In honor and memory of Abdulah Sidran, the 'Sidran Days' festival launched

(Patria) - On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the birth of poet, playwright, publicist and screenwriter Abdulah Sidran, the first edition of the culture festival "Sidran Days" will be held in Sarajevo from September 30 to October 2. The program is organized by the Sidran Foundation in co-organization with the Bosnian Cultural Center and Chamber Theater 55.

As part of the program dedicated to the life and work of the great Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet and prose writer, on September 30, the play "Do You Remember Dolly Bell?" will be performed at the Chamber Theater 55, and after the performance, director Kokan Mladenović and theater director Senad Alihodžić will address the audience.

A day later, on October 1, an exhibition of portraits of Abdulah Sidran titled "Sarajevo Collection" by author Suzanne Arbanas (USA) will open at the "Gabriel" Gallery.

On Wednesday, October 2, on Sidran's 80th birthday, in cooperation with the Sarajevo Poetry Days, a flower-laying ceremony will be held at the cemetery, followed by a reading of verses from Abdulah Sidran's poetry in the area near the Ferhadija Mosque. As part of this program dedicated to the poetic dimension of Abdulah Sidran, the verses will be recited by Bosnian-Herzegovinian poets.

The first edition of Sidran Days will close with the premiere screening of the digitized version of the film "When Father Was Away on Business" on October 2 in the Great Hall of the Bosnian Cultural Center.

The film was recently digitized by the production company Forum from Sarajevo, and this will be the first screening of the restored version of the film.

Due to limited seating, for the premiere of the digitized version of the film "When Father Was Away on Business," it is necessary to obtain free tickets, which will be available in digital form via the karter.ba system from Wednesday, September 25, or at the box office of the Bosnian Cultural Center from Tuesday, September 24, the organizers announced.

As part of Sidran Days, a special accompanying segment is also planned, and on October 5, at the premises of the Albanian Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a poetry reading and discussion about the works of Abdulah Sidran will be held, with poet Lulzim Tafa as the guest of the program.

Abdulah Sidran (October 2, 1944 – March 23, 2024) was a Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet, prose writer, and film screenwriter. He was awarded for his poetry and prose, both with social recognitions, such as the "April 6 Award" of the City of Sarajevo, the Freedom Award of the French PEN Center, and numerous literary awards from the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Zmaj Award, and others, as well as film awards for screenplays at festivals in Pula and Vrnjačka Banja.

Selections from Sidran's poetry, translated into German, French, and Italian, have been published in Austria, France, and Italy. For the Italian bilingual edition, he received the "Premio letterario 1996 della Fondazione Laboratorio Mediterraneo" award.

He was the screenwriter of the films "Do You Remember Dolly Bell?", "When Father Was Away on Business" by director Emir Kusturica, and "Kuduz" by Ademir Kenović. He was a regular member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a master candidate in chess.