Corinne Maier – PAST IS PRESENT

What is the meaning of family today? Do the members need to speak the same language, have similar values and live close to each other? Can the concept of family survive in our globalised world? The documentary film maker Shaheen Dill-Riaz has been living in Berlin for nearly two decades, his parents live in his home country Bangladesh, his brother in New York, his sister in Sydney and his own son in Warsaw. After having made several documentary films about country-specific topics in Bangladesh, he now focuses on his family. Together with the actress Anne Haug, Shaheen himself is on stage, dissecting himself: what is my relationship to my family that is dispersed over four continents and five countries? Am I «there» for them when they need me? And if so, where would «there» be?

After a series of solo pieces on philosophy, the Basel based Corinne Maier now creates a documentary theatre on a global family story from personal video footage from her protagonist Dill-Riaz. Her last piece was «Selberdenken, Setzen!» and was presented at Treibstoff Theatertage 2011 in Basel.

Shaheen Dill Riaz studied art history and cinematography in Berlin and Potsdam. He received several awards for his documentary films «Sand und Wasser», «Eisenfresser» and «Korankinder» which caused quite a stir in his home country.

2016 „Past Is Present“ toured in India: at Ranga Shanka Theatre in Bangalore, Adishakti Theatre in Pondicherry and at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai.

A production by Corinne Maier in co-production with Kaserne Basel and supported by:

Fachausschuss Theater und Tanz BS/BL, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Migros kulturprozent, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Wilhelm und Ida Hertner-Strasser Stiftung, Gesellschaft für das Gute und Gemeinnützige Basel (GGG), Fondation Nestlé pour l’art, Futurum Stiftung, Stiftung Edith Maryon