ZED Festival Atto Politico

On Sunday, September 27, 2026, Bologna's Odeon Cinema hosts ZED Atto Politico, part of the programme of Atto Secondo of ZED Festival, which returns this year in a completely new format. Alongside experimenting with new languages and forms of presentation, the festival features works addressing social and civic issues that increasingly affect our daily lives, the same themes that shape public and political debate and the fabric of our lives.

The event that most explicitly explores these themes is Atto Politico: a full day of screenings and virtual reality at Bologna's Odeon Cinema, centred around one question: what happens when war enters people's lives?
For one day, the broader narrative of the conflicts shaking the world is set aside and the focus shifts to the people whose lives have been turned upside down by war. Away from accounts of military operations, statements by politicians and heads of state, and analyses from all sides, the event gives space to the voices of those who unwillingly experience violence and find the strength to tell their stories.

In the morning, at 10:30 am, Miriam Guttmann's Front Row will be screened in Sala C. Throughout the day, in two time slots, from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm and from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm, the Salotto will host a VR Corner with four headsets for Alisa Berger's VR Rapture II - Portal. The VR film lasts approximately 20 minutes and staff will manage the flow of visitors, with no booking required.

Tickets for the film cost €8 (breakfast included); tickets for the VR experience cost €5, or admission is free upon presentation of a ticket for the morning film screening.

Programme and practical information

• Front Row by Miriam Guttmann | One screening only at 10:30 am

  Belgium, France, Germany, 2025, 75 min.

  Synopsis:

  In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a group of young dancers find themselves in exile. They reunite in the Netherlands, forming the United Ukrainian Ballet Company. As the company dances to keep its culture alive, they welcome a wounded soldier who lost both legs in the war. Recently fitted with prosthetic legs, the soldier discovers a new interest in ballet and works with his fellow Ukrainians to create an original choreography. Reflecting their own lives back at them, the soldier becomes a symbol of every brother, father and friend left behind, prompting the dancers to channel their guilt and transform their pain.
  Together, these artists seek to raise awareness of the atrocities of war and the resilience of the human spirit, taking to the stage where the front row and the front line converge.

  Sala C at Bologna's Odeon Cinema (via Mascarella 3)
  Tickets: €8 (breakfast included)
  Advance tickets are available at this link
• RAPTURE II - Portal by Alisa Berger | VR experience, from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm and from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm

  France/Germany, 2025, 19 min.

  Synopsis:

  This virtual reality film explores the concept of a lost physical home, contrasting it with a dancer's body as an enduring home. Structured like a hypnosis session, the film guides the viewer through Marko's apartment, now merged with real 3D scans of Ukrainian architecture that has since been destroyed. Elements of Vogue dance provide a powerful counterpoint between the strength of the human body in dance and its vulnerability in the face of military technology.

  Salotto at Bologna's Odeon Cinema (via Mascarella 3)
  Tickets: €5, available on site only; free for holders of a ticket to the 10:30 am screening of Front Row