The Grand Prix "Mira Trailović" at the just concluded 57th Bitef was awarded to the play "#Žan" (#Jeanne) directed by Anja Suša according to the text by Ivana Sajko and produced by the Rikstheater and Dramaten from Stockholm, and the award to "Jovan Ćirilov" and the award political for the best direction, it was awarded to Mario Banucci with the play "Farewell Lindita" produced by the National Theater of Greece.
The play "#Žan", a contemporary version of the fairy tale about Joan of Arc, which deals with the potential of resistance to social and systemic injustice, is a kind of return of Anja Suša to Bitef, whose selector she was for many years.
The winning performance is a rich theatrical experience that captivates with its complexity. It is about "a fairy tale about classes, heroes and revolutions, about capitalism and the apocalypse, which moves through the registers of history, through fantasy, memory, self-criticism and fortune-telling", the international jury stated in its explanation.
The play "Goodbye, Lindita", which is only the second direction of the young Mario Banuši, is a touching depiction of Balkan traditions and customs related to the death of loved ones.
Along with the explanation of the award for the best director, it was also stated that his directorial manuscript "brings emotional, dreamlike and poetically expressive glimpses of death and dealing with it".
The audience award went to the opera performance "Sun and Sea" by Rugila Barzžukaita, Vaiva Grainita and Lina Lapelita. Evaluating each of the nine performances in the Main Program from 1 to 5, the audience awarded it with a high average score of 4.61. With this performance, Lithuania participated in the 58th Art Biennale in Venice, winning the Golden Lion.
S.Ć./SEEcult
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