VIE Festival takes place every year in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. The Festival presents international and Italian performances of contemporary theatre and dance, and sometimes of music, cinema and visual art too. The Festival develops through mixing languages and genres, showing foreign great theatrical experiences without forgetting the important Italian experimental theatre scene. Among the numerous guests of the past editions we would like to remember at least Carmelo Bene, Peter Brook, Joseph Chaikin, Lev Dodin, Jan Fabre, Rodrigo Garcia, Philip Glass, Maguy Marin, Mathilde Monnier, Alain Platel, Meg Stuart, Bob Wilson, Romeo Castellucci/Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio, Alvis Hermanis, Josef Nadj, Virgilio Sieni, Tim Etchells/Forced Entertainment, Rimini Protokoll, Motus, Belarus Free Theatre, Thomas Ostermeier.

VIE Festival is organized by Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, National Theatre based in Modena.

Founded in 2005 with the goal of crossing the contemporary world, of intercepting new identities and subjectivities which stand out in the field of live performance, VIE Festival focuses on the contemporary creation, wants to give to the look the responsibility of finding, of searching where the strength of the new is hiding today,  the artists who are able to explore the areas of contact between the performing arts, the expressive areas where leaving the theatre interacting with dance, music, visual arts and cinema. The idea of modernity is combined immediately with that of complexity, something that is in constant motion and fast in its indefiniteness. The artistic research acts vertically, digging in depth. It does not indicate solutions, but rather raises some doubts. It is inclined to the “uncertain”. At the base of the research for new languages there  is always an urgent reflection on the contemporary world, a need for  new contents. The festival aims are to offer a wide range of artists who will confront themselves with a plurality of spaces, aiming at showing layers of artwork, poetry and looks which arouse the curiosity and urgencies, including the less codified. The plurality of languages will involve different audiences, aiming at erasing the prejudice on that contemporary is equivalent to incomprehensible and elitist. The Festival also stands out as a place of production or co-production of original works that will be created on purpose and then will enter  the international circuit. In addition to the shows, VIE offers an articulated collateral activities program that involves the community with several projects such as in-depth readings, debates, meetings, video-installations, performances and conferences.