The Play “Fathers and Forefathers” Swept the Awards at the 69th “Sterijino Pozorje” Theatre Festival with Nine Victories

The play “Fathers and Forefathers”, based on the novel of the same name by Slobodan Selenić, dramatized by Kata Gyarmati, directed by Veljko Mićunović and produced by the National Theatre in Belgrade, continues to achieve success at domestic theatre festivals.

Their triumphant path was also continued at the 69th “Sterijino Pozorje” Theatre Festival where, in a very fierce competition, they won as many as nine awards.

According to the decisions of the professional jury, "Fathers and Forefathers" received the Sterija Award for the best play, which is the second time in a row that a play of the National Theatre has received this flattering award - last year it went to “A Lullaby for Aleksija Rajčić”. 

Veljko Mićunović won the Sterija Award for directing, Aleksandar Vučković received the Sterija Award for acting, as well as Vanja Ejdus, who for the third time in her career has received this most prestigious acting award in our country (in 2002 she won this award for her role in “Hasan Aga’s Wife” and in 2023 for “A Lullaby for Aleksija Rajčić”). 

Composer Nevena Glušica received the Sterija Award for original theatre music (same as last year for “A Lullaby for Aleksija Rajčić”.), Kata Gyarmati received the Sterija Award for dramatization, and Ljiljana Mrkić Popović for stage speech, which she also won a year before for "A Lullaby for Aleksija Rajčić”.

The jury was chaired by a full-time professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, Dr. Dejan Sredojević, and the members of the jury were actress Marta Bereš, composer Irena Popović Dragović, a long-time manager of the Zagreb Satirical Theatre "Kerempuh" and "Ulysses" Theatre, Dušan Ljuština, and producer and university professor Janko Ljumović.

In addition to the awards presented by the professional jury, "Fathers and Forefathers" also received the Audience Award for the best play (average score 4.66), and Vanja Ejdus received the "Zoran Radmilović" Award for acting bravura performance of the Timočka Krajina National Theatre "Zoran Radmilović" in Zaječar and “Sterijino Pozorje” Theatre Festival.

As chosen by the Festival selector, Ana Tasić, apart from the National Theatre, as the only Belgrade theatre, six other theatres from our country and the region participated in the most significant theatre event in Serbia that took place from May 26 to June 3.
 
The play "Fathers and Forefathers" premiered on April 4 last year on the National Theatre Main Stage and has received 21 awards so far - four overall awards were won, while the remaining 17 awards have been won for individual artistic achievements.

The cast includes Miloš Đorđević, Nikola Rakočević, Aleksandar Vučković, Vanja Ejdus, Vanja Milačić, Sena Đorović, Iva Milanović and Nikola Ristanovski.
 
Congratulations to the award winners and the entire ensemble of the play!