Domenica 29
The last day of Ostana 2025 Prize opened with an intense and necessary reflection, “Mother Tongues, Women’s Rights, and Material Cultures,” a planned meeting with Burkinabé artist Soulama Maténé Martine “Téné Tina”, an awardee for the cerma language.
Unfortunately, Téné Tina couldn’t be present due to visa issues, but her thoughts, art, and commitment crossed the space and reached Ostana thanks to Oliviero Vendraminetto’s narration, which restored her depth and vision.
Singer, composer, playwright, and activist, Téné Tina is a central figure in the promotion of the arts in Burkina Faso, a founder of cultural festivals dedicated to children and women, and a leading figure in the dissemination of the cerma language through theater, music, and writing.
Next, the mountain welcomed voices and footsteps: with “Coma te sònès?”, Gigi Ubaudi led a performative walk in which the use of voice allowed people to relate to human and animal sounds and calls, through a collective experience of active listening and improvisation. A way to explore the link between language, territory and self-presence.
At 12:30 p.m., the shared lunch at Lou Pourtoun transformed the convivial space into an informal and valuable moment of encounter: poets, musicians, filmmakers and linguists ate side by side with the audience, amidst questions, stories and laughter, erasing any distance between stage and audience.
The heart of the day came at 2 p.m. with author prize ceremony, also streamed: eight languages, eight awardees, eight voices that gave substance to the festival’s motto: Sensa raitz pas de flors – without roots there are no flowers.
Each author shared an excerpt of his or her work in his or her native language, accompanied by the reading of the motivation for the award. To each, the Ostana Prize Artistic Collective (Paola Bertello, Flavio Giacchero, Luca Pellegrino, Marzia Rey) dedicated a musical tribute, creating a bridge between the words and sounds of the world.
It was a choral and powerful moment that closed the festival with gratitude and beauty, leaving everyone-present and connected from afar-with the echo of languages enduring, changing and flourishing.
Photo: Fabio Ferrero and Luca Percivalle
Find out about the other days of the Ostana Prize: