VIII Festival of Serbian Culture in Istria (April 2016)

The eighth Festival of Serbian Culture in Istria, dedicated to the memory of Danilo Kiš, is special this year for two reasons — it will last a month and it has become an international festival. The rich programme, organised by the Serbian Cultural Centre in Istria, began with a ceremonial opening on 7 April on the centre’s premises. The opening was attended, alongside numerous guest artists from Serbia and the region, by the Consul of the Republic of Serbia from Rijeka, Momčilo Radivojević, the deputy mayor of the city of Pula, Elena Puh Belci, the prefect of the Istria County, Valter Flego, as well as representatives of the Italian cultural community of the city of Pula.

The eighth festival gathered painters from the art group ARTE, the filmmakers Mima and Milan Karadžić with their latest work “Gorčilo”, as well as the publishing house Službeni glasnik, which, over the four days of the Festival, promoted Sanja Domazet’s latest book “Cities” (Gradovi). The exceptional team of artists representing the latest achievements of Serbian culture was complemented by the journalistic team of the Art Press Caravan. The very end of the ceremonial opening was marked by a performance by one of the best rock’n’roll bands of the Belgrade club scene, called Maljčiki. This band performed once more on Saturday, which was a kind of gift from the Serbian Cultural Centre to the people of Pula. Another gift was the guest appearance of the art group ARTE — the painting colony had Danilo Kiš as its theme, and all the works made during the colony were donated to the gallery of the Serbian Cultural Centre. The team of the Eighth Festival travelled the length and breadth of Istria, from Pula, through Fažana and the Brijuni, to Rovinj and Trieste, promoting Serbian culture through film, literature and painting. The festival continues until the first days of May, when theatre and dance troupes from Belgrade perform and continue to present Serbian culture and art across Istria in the best possible way.