The beginning of a new era
The 20th edition of VIPER will take place in October 2000 and for the first time in
Basel. With the change from Lucerne to Basel the International Festival for Film,
Video and New Media is part of a vital, artistic environment and after years of
development, the festival has obtained a more solid base and new possibilities of
evolution. Next to the traditional competitions and programs for innovative and
artistic work VIPER has increased the value of "digital media". Festival center is the
Theater Basel.
VIPER, which has taken place in Lucerne in the past years, counts today as one of
the most important European events in the field of new audiovisual art and is the
most important media-art festival in Switzerland. VIPER's goal to find new
possibilities of development coincided with the cultural, political impuls of the canton
Basel city and the Christoph Merian foundation's sponsoring policy to put an
emphasis on new media. VIPER accepted the offer and moved to Basel, setting the
course for a successful jubilee edition.
The achievements and dynamics of the VIPER are based on the open and
inter-disciplinairy concept of the festival, which will also be the basis for its further
development in Basel. Competitive and discursive elements of the program will be
carefully complemented with social and communicative events. VIPER's main
interest in the new era is to keep the quality of the event on an international level. In
addition to the traditional competitions and programs for innovative, artistical work in
film and video, VIPER will further increase the presence of "digital media" (internet
and CD-ROM) in its 20th edition. VIPER will also establish a dialogue with the vital
art world and subculture in Basel and their national and international connections.
The festival is looking forward to mutual impulses and synergies.
The change of place also means a change of people. Next to the festival director
Conny E. Voester, Sandra Luzia Schafroth (31) will be the managing director at
VIPER. She was born and raised in Basel and after studying sociology and law
several semesters, she started a career in the field of Film/TV/ Publicity and
Marketing. She was last a free-lance producer for Film and TV and an account
supervisor for different publicity agencies.
The festival center for the VIPER 2000 will be the Theater Basel, becoming between
the 25th and 29th of October the focus of innovative artistic work dealing with the
media world of analog and digital picures. The theater is perfect for the event
because of its architectural spaciousness and its central location.The theater also
offers an ideal context because of its innovative orientation, searching a connection
with other art forms.
Further information: info@viper.ch