Founded in 1967, BITEF (Belgrade International Theatre Festival) probably is one of the biggest and the most important European festivals that has continually followed and supported theatre culture, as a reflective vision of a life that is more attractive and appealing than the one in which we’re stuck.
For its 53rd edition, McCann Skopje, along with its fellow McCann-ers from the whole I&F McCann Group was in front of the challenge: to come up with a creative solution that will reflect on that year’s topic “The Disintegration of the Modern World”.
Out of 12 countries from the Adriatic and Nordic regions and out of the 50 creative solutions submitted, the jury made of 12 creative directors and the BITEF festival eventually singled out the poster idea of McCann’s Skopje graphic designer that will represent the 53rd edition of the festival.
Our visual solution portraying a red empty plate with two knives (instead of a fork and a knife) and saying “LET’S START LOVE FROM THE BEGINNING”, was an explicit answer to what is happening to us.
“Materialization and digitalization have done their thing and all that it took was just look deep into myself and the surroundings. The symbolism of knives came naturally as a very clear answer to what is happening to us – coldness among people, alienation at all levels, from family to partnership to the political community, the disintegration of humane ideals. Knives are a metaphor for all gatherings in all communities, such as they are today. The question is do we like all that is offered us”, our winning graphic designer said.
And plays sometimes attempt to spread awareness about the problems in these modern and cold societies, to offer hope and actually invite all of us to start love over again. It gives us a chance to escape our lives for a while and enter a new reality where there are lessons to be learned and voices to be heard.
