harmony<\/span><\/b>. Chen\u2019s multidisciplinary work <\/span>reflects on life\u2019s absurdity and existence<\/span><\/b> beyond the immediate moment.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This year\u2019s festival <\/span>embodies a curatorial vision centered on <\/span>exploring the fluid and complex intersections of identity, memory, and cultural exchange between Asia and Europe<\/span><\/b>. The programme invites audiences to journey through spaces of transition\u2014where past and present, tradition and innovation, individuality and collectivity converge and blur.It <\/span>challenges fixed narratives and encourages empathy<\/span><\/b> across diverse geographies and generations. Through immersive and experimental artistic expressions, the Festival <\/span>highlights pressing themes of identity, cultural memory, and ecological balance, reflecting urgent global concerns<\/span><\/b>. Ultimately, <\/span>the 2025 edition aims to<\/span> create a dynamic space where Asia and Europe engage not as static categories but as evolving, interconnected cultures\u2014<\/span>fostering reflection, dialogue, and new forms of creative solidarity<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Download the main festival booklet<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>here.<\/a><\/b><\/p><\/div>

Discover\u00a0 the full festival programme here<\/a> and visit<\/b>\u00a0each page below to book your tickets today!<\/b><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Theatre<\/span><\/div>
Dance<\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tTHAT’S ALL FOLKS!\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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