Performance 'Stone Sleeper' opens 'Slovo Gorčina' Culture Festival

(Patria) - Among the stone sleepers at the Radimlja necropolis of stećci in Stolac, the 54th edition of the "Slovo Gorčina" Culture Festival was ceremoniously opened last night, with Gorčin Dizdar, president of the "Slovo Gorčina" Association, and Zejneba Hajdarević, member of the Festival's Organizing Committee, addressing the audience.

Following the addresses, the prestigious "Mak Dizdar" award ceremony for young poets took place. The expert jury of the Festival, consisting of Adnan Žetica (president), Mirko Božić, and Monika Herceg, selected the best among 93 submitted manuscripts and awarded the prizes. The first prize went to Amela Halilović from Tutin for her poetry collection "Pod libelom". Adnan Žetica and Mirko Božić addressed the attendees, highlighting the importance of the Festival and the support for young poetic voices.

After the awards ceremony, the spectacular part of this year's opening ceremony followed, the musical performance "Stone Sleeper" inspired by the legacy of Mak Dizdar.

This multi-layered artistic performance, based on verses from the collection "Kameni spavač" (Stone Sleeper), was shaped through a combination of music, poetry, and stage expression, focusing on questions of fate, time, duration, and human fragility. Ten carefully selected poems – "Putovi" (Paths), "Zapis o zemlji" (Record of the Land), "Zapis o vremenu" (Record of Time), "Zapis o jednome zapisu" (Record of a Record), "S podignutom rukom" (With Raised Hand), "Kolo" (Circle/Dance), "Krinovi" (Lilies), "Gorčin", "Kolo bola" (Circle of Pain), and "Smrt" (Death) – formed the narrative and emotional backbone of the performance.

The performing ensemble, comprising students from the Music Academy in Sarajevo: Sara Kasap, Anja Udovčić, and Naida Huseinagić, shaped the musical segment of the performance with precision and sensitivity that further deepened the emotional power of the poetry. The roles of narration and stage performance were taken on by renowned actors Horst Heiss (Austria) and Jasna Diklić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), whose interpretations gave voice to what is otherwise silent, written, and carved.

The performance "Stone Sleeper" was symbolically set in the heart of the Radimlja necropolis, making the stećci site more than just a backdrop. It became a living organism of meaning, a meeting of epochs and temporal layers. This performance not only evokes the past but also poses a clear question to the present: what else do the stone sleepers have to tell us?

The spatial capacities of the Radimlja necropolis of stećci were fully utilized and adapted to the high artistic, production, and technical requirements of the performance.

Following the performance, a conversation with the Palestinian writer Adania Shibli took place. The conversation was moderated by poet Monika Herceg, this year's honorary guest of the Festival, who led a dialogue about writing, resistance, and responsibility with care, depth, and mutual trust.

The evening concluded with a concert by Ahmed Burić & Translajt Orkestra, who performed the program "Valceri iz Translantanije" (Waltzes from Translantania) at Radimlja.

The enthusiasm will certainly not wane in the coming festival days, until July 27th, when the Festival is open to all lovers of the written word, music, and visual arts. All additional information about upcoming programs can be found at the following link: https://slovogorcina.ba/program/