URB 10 festival opens with Campo/Cork Midsummer theatre production FML (Fuck My Life). FML is a theatre play that deals with tragedies and identity issues of teenage life. It is conceived by Belgian theatre director Pol Heyvaert and dramaturge Bart Capelle, together with Irish/Corconian and Finnish teenagers.
Catalonian theatre director Roger Bernat’s Domini Públic (Public Domain) is a theatre performance and fun social game in the heart of Helsinki, at Narinkkatori in Kamppi. It is like a life-size board game where spectator-participants act as performers.
A cooperation between Gallery Huuto and URB festival, ”Noble Urban Dream” is a set of visual art exhibitions and performances contemplating around questions of communally conceived public space. Noble Urban Dream happens in Gallery Huuto, Kiasma, Stoa, Dubrovnik and in city space.
Kiasma Theatre’s joint-evening on dance, theatre and music links two Finnish choreographers. Arja Tiili’s United Snakes -group brings together statistics, breakdancing, documentary war-videos, rap and disco dancing from the 70s. Satu Tuomisto’s and her multitalented working group’s humoristic and touching play processes tricky human relationships through contemporary and street dance, and by the accompaniment of a samba orchestra.
Stoa stages an evening for international street dance. Finnish groups Urban Movements Company and Badass Crew demonstrate the present quality level in Finnish street dance. Korean Monster Woo Fam performs their adaptation on California-based street dance style krumping. Amor & Psyché is a peculiarly subtle and emotional street dance duet from two stylistically rich French dancers Sébastien Ramirez and Honji Wang.
The movies in this year’s URB festival are fictional. Premiered in Sundance festival’s official selection 2010, The Taqwacores (dir. Eyad Zahra, 2010) deals with the complexities of being young and Muslim in modern-day America. Paranoid Park (dir. Gus Van Sant, 2007) is a visually immense drama from a young skateboarder’s quilty-conscious and disconnected point of view.
Ground Tactics in Kamppi’s Narinkkatori is an international bmx flatland competition judged by world renowned bmx professionals like Martti Kuoppa from Finland and Effraim Catlow from England. Bmx is present also nearby in mbar, where photographer Kai Kuusisto exhibits his skilful bmx photographs.
URB programme also includes a closing Sunday event and workshops in theatre, dance and visual arts.