Jelena Medaković, secretary for culture The City of Belgrade expects that this year will pass successfully as far as the festival is concerned, despite all the problems that the Belgrade cultural scene has faced.
She documented her expectation by saying that it had just been completed 59. Bitef and Belef, The ongoing March festival, Festom which is expected. He believes that these festivals represent the identity card of Belgrade and that they should not be burdened by daily divisions, but should remain a space of artistic communication. She told Tanjug and K1 television about it.
Because of the Belef program, thousands of tickets were sold, she said, which "means that the festival has a place on our cultural scene. The March Festival is underway, I expect Bemus, Fest, October Salon. We are really looking forward to ending this year successfully, despite all the trials and problems we had."
"This is a big step for festivals and competitions to return after three years and for us to move towards normalization, and then, of course, towards better results", said Jelena Medaković.
About Bitef
She assessed that holding Bitef was a great challenge, but also an important success because it took place in an institution, which is the most important thing for her personally. She said that Bitef belongs to Belgrade, and that is why it is to the detriment of the audience, Belgraders, artists and creators, that festivals like Bitef, which have existed for six decades and to which everyone has become accustomed, do not exist on the Belgrade scene.
At the 59th Bitef, there were plays from Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, Turkey, Serbia and Tunisia, so not from Western Europe, whose theater is an indicator of current theatrical achievements.
And yet, Medaković assesses that the audience was shown practices that were not known to the domestic audience until now and which "perhaps right now are dominating other world festivals".
"We preserve the authenticity of BITEF through the changes that are taking place, because performing arts require that," believes Medaković and assesses that Bitef "must not become some dead reinterpretation of something that happened in the past" and reminded that Bitef was created in a different social and historical moment and arrangement.
She said that a theater like BITEF always corresponds with the social moment and responds to the topic of everything that is happening in the world, but she also points out that she is extremely against the banalization and politicization of the festival in a vulgar way.
"None of us currently has the right to demolish something people designed 60 years ago, left us as a legacy. BITEF is our legacy, so we should be dignified when it comes to the way we preserve it," she said.
About Festus
According to Jelena Medaković, everyone is looking forward to the Fest, and she stated that there will be a film by Lordan Zafranović at the opening, as well as films by Slobodan Šijan and Florian Zeller.
"I don't expect that in this first real edition of the Fest, we will immediately experience those fantastic bright moments that we remember from previous years, but I expect that this is the first step and that people will be smart from the Fest," Medaković pointed out about the Fest, which will be held in Belgrade from October 2 to 11.
She emphasized that the Fest is returning to the Sava Center, which, according to her, is a sign that "FEST will return to its glory in the coming years, and this is the first step towards that."
He believes that the Fest can be "wider than San Sebastián, because our culture is very diverse. Here you can go from an archeology festival to a contemporary modern art festival, to absolutely anything you want."
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