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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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40th BITEF theatre festival inaugurated

Belgrade, 16 September 2006

Head of the BITEF Council director and writer Vida Ognjenovic, opened last night in Sava Centre, Belgrade’s prestigious international theatre festival BITEF, as the event celebrates its 40th year.

Carnival procession from the Trg Republike to the Sava Centre, themed “BITEF more than sold out”

Author: Tanjug

Ognjenovic said on the occasion that BITEF can be proud of its 40th anniversary which bears witness to the enduring status of the festival.

She recalled the bold founders of this adventure in theatre Mira Trailovic and the present artistic director of BITEF Jovan Cirilov, and stressed that BITEF has survived outside the boundaries of all ideologies, owing to the support of a dedicated public.

The first performance in the competitive programme was the dance spectacle “Body remix /Goldberg variations” by the “Compagnie Marie Chouinard”, world renowned choreographer from Canada.

Earlier a performance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the event was held in the form a carnival procession from the Trg Republike to the Sava Centre, themed “BITEF more than sold out”, designed by director Jelena Bogavac.

According to the selection made by artistic director Jovan Cirilov and co-selector Anja Susa, until September 30 the main programme of BITEF will offer 16 performances from all over the world at various venues in Belgrade.

Authors include the famous Peter Brook and Joseph Nadge, young stars Stefan Kaegi and Rodrigo Garcia, as well as Serbian artists and choreographers Sonja Vukicevic, Ivana Askovic and Boris Caksiran.

BITEF will close with “Ballet for Life” by the celebrated Maurice Bejart, in the Sava Centre.

An international jury will decide who will receive the special award, as well as the Grand Prix “Mira Trailovic”, which carries the name of the legendary director, head of “Atelje 212” and founder of BITEF.

The festival is being held with the help of the Belgrade City Assembly, the Serbian Ministry of Culture, foreign cultural centres and embassies in Belgrade and several sponsors. The opening ceremony in the Sava Centre was attended by Serbian parliament speaker Predrag Markovic, Serbian Minister of Culture Dragan Kojadinovic and Mayor of Belgrade Nenad Bogdanovic.