Milo Rau: Hoping for a guerrilla BITEF, as authorities seek to destroy the festival

Milo Rau, incidentally, became widely known in Serbia after his speech at the opening of last year’s BITEF, in which he condemned the support of German and European leaders for lithium mining plans in Serbia. Commenting on the decision of this year’s BITEF festival board to withdraw the invitation to his show, he warned that they were just one step away from the renowned theatre festival becoming synonymous with the destruction of artistic freedom and democracy.

In the interview with N1, Rau described the board’s refusal to vote on the festival program - not due to his show itself, but because of him personally - as the most damaging act against artistic freedom he had witnessed in his career. He explained his experience of the events as part of a long history between him and BITEF, noting that he had been attending the festival for the past ten years and had produced and co-produced shows there. He mentioned plans to co-produce works by young Serbian directors. Last year, he said he delivered a speech expressing his love for Serbia and the festival, while also addressing issues related to lithium mining, saying he believes it is harmful to the country and its environment. He felt the speech was misinterpreted, leading to the dismissal of the former artistic director, Nikita Milivojevic. This prompted him to question whether he should continue working with the festival under new leadership, but he ultimately decided to support it, emphasizing his affection for BITEF and its importance, as it had survived wars. He expressed deep sadness over not being invited, calling it the worst and most heartbreaking experience of his life. He reiterated his desire to participate in BITEF and ensure its survival, stressing that it must not disappear.

When asked if he could have anticipated such extreme consequences from his speech, including the dismissal of Milivojevic, the festival’s loss of part of its budget this year—with the Serbian Ministry of Culture withholding support for the first time and city funding also reduced—and the outright ban on his participation leading to censorship of BITEF, Rau admitted he had not expected it. He explained that he initially thought it was a misunderstanding or a one-off incident related to Milivojevic’s dismissal and the reaction to his speech. Only when he was not invited again did he realize it was broader than a single artistic festival or his personal involvement and productions. He clarified that while he was not concerned for himself, he is worried about the civil sector, democracy, and freedom of speech. This, he said, was what he meant by it being the worst experience in his career: a government using a board and political pressure to destroy Eastern Europe’s largest artistic festival by excluding a production co-produced by two other European festivals. He viewed this as a bizarre way to demonstrate disregard for artistic freedom, something he had never encountered before. He expressed support for all efforts to prevent this but emphasized that as a citizen, democracy supporter, artist, and friend of the festival, he must rebel. He insisted that such actions cannot pass without protest, given the love for the festival.

When N1 asked Rau if, given his clear artistic stance expressed through his shows and statements on society and politics, he had ever encountered a similar situation in his career, even in Germany, which he had also criticized while in Belgrade, Rau said that he had criticized Germany within the European Union when the lithium mining discussion began.

He said he believes it is detrimental to both nature and society and that he opposed it, objectively considering the method of implementation to be poor. He expressed solidarity with all protestors against it and with the people displaced from their land, affirming his solidarity with the Serbian people on this matter as his duty. He added that everyone knows what will happen if there is no protest, if people in general do nothing to protect their freedoms. This is why people do all this, he said, adding that everything happening in Serbia as a societal and national shift, reflecting the government’s behavior.

Unofficial reports indicate that Rau’s colleague Romeo Castellucci has decided not to participate in this year’s censored BITEF. The resigned board president, Svetozar Cvetkovic, mentioned that other troupes also refused to join under these circumstances. Rau’s position is that European artists and institutions should not continue collaborating with BITEF after what happened. As it appears that the Serbian authorities show little regard for culture or BITEF, N1 asked Rau why he believes boycotting the festival is the only logical or necessary solution at this moment and what effects it could achieve.

Rau recounted that after Milivojevic’s dismissal, he and many artists grappled with whether they could participate in the new BITEF. They chose to defend it by joining Lolic’s edition. Now, following the recent resignations and cancellations, he said that for the sake of their integrity, they could not take part in the official BITEF this year. He expressed hope for a guerrilla-style BITEF, for which he said he would come to Serbia immediately. He noted that Castellucci and others shared this view regarding continuing BITEF’s illustrious history, but not within the current corrupted framework. He said that this year’s battle might need to unfold differently to allow rebirth in future years. He agreed that the authorities do not want BITEF to be held and would do everything to destroy it, describing their behavior as destructive and indicating that they have no need for art, as it will always be democratic and aligned with the people.

Rau has launched the “Resistance Now” campaign, which brings together 200 artistic institutions and calls for transnational solidarity among cultural workers. When asked what artists can do when the state they somewhat depend on applies repression, censorship, and punishes them for their views, he said a major meeting was held at the European Theatre Convention in Riga and that they will issue a protest note regarding the BITEF situation, with the response being solidarity, co-production, and ensuring the festival’s continuation. He added that all the 200 artistic institutions had protested for two days against what was happening with BITEF.