Beatriz Gosta, Luca Argel and Sexual Theatre mark the return of the Política Festival in Braga
Cinema, Theater, Music, Humor, Conversations, Workshops, Debates, Performances and Exhibitions
The Política Festival, the largest event dedicated to human rights and citizenship, with free admission, returns in 2025 for another edition in Braga.
From May 6 to 10, the festival will take place at the Braga Youth Centre and Theatro Circo with 23 activities, all of them free of charge. This year’s program is marked by the 50th anniversary of the Ongoing Revolutionary Process (PREC) and, therefore, the current “Ongoing Revolutions” will be highlighted in the program. The 50th anniversary of the first free elections in Portugal and the Hot Summer of ’75 in Braga will also be marked. This year’s edition is part of the program of Sexual Theatre — Feminist Readings of Classics, a project of Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture.
The Festival Política program combines cinema, theatre, music, humour, chats, workshops, debates, performances and exhibitions.
The humour show will be hosted by Beatriz Gosta, a comedian who needs no introduction and who will be performing at the Festival Política in a special format dedicated to feminism and the fight against discrimination and prejudice. It will be a presentation where the themes that run through her most recent stand-up show, “RESORT“, share the stage with the most recent concerns, in a format specially designed for the festival.
The musical program features the Portuguese-Brazilian artist Luca Argel, known for albums such as “Samba de Guerrilha” and “Conversa de Fila”. At the Youth Centre, the artist will present “PREC: Pequenas Revolucões no Coração”, a new show that asks us, “How can music transform the world?”. There will also be the concert “As pedras têm entranhas?”, a project that won the scholarship competition for young artists, activists and creators developed by the Festival Política and the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth.
The Ukrainian film “Intercepted” by Oksana Karpovych, a documentary nominated for the Cinema for Peace Awards, the Berlinale Documentary Award and the LUX Audience Award in 2025, will be shown at the cinema. This film, which reveals the content of Russian soldiers’ phone calls in Ukraine, was shown in partnership with the Office of the European Parliament in Lisbon. The program also includes two short film sessions, each reflecting on a specific theme: the housing problem in the “Evicted People Session” and the issues of identity and sexuality in the “Over 18s Session”.
One of the most important pillars of the Política 2025 Festival is the theatre and performing arts program. On the first day in Braga, there will be the session “Saia e Lute?” by Lajla Kaikcija. This show aims to pay homage to the historical milestone of feminism and the construction of democracy in Portugal in the 1970s, “Novas Cartas Portuguesas”, which is the starting point for a contemporary reinterpretation of the legacy of the three Marias. The program also includes a Montenegrin feminist play, “The Land That Denies Us,” by Laurent Berger; a female perspective on the French Revolution in “Linda Voz,” by Minja Novaković; and the Bosnian play “As Vivas,” by Júlio Cerdeira. These shows are part of the Sexual Theatre — Feminist Readings of Classics.
In addition, on Saturday, the play “Onde Estavas Quando Leste o Primeiro Jornal” by Cristóvão Cunha will be presented, about access to information and the importance of journalism, as well as a monologue by Filipe Amorim, “As Maçãs que eram pipocas,” another winning proposal from the youth scholarship competition.
The Política Festival continues to see civic participation as one of its most important programmatic pillars. To this end, workshops, talks and guided tours are promoted. One of the highlights is the workshop “Digital is political”, promoted by the Association for Media Literacy and Journalism, which proposes a critical reading of contemporary digital visual culture, exploring specific cases of image-based misinformation and offering tools for more conscious and active citizenship. The guided tour “Hot Summer in Braga” will evoke some of the fundamental scenarios that occurred in the city during the so-called Hot Summer of 1975, a time of social and political tensions during the PREC – Ongoing Revolutionary Process.
Also at the Braga Youth Centre, it will be possible to visit the photography exhibitions “Portugal in 1975 – Between revolution and change”, by Marques Valentim, and “What blows here, today”, by Zenha Preto. The exhibitions “50 Years of the First Free Elections in Portugal” and “Immigration Barometer: the perspective of the Portuguese” will also be on display. The University of Minho (Gualtar) will exhibit “LGBT+ History in Portugal”.
The Braga Politics Festival is a concept of the Isonomia Association, which has the support of the Braga City Council, InvestBraga, Braga Youth Centre, Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, National Election Commission and European Parliament – Office in Portugal.
Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.
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