Saša Latinović, a professor at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and an actor at the Youth Theater, is a member of the Festival Council. In between hanging out with guests from all over Europe and watching some great shows, he shared his thoughts on Novi Sad Theater Festival...
"Festivals give us the opportunity in a short period of time, in one place, to see what the new trends are and what the theater scene looks like - in our country or in the world, depending on whether the festival is local, regional or international. This festival of ours provided an opportunity for the audience, but also for us other creators, to see what new discoveries our colleagues who deal with a very similar theater genre - theater for young people and children, or puppet theater - have made.
In these 12 performances of the 2nd Novi Sad Theater Festival, we could see performances performed only by actors, producing all the effects with their body and voice, and with the help of live instruments. We could see performances in which the main characters are robotic toys-objects from everyday use, without seeing the actors at all, although they are there, because they control everything on the stage. We could also see two dance performances in which the text and speech are not dominant at all, but the body language is what tells the story. We had the opportunity to see guests from various parts of the world, which is wonderful and beautiful, because it gave our audience the opportunity to see something else that is not available in our theater. That moment of expanding the circle of knowledge and understanding of theater is one of the greatest values of the festival in general. It is wonderful that we were able to meet with our colleagues and talk, to exchange experiences: what kind of theater is there, what are their tendencies, what are the topics. We hope and look forward to the next "Novi Sad Theater Festival", that it will be richer and even more notable.
The festival, by the way, takes a long time to prepare. There are various services involved and people who deal with it and take care of everything, and there are also those who have to support us financially. We are under the authority of the Assembly of the City of Novi Sad and we are grateful for the support, because without it the festival could not be held. With this festival, we confirm that Novi Sad is a city of culture and that it deserves such a festival along with Sterija's Theater and Infant. Best of all, our audience is lucky and privileged to see it, and it is visited in great numbers."