Festival as any other

Sarajevo, 24 September, 2009 — This year’s second QSF begins on September 24th, 2009. It carries the message of peace, freedom, tolerance and understanding of diversity, as well as encourages nobility, love and collectiveness.

Our intention this year was to gather artists and activists who through their everyday work and effort bring attention to taboo issues and bring those closer to the public of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the region.

Festival will take place from September 24-28, 2009, via billboards throughout the whole country, by public broadcasting of TV clip and advertising in daily and weekly papers. It, therefore, excludes exhibits, performances and workshops.

Artists who are part of this year’s Festival, through concrete visual and art works express their own thoughts about today’s society. Across the whole BiH, following billboards are placed: ‘The Kiss’, ‘Conversation?’ and ‘Curiosity’.

Billboard ‘Kiss’— graphic visual identity is based on two elements: Logo of the Festival, symbolizing the birth of one new life in nature, with integral message “QSF, Festival as any other”. Second element relates to two objects that are joined in one functional system which is based on abstract reality, symbolizing equality and same-sex love which freely exists in esoteric surrounding different from the existing one.

Billboards ‘Conversation?’— sculptures express a conversation, symbolically becoming part of their surrounding, gaining new knowledge and metaphorically stimulating higher openness and tolerance in a society through exchange of ideas and opinions with a goal to transgress social discriminatory needs to mark people based on their physical, sexual or other visible and invisible characteristics.

Billboard ‘Curiosity’ — enchants curiosity, distrust, and suspicion which is encoded in us. It is a retrospective of irreverence of human, albeit either related to work, success, happiness or the basis of it all, love …

Film ‘Covered’ – is an experimental documentary about violent closing of the first QSF. ‘Straddling truth and fiction, the film interweaves the courageous story of the four festival organizers with an apocryphal essay by Susan Sontag - about cover versions of "bird" songs - that pushes the limits of liberal solidarity.’

Author John Greyson is a renown filmmaker, video artist, author, activist and professor whose productions have won many festival awards around the world. Film can be viewed at our web page.

TV clip ‘As any other’— visual view of works which present this year’s Festival.

Contact:
Organization Q
PP 304
Tel: +387 61 340 638
Email: qsf@queer.ba
Web: www.queer.ba