Milo Rau (Bern, 1977) is a director, author and resident artist at NTGent, and also art director of Wiener Festwochen since last year. He studied sociology, German and Romance languages and literature in Paris, Berlin and Zurich with Pierre Bourdieu and Tzvetan Todorov, among others. Critics call him the "most influential" (Die Zeit), "most awarded" (Le Soir), "most interesting" (De Standaard), "most controversial" (La Repubblica), "most scandalous" (New York Times) or "most ambitious" (The Guardian) artist of our time.
"He has, so far, authored over 50 performances, films, books and actions. His theatre productions have been shown at all major international festivals, including Bitef - his play Orestes in Mosul opened 53Bitef19, and he was also the guest of the 50Bitef16 with Compassion. The History of the Machine Gun. This year we will have an opportunity to see his highly praised Antigone in the Amazon in the main programme. This will also be his first appearance at Bitef", stated the art director and co-curator of the festival Nikita Milivojević.
Dramaturge and co-curator Tijana Grumić added that Rau places his contemporary Antigone in the context of the Amazon for a very particular reason.
"For the purposes of this production, Rau and his team travelled to Brazil, where capitalism and fire devour forests and nature, and where 1% of the population owns 45% of the land, and produced this piece in collaboration with MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra), the largest landless workers’ movement", she stated.
TEN PERFORMANCES IN THE MAIN PROGRAMME
Aside from the Antigone in the Amazon another Brazilian story sparked a lot of interest. Carolina Bianchi and her dance company Cara de Cavalo are arriving to Belgrade on a wave of success, crowned with numerous awards for their latest piece, Cadela Força Trilogy - Chapter I: The Bride and the Goodnight Cinderella. In this courageous work Bianchi approaches the topic of sexual violence radically, analysing the work of other female artists, also dealing with her own experience, finally taking another step further by putting herself as a performer into extreme circumstances of taking GHB onstage (substance predators feed their victims before committing the assault).
Only a few months after its world premiere at this year's Avignon Festival the Belgrade audience will have the opportunity to see Hecuba, not Hecuba by Tiago Rodrigues. Co-produced by Comédie-Française, the famous theatre coming to Bitef for the first time, this performance brings an elite line-up of French theatre stars to Belgrade, bringing to life the myth of Hecuba in the most original manner.
Continuing the tradition of uncovering the upcoming stars of the region, the curating team included Rupture, a piece by Jan Krmelj which received the Borštnik award, in the main programme. Croatian author Jasna Žmak is coming to the festival with this is my truth, tell me yours, a piece that humourously deals with the relationship towards her own field of artistic creation - dramaturgy.
The Bitef side programme begins tonight, with the opening of the contemporary circus festival vol. 12, Cirkobalkana. This year Bitef Polyphony marks its 25 anniversary, while a new programme, Theoretical fiesta - theoretical platform led by professor Ana Vujanović, PhD begins its festival life. Meeting the Authors will once again bring Bitef audience and authors together, encouraging exchange of ideas and impressions in a far less formal environment.
Tickets to the festival can be acquired online, at the festival site, with a 10% discount. They can also be bought at the regular prices at the Bitef box office, located at the festival press centre, on the first floor of the MTS Hall (Nikola Pašić Square).
58. БИТЕФ У ДРУШТВУ ПРИЈАТЕЉА
Директор Битеф театра Милош Латиновић подсетио је на педесет осам година дугу историју Битефа, због чега овај фестивал с правом важи за најбољу традицију не само Београда, већ Србије и региона. Присутним новинаркама и новинарима овом приликом обратила се Наташа Михаиловић Вацић, Секретарка за културу Града Београда и председница Одбора фестивала. На трагу слогана овогодишњег Битефа - Лепота (не)ће спасити свет - она је изјавила да лепота може бити начин откривања истине, али не нужно и спас.
„Лепота више не нуди јасне одговоре већ подстиче на критичко преиспитивање стварности. У свету у ком живимо, уметност и лепота постају средство за критику, а не спас. Лепота подстиче унутрашњу снагу за промену, која је увек и требало би да буде, најпре лична”, казала је Михаиловић Вацић.
58BITEF24 IN THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS
Bitef festival director Miloš Latinović reminded us of the 58 year long history of Bitef, which makes this festival the best tradition not just of Belgrade, but also of Serbia and the region. Nataša Mihailović Vacić, the Secretary of Culture of the City of Belgrade and the chairman of the Board, addressed the members of the press. Commenting on this year's slogan Beauty Will (Not) Save the World she noted that beauty may be a way of uncovering the truth, but not necessarily salvation.
"Beauty doesn't offer clear answers anymore, but encourages us to think critically. In the world that we live in art and beauty have become means of critique, not salvation. Beauty sparks strength for change from within, a change that should always be - primarily - personal", she added.
General sponsor of this year's Bitef is 1664 Blanc. The festival also relies on the support of numerous commercial sponsors and friends.
"Partnering up with Bitef this year, along with our brand, 1664 Blanc, is a great pleasure of ours. Bitef is one of the artistic symbols of this city, and a true celebration of art and innovation in theatre, so it's genuinely delightful that we can contribute to a fuller experience of the visitors. Bitef celebrates creativity and art, values we share. We are convinced that marriage of art and our brand will bring unique moments that will inspire theatre lovers, building an even wider base of the festival visitors. We are looking forward to everything awaiting us at this year's Bitef", said Jovana Vještica, Carlsberg Serbia corporate affairs manager.
"We are very proud of Bitef and our long partnership, as both sponsors of the festival and faithful audience. Although many decades into its fruitful life, it remains young, brave, tireless and a tiny bit insane, in constant search for different, innovative content and form", noted Tamara Simović, communications and CSR expert at Erste Bank Serbia. "Every edition of Bitef opens new questions, fresh outlooks and different perspectives. It seems to us that in the world that changes fast, in the light of political, social and economic conflicts, tensions and differences Bitef - as a lighthouse - represents a constant, illuminating, inspiring and enriching Serbian theatre landscape, and we thank you for that."
Dušan Lalić, extended member of the Executive Board of Generali Osiguranje Srbija, said that he is extremely proud that this company partnered with Bitef this year as well. "The theme of the festival, Beauty Will (Not) Save the World is especially inspiring to us because we believe that investing in culture, nurturing and encouraging art can make the world a better, more noble and more beautiful place for all of us. So, as a company, we are always choosing to support such an important event as Bitef, which contributes to the development of the society through its carefully thought out programme", Lalić added.
Bitef continues its ecological practices through collaboration with the Every Can Counts initiative. Art work made from the recycled cans Bitef team collected was presented at the conference, highlighting motifs of this year's visual identity of the festival. The piece will be exhibited in the theatres where main programme performances will be taking place for the duration of the festival.
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Patrons of the festival are the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia. General sponsor of the 58Bitef24 is 1664 Blanc, which has recognised the significance of the festival as a cultural event and contributes to its success. Traditionally, the festival has received support from the Goethe Institute, the French Institute and the EU Delegation. Partner and friend of the Bitef festival is the New Moment New Ideas Company, creative agency of the festival. Generali osiguranje Srbija, Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad and Coca-Cola HBC Serbia are once again partners of the festival.
