International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
9th Edition
10–13 May 2019
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org

&

International Graphic Novel Festival – GRANFest

1st Edition
10 – 12 May 2019

Program

Thursday, 9. 05. 2019

11:00  – 12:00 – Venue: Amphitheater of the National Library of Kosovo

Media conference  (Gani Jakupi, Agron Bajrami & Jeton Neziraj) announcing the 1rst edition of the International Graphic Novel Festival and the 9^th edition of the polip – International Literature Festival

Friday, 10. 05. 2019

19:00 – 21:30 – Venue: Modalarium, Faculty of Architecture

Official opening of the GranFest (Gani Jakupi & Agron Bajrami)

GranFest exhibition: Hermann Huppen(BE), Dave McKean (UK), Frank Margerin (FR), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Aude Samama (FR), Tom Kaczinsky (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (BR), Ville Ranta (FIN).
Cocktail & music by Ilija Ludvig (SRB)

Official opening of the polip festival (Alida Bremer, Saša Ilić, Jeton Neziraj)

Readings

Lindita Ahmeti (MK), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH), Besnik Mustafaj (AL), Tom Kaczynski (USA), Olga Grjasnowa (AZ/DE), Tanja Raich (AT), Sarah Hehir (UK).
Moderators: Agron Bajrami (RKS), Alida Bremer (HR/DE)

21:30 – 00:00 – Venue: Menza Ramiz Sadiku
Live music: Ilija Ludvig (SRB)

Saturday, 11. 05. 2019

14:00–15:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia

PANEL 1 Age of Opinions
Panelists: Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Olga Grjasnowa (AZ/DE), Besnik Mustafaj (ALB), Robert Prosser (AT).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

16:00–17:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia

PANEL 2 Literary Deal – Revolutionary Road
Panelists: Veton Surroi (RKS), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

20:00– 21:30 Readings
Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH/SRB), Robert Prosser (AT), Ivana Bodrožić (HR), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Ivana Maksić (SRB), Azem Deliu (RKS)
Homage to Bekim Lumi, with: Afrim Muçaj, Gresa Pallaska, Bujar Ahmeti.
Moderators: Jeton Neziraj (RKS), Sasa Ilić (SRB), Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)

21:30 – 00:00 Venue: Soma Book Station
Jam Session: Gani Jakupi (RKS/ES), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), and many others…

Sunday, 12. 05. 2019

11:00–12:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia

PANEL 3 (GranFest) Creative vs. manipulative information
Panelists: Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), Sarah Hehir (UK), Ville Ranta (FIN), Tom Kaczynski (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (ARG).
Moderator: Gani Jakupi (ES/RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

15:00–16:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia

PANEL 4 Paralelní polis, a dissident concept haunting the present
Panelists: Alida Bremer (HRV/DE), Lena Dorn (DE), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS)
Moderator: Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

20:00 – 00:00 Venue: Menza Ramiz Sadiku

Readings & music

Jasna Dimitrijević (SRB), Mariklena Niҫo (ALB), Eleni Suela Douxi (AL/GR), Petar Matović (SRB), Gerhard Meister (CH), Frank Margerin (FRA), Ermirë Vrella (RKS).
Readings from “The WORD LITERARY FORUM, a Spoken Word Co-op Project”: Gerhard Meister, Dragan Protić Prota and Shpetim Selmani.
Moderators: Shpetim Selmani (RKS), Lura Limani (RKS).
Live music: Arshikët e Gjakovës (RKS)

Complementary Program:

Friday, 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:30 Alliance Française.
(GRANFest)
Conversation with Aude Samama (FR)

Friday, 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
14:00 – 15:30 Restaurant Napoli
(by invitations only)
Reading and discussion with Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH/SRB)

Friday, 10.05.2019 – Gracanica
16:00 – 18:00 Civic Energy Center / Centar Gradjanske Energije
Reading and discussion with Petar Matović (SRB), Ivana Bodrožić (HR) Jasna Dimitrijević (SRB), Ivana Maksić (SRB).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (DE/HR)

Friday 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
17:00:18:30 Alliance Française
Opening of the exhibition “Spirou4rights” featuring the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights depicted by Spirou’s most talented artists and authors. With Frank Margerin (FR)
The exhibition will be displayed until 17 May.

Saturday, 11.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:00 Menza Ramiz Sadiku
Small talk with: Besnik Mustafaj (ALB), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH), Hermann Huppen (BE), Frank Margerin (FR) & Literami (DE/IT/CZ).

Saturday, 11.05.2019 – Prishtina
12:00 – 13:30 American Corner at the National Library of Kosovo
GranFest Workshop with Tom Kaczynski

Monday, 13.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:30 University of Prishtina
Reading and discussion with Gerhard Meister

Monday, 13.05.2019 – Prizren
14:00 – 15:30 University of Prizren (Library Österreich Punkt)
Reading and discussion with Tanja Raich

Monday, 14.05.2019 – Prishtina
17:00 – 18:30 Qendra Multimedia
Promotion of the book Beta testing the Apocalypse by Tom Kaczynski
Published in Albanian by GRANFest and translated by Agron Bajrami

Tuesday, 14.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 13:00 University of Prishtina (amphitheater of the Philological Faculty)
Reading and discussion with Robert Prosser

International Graphic Novel Festival – GranFest is having its first Edition this year from 10th – 12th of May 2019. Anibar is having its tenth edition this year from 15th till 21st of July. And all of this is happening during the week of Polip Festival which is having its 9th edition from 10th to 13th of May. We are cooperating to bring you the best of Anibar 2018 and a retrospective and presentation by Dave McKean at Kino Armata.

