KotorArt
International Festival
Wednesday, August 6
Kotor Creative Hub, 9.30 p.m.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
My War is Better Than Your War
Moderator: MAJA MRĐENOVIĆ, philologist specializing in general literature and literary theory
Participants:
NATAŠA NELEVIĆ, writter, theater critic, and feminist theorist
MIRJANA DRLJEVIĆ, writer
Artists
Nataša Nelević, is a Montenegrin writer, theater critic, and feminist theorist. In both her fictional and non-fictional/theoretical work, she primarily explores the possibility of challenging the authoritarian, privileged patriarchal right to define truth and interpret collective experience. Her focus lies in the feminist revision of historical knowledge and the reinterpretation of heritage – particularly Yugoslav and socialist legacies. She is the author of the theater studies book Žene u Izvedbenim Umjetnostima Zapadnog Balkana 1990–2010, the children’s book Zovu me Čupa, plays, including Jaja, Prevlaka, Crvene Čarape, Bijeli Kreč, and Mali Roman o Blatu, and several works on women’s history: Šta je Nama AFŽ – Nova Tumačenja Ženskog Jugoslovenskog Antifašističkog Nasljeđa, Mali Vodič kroz Istoriju Žena Crne Gore, and Žene Crne Gore 1797–1914: Istorijska Čitanka. As screenwriter and director of the documentary Šagargur, Nataša Nelević opened the topic of the political oppression of women in Yugoslav socialism and the role of women in revolutionary practices. Across all her work, the female perspective – as that of the historically marginalized Other – becomes a space of potential resistance to authority and a means of community humanization.
Mirjana Drljević, is the author of the play San o Svetom Petru Cetinjskom, performed at the Montenegrin National Theater and publicly read at the National Theater in Belgrade, as well as Suncokreti, performed at the Sterija National Theater in Vršac. Her debut novel Niko nije Zaboravljen i Ničega se Ne Sećamo won the first competition for unpublished novels organized by the Booka publishing house and was shortlisted for both the NIN Award (2022) and the regional Meša Selimović Award. The novel was adapted for the stage and is currently performed at Atelje 212 in Belgrade. Her short story Moj Otac won the first prize for prose in the 2022 regional Ulaznica magazine competition.
Maja Mrđenović, is a theater scholar and critic. She graduated from the Department of General Literature and Literary Theory at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, where she also earned her master’s degree. She holds a master’s degree in Theater Production from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje and is currently in the final year of doctoral studies in the Theory of Dramatic Arts, Media, and Culture at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. She has worked as a teaching assistant at the Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature in Cetinje, as a theater critic for the Montenegrin daily Pobjeda, and as a member of the editorial board and contributor to Gest, Montenegro’s magazine for theater, culture, and performing arts. Maja Mrđenović is the editor of the Theoretical Program and moderator of post-show discussions at the Kotor Festival of Theater for Children. She is also a co-founder and editor of the online theater journal Peripetija.me. She authored the book Pola Porcije u Pola Cijene: Pozorište za Djecu i Mlade u Crnoj Gori (2019). She has served as a moderator of theater discussions, selector, and jury member at various festivals in Montenegro and the region, and has mediated numerous roundtables and conferences. Maja Mrđenović is a member of the Association of Theater Critics and Theatrologists of Montenegro.
