The “Milica” festival has officially opened in Šamac, dedicated to Milica Babić—pioneer of theatre and film costume design, native of Šamac, and wife of Nobel laureate Ivo Andrić. The festival is organized by the Šamac Center for Culture with the support of the Municipality of Šamac and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska.
The festival was opened with the play Vodka and Champagne, directed by Andrea Ada Lazić and based on the text by contemporary Russian playwright Irina Vaskovska. The leading roles were performed by actors from Belgrade’s “Atelje 212”: Milica Mihajlović, Isidora Minić, and Nebojša Ilić.
“It’s always a different kind of encounter, always exciting to see how much we understand each other and to what extent what we do resonates with the audience and reflects back,” said Ilić.
With support from the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Šamac Center for Culture continues to promote and popularize the life and work of Milica Babić Andrić. Over the past three years, the Ministry has provided around 80,000 convertible marks for the renovation of her memorial house and the equipping of a souvenir shop.
“It’s more than a privilege for us as a people to have such a heroine in Serb culture and art. We believed it was necessary to develop a broader and more comprehensive project dedicated to establishing cultural routes,” emphasized Tanja Đaković, Assistant Minister of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska.
Milanika Blagojević, Director of the Šamac Center for Culture, stated that the goal is to offer citizens and guests a high-quality artistic and cultural program.
“We aim to promote the contemporary cultural scene while also preserving our cultural heritage through this project,” she added.
During the festival, Milica’s memorial house will host the opening of a souvenir shop, a lecture titled Life Behind the Scenes and On Stage, and the performance of Memories of Sarah Bernhardt, produced by the Herceg Novi Theatre and Herceg Fest.
Source: RTRS
