»We are beings of human origin…«

Thursday, 28 November at 8:00 p.m.
discussion
Kino Šiška, upper foyer

This year, the CoFestival curatorial team drew inspiration from the following sentence: »We are beings of human origin …« In 1983, the late Novi Sad-based poet and neo-avant-garde artist Vujica Rešin Tucić stated in his book Hladno čelo (Cold Forehead): »Unacceptance of the world of humans is not a non-human trait. Nor is it human. It is an important trait of those who see and understand the world in anticipation of changes.« Further on, he clarified: »I see myself as a being of human origin, as someone else, as a being that differs from other humans as a man differs from the apes. And I can tell you, I am not alone. There are already many such beings of human origin in our country. This is burdensome. We live in a big concentration camp, we move only for short distances, watch a very limited number of TV programmes, we read but a few newspapers, and have no money to try and cross the border … But a certain humankind that we no longer belong to still lives on the other side. We have all been kidnapped, regardless of our numbers. We have been kidnapped by the kidnappees. This prison needs to be torn down.«

The phrase »beings of human origin…« is a kind of guideline for viewing this year’s CoFestival programme. It can suggest many things. It suggests difference, not identity. A departure from the perception of what is already represented and a shift to the perception of stage presences, human things that have yet to be identified, named, reflected upon and sharpened in the senses and thoughts. It suggests critical perception in which bodies are manifested, so as to find out how actions are performed in altered conditions and environments. It suggests a change that has already manifested in us, however, we have yet to perceive it, gaze at it, reflect on it. It suggests the fact that we live in a time period in which the structures and experiences of public time have altered. Consequently, we have great trouble with imagining the future and incorporating the past into our self-narratives. Perhaps we need to invent another way of recounting about ourselves, to include everything to which we may feel aversion. What kind of languages make something like this possible? Dramaturge Igor Dobričić will discuss many possible suggestions with members of the CoFestival curatorial team Rok Vevar and Dragana Alfirević.

* This discussion is in English.
Organised by: Kino Šiška and NDA Slovenia
Free entry

Supported by: