This year's FIAT International Alternative Theater Festival begins in Podgorica on Monday, September 9, and ends on the 17th, when a special event will be held, i.e. a tribute to the famous Montenegrin theater director and one of the founders of FIAT, Slobodan Milatović, who passed away. in March of this year.
A special novelty is that from this year, by the decision of the Artistic Council of the festival, Milatović's name will also bear the main prize for the best director (author), it was announced at the press conference in Kusle's house.
This year's eight-day program will bring "bold, provocative and intriguing theatrical performances, whose focus is the common man and his emotional re-examination of threats and freedom", confirmed the selector of the program, actress Ana Vujošević, at the presentation.
"The motto of this year's festival is 'FIAT energy', which suggests artistic power, which constantly initiates and re-examines social values through provocative and high-quality artistic content", it was pointed out at the press conference. And it is precisely this FIAT energy that is expected in the capital, regardless of the headlines, because they have long been unquestioned.
This year's competitive selection of the festival will offer all fans of alternative theater, and those who are about to become one, ten plays from Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.
The "FIAT FOCUS" program consists of plays from Italy: "Human shame", by Silvia Gribaudi and Matteo Maffesanti and "Macbeth" (play/performance), by Alessandro Serra, which will be performed in Sardinian language in the spirit of the Elizabethan tradition, with a male cast as a whole.
There are also two plays from Germany, namely "Gypsy steak" directed by Nada Kokotović and "Medea" directed by Rieka Susskow. The play "Medea" is realized in cooperation with the Goethe Institute from Munich and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Podgorica. The competition selection also included two plays from Croatia - "Everything is in the Money", directed by Boris Bakal and "Kurlani" directed by Senka Bulić.
Mirko Radonjić is the director of the Montenegrin play "Rooms", which is, in fact, a parable about the life of young people in the suburbs of Podgorica. Serbia, Poland and Hungary will participate with one performance each: "July" directed by Tara Manić, "Caesar Goes to War" directed by Cezar Tomaševski, while Hungary will present itself with the ballet performance "The Bird", directed by Pal Frenak, which talks about physical and emotional obstacles within ourselves, as well as the way our imagination creates a new reality in order to survive. This performance will close the competitive selection, as well as the "Week of Hungarian Culture in Montenegro" event, and it is realized in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary in Podgorica and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary.
The award ceremony will be held at midnight on September 16 in the courtyard of Kusle's house, and the decision will be made by an expert jury consisting of: Sonja Vukićević - choreographer and president of the jury (Serbia), Petar Burić - actor (Montenegro) and Božo Koprivica - writer (Montenegro ).
On the last day of the festival, on September 17 at noon, a "FIAT happening" will be held in honor and memory of Slobodan Milatović, and the event is organized in Dabovići, near Danilovgrad. The train to Dabović leaves at 12 noon from the Podgorica railway station, and several Montenegrin artists will participate in the event.
This year's selection and contents of the festival were discussed at the conference by festival director Ana Vukotić, president of the artistic council of the festival Sonja Vukićević, selector of the carpentry program Ana Vujošević, advisor at the Ministry of Culture Ilija Subotić, and independent advisor at the Secretariat for Culture and Sports of the capital, Sanja Vojinović.
At the conference, it was also emphasized that "the quality and credibility of FIAT was confirmed through the festival's membership in the EFFE network (Europe for festivals, Festivals for Europe) and by receiving the quality mark, which can only be worn by festivals with a special artistic value and contribution to the diverse European cultural scene ". But despite that, FIAT is still waiting for its space.
"FIAT received this designation through a strict and demanding application process, which is a guarantee of the festival's excellence and appreciation on the international art scene.
FIAT is realized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro and the Capital City of Podgorica, as well as with the help of other donors and friends of the festival. Although it has more than three decades behind it and has already positioned itself and proven itself as a significant and necessary alternative-avant-garde festival, on the Montenegrin, but, as we said, also on the international cultural map, FIAT still does not have a unique space for work that would be a kind of base. for the development and realization of various creative expressions with the aim of improving culture and art, not only in Podgorica", reminded the organizers of one of the problems for the solution of which they have been fighting for several years.
Accompanying program not to be missed: concerts, exhibitions, books, films...
In addition to the rich theater part of the program, this year FIAT also has a variety of accompanying art, literary, musical and film content, as well as content from the creative industries.
As part of the literary program, promotions of the book "Vježbanka Danilo Kiš" by Bož Koprivica and the poetry book "Dead Museum" by Damjan Pejanović will be organized.
The art program consists of: an exhibition of photographs by Relja Brković "The Ghetto is Love", a painting by Nikola Kovačević "Fragments", as well as a visual and sound installation by Biljana Mišić "Europe, or how we disappeared".
Damir Murseljević took care of FIAT's music program, who singled out the concerts of Montenegrin bands: the always popular and desirable "Gospoda Glembajevi" and the Podgorica band "Vrpca", as well as the solo project of Bulgarian musician Mirian Kolev "EUERPI".
The FIAT film, whose selector is Vladimir Vučinić, will show titles such as the famous: "Metropolis" (1927), "Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance" (1982), "Blade Runner" (The Final Cut) (1982),
Within the framework of the FIAT forum, there will also be a presentation of the results of research and mapping of creative industries, and the moderator is Edin Jašarović.
The contents of FIAT will be performed in several places in Podgorica, from Kuslev's house, KIC "Budo Tomović", drama studio "Prazan prostor" in Stara varoša, to Dabović in Danilovgrad. From this year, a new collaboration with "Kolektor" and "Association of Architects of Montenegro" was realized.
The total design of the festival this year was done by designer Suzana Pajović.
Bonus video:
