50 years after the release of the Pet Sounds album with the Beach Boys, this is Brian Wilson at la Baloise Session.

"Jolly Roger" could mean Roger Schawinski. But by definition, a "Jolly Roger" is the classic black pirate flag with skull and crossbones. This documentary tells the unvarnished story of the Swiss radio pirates who emerged in the 1970s. The focus is on Radio 24 in its wild years, when Schawinski's team broadcast from Italy, with the strongest FM station in the world at the time, straight down from Pizzo Groppera, 130 kilometers all the way to the Zurich area. Supported by numerous original documents from private filmmakers and from the SRG archives, the viewer relives the absurd radio war between David and Goliath that lasted almost four years, 24 years after this war between the radio pirates and the state power began on November 13, 1979. The many known and unknown fighters, who rallied behind their Radio Winkelried Schawinski in 1979 to help usher Switzerland into a new media age, remember the good and bad times, the demonstrations and the numerous threatened and actual closures.

Farmer Heiri has sold his calf and celebrates his temporary wealth in the big city. But in doing so he is confronted with many temptations and dangers: pickpockets, second-rate artists and prostitutes who all try to grab the money of this naive man from Hausen. A 1978 recording of the well-known Zurich boulevard theatre piece.

MTV Unplugged Tonbildshow - Unplugged Concert from Patent Ochsner, one of Switzerland's best-known rock bands

Stan and Ollie are mousetrap salesmen hoping for better business in Switzerland, with Stan's theory that because there is more cheese in Switzerland, there should be more mice.

Blues, gospel, jazz: Jon Batiste has been immersed in music since childhood. He played in his family's band, studied piano and went on to become a Master of Jazz at the Julliard School in New York. In Basel, he performed a piano and vocal repertoire: a resolutely contemporary return to his roots that has earned him seven Grammy Awards and an Oscar.

A film about kids with little else to offer apart from a well honed body, an overabundance of hormones and a high from their last line. Teenagers Nia and Pulpo hang out at the disco where Nia has sex with a girl he meets there, Foxy. On the way home, Nia and Pulpo are attacked by Spirit, Foxy’s ex. Pulpo is badly beaten up but the police intervene, and Nia ends up in a youth detention centre. He makes plans to escape in order to wreck revenge on Spirit, an eye for an eye, and part of his plan includes meeting Nicole, an attractive young lawyer.

The three Craig sisters – Penny, Kay, and Joan – go to New York to stop their divorced father from marrying gold digger Donna Lyons and reunite him with their mother.

Madcap physical comedy and impeccable coloratura come together for Natalie Dessay’s indelible portrayal of the feisty tomboy raised by a regiment of French soldiers. Juan Diego Flórez is the young Swiss villager who conquers her heart—and a slew of high Cs. Also featuring uproarious performances by Felicity Palmer and Alessandro Corbelli, as well as a cameo by Tony Award winner Marian Seldes, this laugh-out-loud production was a runaway hit that left audiences exhilarated.

Tina Turner overcame impossible odds to become one of the first female Black artists to reach a mainstream international audience. Her road to superstardom is an undeniable story of triumph over adversity. It’s the ultimate story of survival – and an inspirational story of our times.

‘La course à l’abîme’ is a depiction of the final ride into hell from ‘La Damnation de Faust’ (1846) by Hector Berlioz.

The legendary British boy band of the 1990s, successfully reunited, delivers an exclusive performance in the intimate atmosphere of the Baloise Session. After Robbie Williams left, Take That, one of the most famous British boy bands of the 1990s, reunited in 2005, continuing their career with seven albums and numerous successful performances, occasionally welcoming back their star singer. In this live performance, which closed the opening night of the 2024 edition of the Basel festival, the three original members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen play their latest album This Life in an intimate and warm atmosphere, not forgetting, of course, the hits that made their millions of fans dance: "Pray," "Back for Good," and "Patience." Recorded on October 17, 2024, in Basel, Switzerland.