Who will design this year's, 32nd edition of the "City Theater" festival, on whom it depends whether this manifestation of culture will return to the paths of its old glory, or will be lost among mediocre local cultural events, will be known on Tuesday, when the Council should make a decision on the appointment of a new director of this Budva cultural institution.
Although everyone expected that the election cycle would pass monotonously, that the current acting director Milena Lubarda would continue to manage the "Grad Teatro", Montenegrin theater and TV director Danilo Marunović made sure that this was not the case.
Judging by who the candidates are, the competition for the director becomes interesting, based on their individual images in public, personal references, professional, and very likely also conceptual commitments.
However, the list of candidates for the position of director is not yet final. As "Vijesti" confirmed, two more candidacies were received yesterday, and bearing in mind that today is the last day for that, it is expected that the list of potential candidates will be even longer, given the fact that everyone is waiting for the last day to submit their resumes. According to the coalition agreement, the position of director of the "City Theater" is planned for someone from the ranks of the Democrats or someone close to them.
For a whole decade, Milena Lubarda held the position of assistant director, at the same time performing the function of selector of the music festival, which was also marked by numerous guest appearances by big stars of the serious and alternative music scene. Appointed at the beginning of March last year as acting director, she focused, as she said on several occasions, on repairing the difficult financial situation in which she found this institution, which is why last year's festival program was more modest, without productions.
On the other hand, Marunović is known for brave and engaged projects, which have provided him with an international reputation. His connections with the "Grad Theater" go back to his student days, through his first professional engagement as an assistant director, so that the theater audience in Budva got to know him best two years ago, when he directed the play "Crvena" based on the text at the jubilee, 30th festival John Logan, with Branislav Lečić and Marko Grabež in the main roles.
"The city of theater can only be saved from creative passion, an uncompromising fight for artistic ideas, creativity, talent and energy. "Theatre City" must be in conflict with Budva's kitsch, not only the literal one, but also the moral one. The festival must conquer the city again, this will not happen with politics, bureaucracy and compromises, but with the charisma and beauty of good ideas and talented artists. This is clear to everyone, the question is whether there is a desire in Budva for that, because Budva is less and less Budva, and Grad Theater is anything but a theater," said Marunović for "Vijesti".
Unfortunately, "Grad Teatar" really figures today as anything, but not as a successful artistic story. Numerous scandals, million-dollar debts, affairs, which are under the scrutiny of investigators, controversial million-dollar contracts, which this public institution concluded with production companies, average selection of guest programs, festival productions far below the expected standards from the golden age of this festival, are just a few what we are used to from year to year. And what was done in this cultural institution during the past, the current government prosecuted the Special Prosecutor's Office, considering that the Budva criminal group was also involved in culture, and that there were also millions of embezzlements. The new management of the "Theatre City" claims to have managed to repay more than half a million euros of debt (540.000), and the public witnessed sharp mutual accusations during stormy assembly sessions, which were exchanged by members of the previous and current management of this former Budva cultural brand.
A lot is expected from the new director, because this year's festival edition is considered by many to be crucial for the survival of the "Theatre City". The one who sits in the chair of the key figure of the festival will be given a budget of one million euros, as much as the Municipality has foreseen for the cultural institution this year. Almost half a million will be earmarked for the festival program.
The decision on the selection is made by the Council headed by Professor Siniša Jelušić, Ph.D., but not in full composition, because the current member, architect Slobodan-Bobo Mitrović, left it on the anniversary.
How the new political elites in Budva will behave in the case of the director's election, whether they will use their influence to decide the Council to make a decision, as it was an established practice during the DPS government, will be known next week. What is certain, the festival must to be saved from new scandals and further collapse.
A significant number of problems have already been solved, and large projects are planned
"In the past year, when I managed Grado Teatra, my main focus was on the financial stabilization of the institution and on preserving the tradition of quality programs and the continuity of the festival. Under very difficult business conditions and a large number of specific obstructions, we managed to create the preconditions for the 2018 festival to be planned properly, which includes new regional theater productions, attractive guest appearances, a scientific meeting on a current topic, finding new locations for performances, inclusion of young professionals, cooperation with significant festivals and theaters and participation in international projects. Precisely due to the fact that the competition for the election of the director of the City Theater was announced until the day before yesterday, and that the applications that were sent by mail are arriving these days, and that the Council of the City Theater will decide on this issue next week, I consider any form of unprofessional and unethical putting pressure on Council members in this period, especially through the media. The problems of the "Theatre City" were numerous, and a significant number of them have been solved to date. Big projects are planned for next summer and a lot of work is being done on their implementation in accordance with the adopted work plan, which, I am sure, will finally put an end to the story of the so-called to the 'failed festival' and confirm the place of the City of Theater on the festival map of the region that it has always had," Lubarda stated in a statement for "Vijesti".
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