Although science may say otherwise, the Bar Annals point out to "Vijesti" that art is one of the basic human needs, which was also demonstrated during (and still current) isolation measures due to the corona virus pandemic, which has affected all of humanity without exception.
"Without art and its conditionally most communicative segment - films and series - most of us would hardly have survived the pandemic relatively normally", said the Hercegnov Film Festival...
And that art and culture survive, that the human need for them does not diminish even in the most challenging times, but may even grow, is also proven by the festivals that find their way to the organization, as well as the audience. Thus, the season of cultural festivals in Montenegro is not in question this year either, and those for which our country is recognized will certainly take place, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" said, emphasizing that the program is reduced, the organization difficult but safe.
Accustomed to various circumstances, UF is unavoidable
The first in the repertoire is the International Feature Documentary Film Festival Underhill Fest, whose 11th edition will open on June 16 with the globally successful film from North Macedonia "Land of Honey" directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov.
"Somehow, from the beginning, we are used to the circumstances in which we have been working and organizing the festival for 11 years: the festival does not have a permanent address and space for work; the festival team assembles and disassembles the cinema every night, and with us from the organization and volunteers, there are no more than ten people. The festival has changed several addresses. It requires a lot of work, sometimes stress, but we all enjoy it and are ready for challenges and unpredictable situations. There are no problems for us, only solutions", festival director Anđelka Nenezić told "Vijesti" earlier.
In the series of upcoming festivals, this year's Underhill Fest, which lasts until June 23 and takes place on the grounds of KK Budućnost in Njegoševo Park, is unmissable primarily because of the new documentary that won many awards, nominated for the best documentary film and the best foreign feature film. film at the 92nd Academy Awards, which went down in the history of world cinema as the first film to receive these two nominations.
"It is also unavoidable because of the directors and producers of the films who magnify and give importance to the festival with their presence and the conversation they have with the audience after the film. And as for the atmosphere at the festival and in the city while the festival lasts, that's something you can't influence or predict," said Nenezić. The official program of the festival has not yet been announced, and as in previous years, the film selector is Vuk Perović. The films are divided into three selections: international, regional and out-of-competition.
Reduced, but always attractive, Grad theater until August 20
A new edition of the Grad Teatar festival in Budva, which is one of the most recognizable and longest in Montenegro, has been announced, and the 34th edition will open on July 15 with the premiere of the co-production "The Use of Man" based on the novel by Aleksandar Tišma and directed by Boris Liješević.
"The festival should last until August 20, and a reduced version of the original program will be shown. The reduction was, of course, due to the overall situation with the epidemic, the changing rules regarding the crossing of interstate borders, and the uncertainty surrounding the realization of all planned budgets", says the director of the Grad Theater, Milena Lubarda Marojević. She adds that it is not yet possible to say how the pandemic has affected the festival because it is still ongoing.
"It is difficult, in fact even impossible, to say to what extent and in what ways the pandemic has affected the festival, especially since the pandemic is still ongoing. We are all in an irrational position, we don't know the opponent or the rules of the game, but we try to predict something. We decided to reduce even though officially we still don't have a single document or official recommendation from any address on how we should plan and what we should orient ourselves towards", states Lubarda Marojević and adds that this year they are not aiming for spectacles, but that the audience, no matter what, will be satisfied...
"Even if the institutions' budgets are realized in their entirety, which is not likely, we believe that it would not be appropriate to aim for spectacles and highly ambitious projects this year, while many people and all economies are fighting for survival. This brings us back to the theme of our festival this year, which we defined earlier, which is the 'Clash/meeting of man and history'. Nevertheless, we believe that we will have the opportunity to realize some particularly attractive and valuable programs, both from Montenegro and from the surrounding area, and that our audience will be satisfied", the director of the festival points out.
Lubarda Marojević also adds that their topic "The conflict/meeting of man and history" has proven to be more relevant than ever in recent months.
"The selection of titles in the drama program was in line with that theme. Two central events of this festival will be two theatrical premieres. In addition to 'The Use of Man', it is another new festival co-production based on the famous novel 'Zelena choja Montenegra', the script for which was written by Stevan Koprivica, and directed by Nikita Milivojević. It is a joint project of JU Grad Teatar, the City Theater from Podgorica and the Belgrade Drama Theater. In addition to the drama program, we will hold five open-air concerts, show two art exhibitions and continue the programs on Poets' Square", she believes.
The Bar chronicle will last as long as there is Bar and Baran
The Bar yearbook will also take place, the organizers did not question that, even though the situation with the virus affected the organization.
"This is a festival that has existed for 33 years, and for us the preservation of that continuity is of the greatest importance. Its format will be reduced compared to previous years, but it will retain all its traditional backbones: the evening scene and accompanying program, as well as the division into theater, music, literary and art programs. The situation had a decisive impact on this year's festival, both financially and in terms of the possibility of planning guests from abroad. For financial reasons, we also opted for an abbreviated edition, with the fact that we postponed production and focused on guest programs. We focused the program concept on Montenegrin artists, because this is a moment in which their existence is threatened, so it is our duty, houses that are financed with citizens' money, to encourage and support them", the festival organization points out. They hope that by the end of July, the preventive measures will be further reduced and that the audience will be able to use the auditorium's capacity normally, they say, adding that in case the distance measures are still in force then, they have an infrastructure that enables the program to be held even in such conditions .
"The fact that public performances are currently on hold does not mean that creativity will stop. Artists create, through art they channel what they feel and think, and individuals and cultural institutions use the great means of communication available to us so that art reaches as many people as possible. We all miss human contact, but at the moment the priority must be on the safety and economic survival of the population", according to the organizers of the Yearbook and they say: "The Bar Yearbook will last as long as there is Bar and Baran, so there will be no shortage of opportunities to return to the old ways and use the festival for bringing the most diverse cultural offer from the region and abroad to our city".
KotorArt relies on local artists, but also brings in foreign ones
The director of KotorArt, the eminent pianist Ratimir Martinović, previously told "Vijesta" that the KotorArt International Festival will certainly be held, but the circumstances need to be determined because it is a particularly "significant project to survive the post-corona period!". "From talking to our patrons, I am almost certain that there will be a festival, but you can see for yourself that the news changes from day to day. What I can say is that we are following the recommendations of the National Coordinating Body and that we are in contact with the artists we are planning for this year's edition, the vast majority of whom will be from the territory of Montenegro", Martinović pointed out earlier and added that the cultural scene is particularly threatened due to of all circumstances. The Austrian band "Tribidabo", consisting of guitarist Simon Reithofer, saxophonist Matthias Meister and accordionist Bernd Kohlhofer, is the first announced performance this summer at the KotorArt Don Brankovi Days of Music festival, within the youngest segment - Jazz Market, they announced on KotorArt's Facebook profile.
"In addition to the well-known location of jazz concerts on the square by the Museum, the group is also scheduled to perform in the Luštica Bay complex as well as at the 'Wild Beauty Art' festival in Žabljak. All the performances of the band 'Tribidabo' will be realized in cooperation with the Austrian Embassy in Montenegro, a partner of this year's festival", they stated in their announcement.
Martinović recently told Radio Free Europe that "due to problems with travel, but also uncertainties with budget rebalancing, instead of around 300 programs that we had during the past festivals, the program will be significantly reduced and rely mainly on local artists." As one of the festivals that is particularly important for the Montenegrin cultural scene, KotorArt did not neglect its audience even during the previous period, so it broadcast some content through social networks. However, a series of activities for the next period is still being prepared.
"The Facebook page of the KotorArt festival exceeded 10.000 followers in the previous two months. Activities, as well as announcements in the same period, reached over 600.000 people, thus confirming the position of one of the most active and most followed social networks in the field of culture in Montenegro. In the coming period, KotorArt will continue to broadcast individual concerts from previous years on its social networks, and soon a reduced program for the upcoming edition of the festival will be published," the organizers pointed out.
HNFF calls for optimism and cultural resistance
For more than three decades, the Herzegnov Film Festival (Montenegro Film Festival) has been organized in the first week of August, from the 1st to the 7th, and it will probably be the same this year.
"If there are no changes in this half of the globe and in this period of the year, we plan to hold the HNFF following the necessary instructions of the Public Health Institute. The advantage of the Hercegnov Film Festival is that it is mostly outdoors, and now summer cinemas are becoming a specifically visible and usable capacity," Montenegrin director Marija Perović, who is on the festival council, told Vijesti.
This year, the festival will try to apply the rule on the premiere screening of selected films in Montenegro in the main program, Perović points out.
"And that during fasting or before the 'corona phase' is a kind of challenge and aggravating circumstances. With a probably reduced or limited number of audiences, possibly a reduced number of guests, giving up on online screening of films, we expect that FFHN will again be a new and interesting experience... There is a draft of the program content, but distributors are harder to come by. There are calculations because some big festivals have been postponed, and as you yourself know - the festival market is a big game and, relatively speaking, quite a calculation for all those who position films", she says.
Perović also pointed out that the new situation in some way increases the interest in networking with other festivals.
"That's why I, as an incorrigible optimist, will say that maybe in 2021 we will see positive effects in this state, which has confirmed that we can't do without culture, but also that filmmakers are a pretty resilient team," she says.
In recent years, the festival has positioned itself a little differently, primarily through programmatic and selector considerations.
"The work started by Srdan Golubović was continued in a good context by Jelena Mišeljić, Ivan Marinović and now Ivan Bakrač, as carriers of long-length festival content, so to speak. With the student selection (Dušan Kasalica), which now follows a serious and valid industrial program in cooperation with the Zagreb Film Festival, and with the great support of the Film Center of Montenegro, the excellent production of Herceg Fest and the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Herceg Novi...", Perović he points out that information about what the assembled team has achieved will soon be available. Reminding that "every reality program cancels the viewing of any cultural content, writing and/or reading, in order to awaken people's lowest passions, Perović calls for cultural resistance.
"Underhill broke the ice, as the first 'post-corona' festival... So, just as you have the slogans 'Buy local', I dare to say 'Let's also support our/local festivals'", as an authentic need to think and exchange experiences with the world or a part of the world that, as you yourself stated, showed that we exist in the corona and with open and accessible film and cultural content, and not to be on behalf of everyone - we help others to survive".
FIAT expects street theaters and outdoor troupes
The Festival of International Alternative Theater - FIAT 2020 was announced earlier for the period from September 4 to 13 in Podgorica, and applications for participation ended on June 1, so we can soon expect a list of artists and artistic groups that will additionally perform in September. to "warm up" Podgorica. Under the auspices of the Capital City and the Ministry of Culture, FIAT previously invited street theaters and theater troupes that can perform outdoors to apply for the festival.
FIAT pointed out that one of the very important features of the festival is the promotion and encouragement of cultural exchange, cooperation and mobility of artists, both regionally and internationally, so this year we can expect performers from all over the world.
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