The official opening of this year's ne:Bitef is scheduled for today at 11:52 a.m., when a sixteen-minute silence will be held in front of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in memory of the victims of the tragedy in Novi Sad, reports Nova.rs.
This will be followed by a discussion within the framework of the international campaign "Resistance now! Together" launched by the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen). On the repression that the cultural sector suffers for resisting autocracy and participating in the fight for social change, the Swiss director and director of the Vienna Festival Milo Rau will talk to local actors such as actors from the Šabac Theatre Miloš Vojnović, historian and researcher at the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade Nenad Leibensperger and art historian and curator from Belgrade Milica Pekić, while the moderator will be Tatjana Nikolić.
From 18 pm, the audience at the FDU will be treated to the premiere of the play "The Peliko Process", written by Milo Rau and Servan DeklAfter several European cities, Rau and Decl staged this staged representation of the trial of the rapists of a French woman. Giselle Pellicot are presented to the Belgrade audience together with 30 local actors, cultural workers and activists who are known to the public for their professional achievements, but also for their commitment to a better society. Among them are Svetlana Bojković, who will play Giselle, and Tihomir Stanić, Milena Radulović, Nada Šargin, Jelena Ivetić, Milena Bogavac, Jelena Stupljanin, Ljiljana Brailović, Branislav Trifunović, Miloš Timotijević, Milan Marić...
The play will be performed on the "Mata Milošević" stage, and due to limited capacity, the live broadcast of the play will also be available on the YouTube channel SVI U BLOKADE | FDU. In the spirit of the festival's slogan Bitef is where we gather, joint viewing of the broadcast will be organized throughout the region, from Ljubljana to Skopje.
On the eve of the premiere of the play that was censored and because of which, among other things, this year's 59th Bitef was not held, Milo Rau said in an interview with Nova.rs: "It is very important that everyone participates, that they stand behind ne:Bitef. And as for me, I feel a personal need to be in Belgrade, at ne:Bitef, because of my role in the entire process. I still don't feel guilty, but as one of the absurd reasons first for censorship, and then for the collapse of the Bitef festival. It all started with my speech at the opening of the last Bitef about lithium mining, but it was actually a speech about my love for Bitef. And to be now together with these fantastic actors and actresses, with activists, Miloš Lolić and the whole team is wonderful. And I think that's the spirit of Bitef. Whatever happens in politics - civil society makes it possible. A festival like this signifies the essence of theater. And the performance in Belgrade, and being part of this festival, is one of the most important moments in my career!".
A day later, on December 16th, they will present their works from 18 pm at the Warehouse in Kraljevića Marko. Andreja Kargačin (Dora or Who Will Stitch the Vests?), Alexander Zain (Tension), Ana Janković (Suicide as a (social) fact) and the Action Committee, which is a collective of students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. After the presentation of the plays, there will be a discussion with the authors, who will also be joined by Ana Vujanovic, Borisav Matic and Miloš Lolić, the artistic direction team of the 59th BITEF that was not held, and will be led by Milena Bogavac.
And on December 17th at 18 pm, the Center for Cultural Decontamination will host a screening of the play "Brothers" (Bros) for the public. Romeo Castelluccia i Scottish Gibbons, which talks about police brutality, or the phenomenon of mass male institutionalized violence. On the occasion of the presentation of the footage of Bratija, the director of the play will address the audience via video. After that, from 7:30 p.m., there will be a panel discussion "Justice and/or Punishment: Towards an Abolitionist Future", at which Borisav Matic talk to Vanja Petrović, Laura Pejak i By Natasa Prljevic.
The program then moves to Karmakom, where the Forgotten Workers' Struggle punk concert will take place from 21 p.m., accompanied by an original exhibition, organized by a group of technicians from the Berlin Volksbühne theater. German band Pink Wonder will share the stage with local forces, Anima and Ubili su Butlera.
The last day of the festival will take place at the Center for Cultural Decontamination, and will begin at 18 pm with the panel discussion "Art: Retreat and/as Resistance". Jelena Knežević and Ana Vujanović, as part of ne:Bitef, will discuss whether criticism is still possible within art institutions or whether their abandonment – withdrawal, giving up, temporary “non-maintenance” – is the most powerful gesture of resistance today. In addition to the large audience invited to participate in the conversation, they will be joined on stage by: Ana Miljanic, Ksenija Djurovic, Maja Pelevic, Marijana Cvetkovic, Vida Knezevic, Jelena Vesic, Irena Ristic, Srdjan Golubovic, Nevena Novakovic i Predrag Cveticanin.
The festival will be officially closed at 21 pm with a hot meal, in the spirit of togetherness and solidarity, as well as a spontaneous conversation in the courtyard of the CZKD.
Bonus video:
