Unlike its predecessor, Jelena Medakovic who was appointed secretary of culture of the City of Belgrade last month, does not avoid talking to the media about current problems.
That's how she commented as a guest on RTS's Cultural Diary the situation with the capital's biggest international festivals, with Bitef and Festa.
About Festus
She said that the Board Party "an extremely constructive team that was looking for a solution for that extremely reduced budget, and also for that inadequate date in December that would not allow the kind of Fest as we know it, those guests who really during the Christmas holidays I don't believe would be guests of the Belgrade Fest".
"That's why we are on the verge of deciding that the Fest will be held in its regular time, to overcome the problem with financing and the budget," announced Jelena Medaković.
About Bitef
She also assessed that Bitef "At the moment, there is no legal framework for maintenance, because the Bitef Board has resigned, so it is unable to ensure and conclude the program within the legal framework, sign the contract and start implementation, and in that sense I am not optimistic."
Therefore, it can be concluded that the position of the Secretariat for Culture is that the year 2025 will pass without Fest and Bitef.
It is necessary, however, that the Boards of these two festivals also declare about it. As we wrote earlier, the members of both Committees believe that there are conditions for the festivals to be held this year as well. If they do not openly say what is holding them back, it is very possible that they will be declared responsible for this year's festival break.
Preparations for guerrilla Bitef
And during that time, guerrilla and Bitef is being prepared.
Namely, in an interview that Miloš Lolic given to Ivan Medenica, the former artistic director and selector of Bitef for many years, and published by "Radar", Lolić announced that the artistic team of Bitef, who terminated the contract after the Board of Bitef rejected their selection, is thinking and preparing an alternative, guerilla Bitef with the performances and artists they offered to the Bitef festival. He said that "it will definitely happen in December" and announced that they are currently working on "final agreements with foreign partners and allies in this fight, who are ready not only to come to Belgrade, but to do more than they would have done within the framework of the peacetime Bitef. It seems to me that it would be enough for all of us, from the country and the world, who care about the festival, to gather at some visible, symbolically important location, and socialize. will be a world cultural event of the first order", said Miloš Lolić.
As he told "Vremen", he is expected to know the details at the beginning of the week.
