The result of the voting for this year's Thirteenth of July Award failed to raise Montenegrin society above the trench divisions, said the president of the Jury for awarding the highest state award, Nikola Vukčević, stating that he still believes that every effort in that direction is not in vain.
Book writer Andrija Radulović, academic painter Branislav Sekulić and doctor of theological sciences Nikola Marojević are the winners of this year's Thirteenth July Award, and the Thirteenth July Lifetime Achievement Award went to retired regular professor Dragan Koprivica.
Vukčević said that he is aware that there are different opinions about this year's decision of the jury regarding the Thirteenth of July Award, as well as that he understands the interest of the public.
"The position of the president of the jury is to ensure that each individual voice, out of seven equals, gets its articulation in the discussion and voting, in correct communication," said Vukčević in an interview with the MINA Agency.
He reminded that 56 proposals in two categories were submitted to the contest for the awarding of the Thirteenth of July Prize, which, in terms of the Law on the State Prize and the Rules of Procedure of the Jury, met the formal and legal requirements.
As stated by Vukčević, the seven-member jury created the result with the majority of votes, thus defining the winners.
He clarified that the preliminary round of voting is public among the members of the jury and that each member nominates his candidates from the list of applicants, with an explanation.
Vukčević said that after that the list of those candidates will be narrowed down, which is secret.
He said that he proposed five equal candidates for the annual award.
Vukčević said that he proposed Branislav Sekulić, an artist and pedagogue recognized with the highest marks by the professional art public, documentary film director Vladimir Perović, because of his exceptional work, dedicated work in the field of documentary film, who wrote the most beautiful pages dedicated to to the man of Montenegro.
For the annual award, as he stated, he proposed Olivera Lakić, for a courageous approach to investigative journalism in the public interest, and Andrija Radulović, a poet of international success, translation and award, for the book Redemption.
Vukčević said that he also proposed Nikola Marković, a painter and multimedia artist, who has been pushing the boundaries since his beginnings to this day, for the successful exhibition in Berlin.
"In my wider choice, which I mentioned to the other members of the jury, due to the possibility of overvoting in the second round (in case the candidates I proposed do not pass), there were cartoonist Darko Drljević, for the international success of his cartoons, Balša Brković for the novel Aurora and Slobodan Marunović for persistent work in the field of dramatic arts", said Vukčević.
He said that he also proposed five equal candidates for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Vukčević said that for the Thirteenth of July Award for Lifetime Achievement, he proposed primarius doctor Milenko Lainović, for his persistent and dedicated contribution to the industry and his rich and fascinating professional oeuvre, which advanced the profession.
For the Thirteenth of July Lifetime Achievement Award, as he stated, he proposed documentary film director Vladimir Perović, an individual who advanced the profession of documentary film in Montenegro as the author of 41 documentary films and who was awarded with 113 regional and international awards.
Vukčević said that he also nominated Varja Đukić, actress and Champion of the Montenegrin National Theatre, for the multi-decade contribution to the art of acting, the writer Zuvdija Hodžić, who has already been confirmed by a number of domestic and regional awards, as well as the playwright Bož Koprivica for his wider body of works. .
Asked what his motivation was for participating in the selection for the awarding of the Thirteenth Prize, he said that it was an affirmation of permanent values, which he presented through the candidates he nominated.
When asked how he perceives the situation arising after the jury's decision on awarding the award, Vukčević replied that we are witnessing that Montenegro is still a country of national exclusivity, not only institutionally, but also among families.
"We are a society of deep, sad divisions that forgets that on the 'other side' are our brothers and family. There is no house where someone is not a Serb and his brother is a Montenegrin, where someone is not a Bosniak and his brother is a Muslim, and we are still exclusive as that we don't need the other one", said Vukčević.
He said that in the 1990s it was exclusivity in the direction of Montenegrins, and added that he remembered that exclusivity well.
Vukčević said that after that it was exclusivity towards Serbs, which, he added, he publicly condemned several times as a Montenegrin, believing that we cannot move forward without each other.
According to him, today, nevertheless, a certain dose of exclusivity is noticeable again from the direction of the Serbian corps in Montenegro, as if they want to make up for everything that was denied for twenty years.
"I deeply believe that all of us in Montenegro today absolutely need those people whose quality of personality and creativity will go beyond national, religious and confessional", stated Vukčević.
This, as he said, motivated him to participate in the work of the jury.
"We learned everything, but not to accept each other," Vukčević said.
He stated that Andrija Radulović and Zuvdija Hodžić were among his candidates, not because of the balance, but because of their creativity in which there are lasting values that transcend this division.
"We are leaving a difficult task to our children, who are leaving here in large numbers, and these statistics speak volumes," Vukčević said.
This, as he pointed out, is the country of all of us.
"It would be good if the Montenegrins did not exclude their Serbian brothers from inclusion, and it would be good if our Serbian brothers from Montenegro benevolently deal with a noticeable dose of negation of the country of their birth," Vukčević said.
He said that his effort goes exclusively in the direction of the need for mutual cooperation.
"Although the result of the award this year did not succeed in elevating us above our trench divisions, I still deeply believe that every effort in this direction is not in vain and that I am not alone in this desire and intention", said Vukčević.
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