Check out the agenda below for more information:

12 May 2019, 17:00h
Best of Anibar 2019: The edition of equality!

A glimpse into the edition which dealt with gender equality, women empowerment and women in animation; The Anibar 50/50 presented with the selection of the finest short animated films screened during the festival. The program covers a range of techniques, stories and emotions! Join us at Kino Armata this Sunday from 17:00.

12 May 2019, 19:00h
Retrospective of David McKean

David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art and sculpture. At Gran Fest Dave will be showing a program of shorts and clips as well as introduce the films himself.

Panels & Debates

Saturday, 11. 05. 2019

PANEL 1
14:00–15:30  Age of Opinions
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
Panelists:  Melinda Nadj  Abonji (CH), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Olga Grjasnowa (DE), Besnik Mustafaj (ALB),  Robert Prosser (AT).
Moderator:  Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

Do you also have your opinion about measles vaccination, about climate change, about democracy, about refugee crisis, about EU, about bureaucracy in Buxelles, about neo-Nazis in Europe, about Greek debt, about Italian debt, about “yellow Vests” from France, about Islam, about headscarf? About pornography, about media, about Pope, about capitalism, about financial capitalism, about guilt in the First World War, about guilt in the Second World War, about gilt in the wars in former Yugoslavia, about guilt in the war in Syria, about guilt in the war in Ukraine, about Putin and Trump? And do you express this opinion in internet forums, social networks, Facebook and Twitter? Are you dialogue-oriented or do you just want to give your opinion to the world? And if you would want to find out more about these topics, which source would you choose? Wikipedia, Internet forums, online blogs? Do you even write essays, articles or books on these topics? How do you find out the facts about them, how do you actually form your opinion?

We live in the age of opinions. The ubiquitous access to information seems to increase our knowledge, but is that really true?  On what basis do we form opinions? And what can literature do in this flood of opinions, postings, comments, self-made videos? What can literary criticism do in the age of Amazon and Goodreads commentaries? Whom do you believe, whom do we believe, whom can you believe at all in the epoche of internet?

PANEL 2
16:00–17:30 Literary Deal – Revolutionary Road
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
Panelists: Veton Surroi (RKS), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH)
Moderator:   Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

The recent history of peace building has noted several important moments that have changed the image of the modern world. One has changed the image of the post-WWII Europe (The Elysée Treaty – 1963), the second did the same for the image of the Balkans (The Prespa agreement – 2018). Even though the Brussels agreement was reached between Serbia and Kosovo back in 2013, almost no progress in its implementation has happened. This year it will be twenty years since the signing of the Kumanovo agreement, which ended the Kosovo War in June 1999, but reconciliation has not yet taken place. On the one hand, the European Union is to be held accountable for insisting on negotiators who are not fit for the historical task, on the other the local political elites are to be blamed, as they ignore the current social and cultural reality, denying that the cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo’s independent cultural scenes even exists. Is the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo possible, after all? How strong is the literary deal between these two countries? Is it possible to transform the political landscape that brought life to the standstill? History is telling us that it is possible. Possible, of course, if the deal is not about certain individuals profiteering from the frozen conflict, but instead is about the victory of culture and progress of society over the destructive politics of the past.

Sunday, 12. 05. 2019

PANEL 3 GranFest
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
11:00–12:30 Creative vs. manipulative information
Panelists: Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), Sarah Hehir (UK), Ville Ranta (FIN), Tom Kaczynsku (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (ARG).
Moderator: Gani Jakupi (ES/RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

One of the latest trends in the graphic novels is the graphic journalism. Its different declinations (documentary, reportages, or investigations), though far from unseating the popular genres, are gaining unstopped momentum. On the other hand, the non-fiction has already an upper hand in the sales of the contemporary literature. Do they bring a fresh air to the conventional journalism or do they take it away? What is the role they can play in our era of fake news?

A panel constituted from graphic novel authors and writers will undertake a reflection on this phenomenon.

PANEL 4
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
15:00–16:30 Paralelní polis, a dissident concept haunting the present
Panelists: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Lena Dorn (DE), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS)
Moderator: Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.

The panel focuses on the concept of the „paralelní polis“ or the “parallell polis”. Originating in 1970s and 1980s Czechoslovak dissident thought it aimed at challenging the Socialist regime by establishing parallel cultural, political, educational, and economical structures. We want to discuss a) the potential ambiguity of dissident concepts such as the “parallel polis”, since on one hand, they played a key role during the country’s post-1989 transition to democracy, while, on the other hand, they also created the grounds for “parallel poleis” that programmatically discriminated agains certain groups of people (migrants, women, LGBTIQ*, intellectuals…); b) the relationship between the “parallel polis” and the main topic of this year’s polip festival, the “literary deal”; c) the relationship between the “parallel polis” and experiences from other countries, such as the alternative educational system created in Kosovo.