Feđa Štukan: The main problem here is that people have completely forgotten what education means

The main problem here is that people have completely forgotten what education means. Someone who completely destroys the school system, as is the case here, cannot expect progress. Everything is going downhill, says Feđa Štukan for Nova.rs.

"When I left for Belgrade, for the Krokodil festival, I knew that there was a high chance that they wouldn't let me enter Serbia. I was, in a way, ready for it. That's why my lawyer was on the other side of the passport control desk, in case something happened to me. Actually, we didn't have any proof, paper that I couldn't enter Serbia. However, there was some hope that this would not happen, he said.

Sarajevo actor Feđa Štukan remembers with these words for Nova.rs the unfortunate event that took place two months ago at the "Nikola Tesla" airport when he was detained, his passport was temporarily confiscated, he spent the night in Surčin and was deported to BiH in the morning. In the explanation of the ban on Feđa Štukan's entry into Serbia, it was stated that it was due to a "negative assessment of the security risk".

However, it was not the first time that the actor was detained at the border. And last year, after attending the "Serbia against violence" protests in Belgrade, he was detained at the border, but there was no official explanation then.

Back then, as Štukan recalls in an interview for Nova.rs that took place during the recently concluded Sarajevo Film Festival, he heard, albeit unofficially, that he was banned from entering Serbia:

"I was sure there was a ban, but I didn't have proof. And now, in such a way, I received proof that I cannot enter Serbia. And on the basis of that evidence, we can initiate a lawsuit or litigation... But I left all that to my lawyer team in Belgrade. Lawyers know what to do next, whether and who should be sued. But, what is most interesting in everything is that the official ban on entry does not have any duration... And that is why it seems to me that it is for a long period of time, maybe even for life. It is usually given for one, two or three years, but the paper that was handed to me does not state the duration of the ban on entry. Therefore, it is possible that it will be forever..."

In the explanation, it is recalled, it is stated that he is a "security threat" for Serbia.

"If there is a man who is less of a threat than me, I would like to meet him. And that, not only in regards to this case, but also in life. So who should I threaten..." he said.

According to the portal, he has speculated several times that his public appearances, attendance at the protest in Belgrade, or his book "Blank" could have been the reason for this move by Serbian officials.

Štukan says that he assumes that he received too much media attention in Serbia.

"Probably because I got too much media attention in Serbia, people liked me and started listening to what I had to say. It is possible that they were afraid that I could change the nationalist paradigm in Serbia. And to some extent I did it quite well. But I'm not sure that it could completely disrupt their big plans. Compared to the entire nation, a relatively small number of people came to my promotions. Unfortunately, few people in this area read books. The government manipulates that majority that does not take the books into their hands. Those who read certainly think similar to me. But I didn't change their opinion, they just looked for confirmation of their judgment and found it in my public speeches and in my book," he said.

Asked how Serbia looks to him from the outside, especially after the last elections, and how it is in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the change of government, he says that things have changed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Unlike Serbia, obvious changes have taken place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which I cannot deny. You know, here in Sarajevo for 30 years, we haven't had a single big concert by a serious, even a non-serious group. It was simply not part of the culture and tradition here after the war. And now, as the government changed, musicians started coming and playing. Well, we saw Sting. There is a desire for culture. The Philharmonic regularly plays in front of the National Theater in Sarajevo, and thousands of people come to watch them. People are eager for everything, for the whole 30 years there was boredom here. And that, it seems, is part of the culture - dullness, lack of education, stagnation. There is no further progress, but everyone stubbornly sticks to the postulates that enable those in power to have an electorate that votes for them in large numbers," he described.

At the Sarajevo Film Festival, episodes of several new series in which he plays were premiered, and one of them - "Mosquito" - in which the story begins to weave together when a bus traveling between Sarajevo and Jajce disappears in the night in the area of ​​the mountain pass of the same name, impatiently is expected…

"Yes, it's the first Bosnian science fiction series, the first mystery ever made here. When I first got a part of the script to read, it seemed like a bunch of unrelated things. The director's concept was that none of us actors knew what was happening in the next story, and it turned out great in the end. The creator of "Mosquito" and one of the directors, Timur Makarević, drew me into the story and really bought it, despite my skepticism. And I think it's an amazing project. I haven't seen something so new and different for a long time. "It doesn't matter that it's Bosnian, it's of such high quality that you can't see that it's from Bosnia, and what director of photography Dušan Joksimović did in 'Komar' is a true masterpiece," he says.

He also plays in "Sablja", which will be broadcast from November 2.

"It was very challenging, because even now it is not known exactly what happened that day. And what is known is so complicated. I made a huge effort to find out as much as possible, read everything possible and figure out a way to present it all. During the series, we actors actually have no idea what's going on, and in the end everything unravels, but I don't want to spoil 'Saber'... It was interesting to work precisely because so much is unknown. But Vladimir Tagić and Goran Stanković have entered so much into the 'matter', they are like two dear 'lunatics'. When they offered me the role - and I was supposed to play a detective who was eventually interpreted by Ljuba Bandović - they were already so into everything that they continued each other's sentences and thoughts. It's as if one thought is uttered by two people", he said.

When asked why this soil is full of blood, he answers - because of lack of education.

"The main problem here is that people have completely forgotten what education means. Someone who completely destroys the school system, as is the case here, cannot expect progress. And now, because of artificial intelligence, children have forgotten how to learn. I'm afraid that, not only are we creating children who won't know anything, but teachers who won't have anything to teach those who come. Everything is going downhill. In order for anything to move in a positive direction, fantastic school systems, such as Finland or Denmark, should be introduced immediately. And to expect the first results in 20 years. But that won't happen, there won't be any results in 20 years... And I don't know where the bottom is here anymore. "Maybe we should close all the schools, turn to religions and finally kill each other," he said.

When asked if he thinks he will ever set foot in Serbia again, he answers that the government probably needs to change.

"I receive a lot of messages of support from Serbia all the time and I try to answer each one. A lot of people are still asking me to do promotions, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. Probably the government needs to change. I would like to be able to come because of my friends and family and because I love Serbia and Belgrade, but I will have to go somewhere else until this is resolved. I'm sorry that it turned out that way..." he said.