BIOREALISMO - BIOREALISM
A PROPOSAL BY GIORGIO VIALI
The BioRealism Manifesto fits within a long tradition of artistic and cinematic research that develops from Neorealism and avant-garde movements such as Gian Vittorio Baldi's "Tema e Dettato" and Lars von Trier's "Dogma 95." To understand how BioRealism is rooted in these traditions, it is important to analyze the commonalities and differences among these approaches.
Neorealism, born in Italy in the post-war period, emphasized authentic representation of everyday life, favoring real locations, working with non-professional actors, and using film stock in natural light conditions. This movement aimed to bring cinema "in contact with reality," eliminating artifices and aesthetic manipulations to restore dignity and truth to everyday stories. Gian Vittorio Baldi formalized this approach in his "Tema e Dettato" (1953), establishing rules such as handheld camera work, shooting in natural light, respecting the sequential order, and avoiding musical scoring. These principles sought to create a direct, faithful-to-reality cinema that also served as a means of social reflection.
Lars von Trier's "Dogma 95," introduced in 1995, represents a revisiting and extension of this quest for authenticity. Its "Decalogue" imposes strict rules: shooting on location, sound recorded live, handheld camera, natural light, no special effects or tricks, and a strong focus on the present and immediate reality. The aim is to eliminate everything that could distract from the authentic spirit of the story, leading cinema toward a formal purity that enhances emotional intensity and sincerity in performances.
Giorgio Viali's BioRealism, a VISUAL MANIFESTO that incorporates hybrid and contemporary visual approaches—including photography, cinema, video, social media, and performance—connects to these roots through its commitment to representing precarious urban daily life with a direct visual approach.
Like Neorealism and "Tema e Dettato," BioRealism is based on contemplating reality, using authentic images, and maintaining a direct relationship with urban space, emphasizing visual interactions. Furthermore, like Baldi's manifesto and von Trier's Dogma, BioRealism positions itself as a form of visual resistance against artificiality and digital artifice—not against the creation of AI-generated images but as an active resistance to recover a human dimension.
In summary, BioRealism draws inspiration from Neorealism and the principles of "Tema e Dettato" to maintain a direct and authentic connection with reality, emphasizing life stories in a straightforward manner. Simultaneously, it aligns with Lars von Trier’s "Dogma" movement through rules that favor authenticity, the absence of artificial effects, and capturing the present moment—tools of visual and political resistance in an era dominated by artificial and digital images. Thus, BioRealism emerges as a new artistic language that, rooted in documentary and realist cinema traditions, aims to preserve and enhance the social and political significance of real images within a fragile, constantly transforming urban context.
BIOREALISMO - BIOREALISM
A PROPOSAL BY GIORGIO VIALI