4th Danube Fest to be held on September 5-13

BELGRADE - The fourth Danube Fest, which will commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, is to be held on September 5-13 at the Belgrade Fortress, a press conference was told on Wednesday.

As in the previous years, the programme was conceived by the artistic council, comprised of three renowned Serbian artists - Katarina Jovanovic, Goran Markovic and Nebojsa Bradic.

The fourth iteration of Danube Fest focuses on the centenary of World War I and the French-Serbian ties, which marked the period.

"The idea of the Danube Fest is to uncover the layers that exist in the cultural heritage of Belgrade and the Belgrade Fortress (Kalemegdan) and everything that this area has - its identity, history, and memory," Bradic said, noting that each year the focus is on a different topic.

This year, the focus is on French-Serbian relations and the ties between the two countries, Bradic said.

The festival will be opened at the Monument of Gratitude to France, after which a concert of French music composed immediately before, during or after the Great War will be held.

The performance will be followed by a concert dedicated to Serbian music, and the festival will also include the unveiling of The Sarajevo Omnibus, a book by the Bosnian-born French writer Velibor Colic.

The festival will close on Saturday, September 13 outside the Military Museum, with a screening of Grand Illusion, a 1937 film by the famous Jean Renoir that carries a strong anti-war message and speaks about the illusion of conflict, war and everything associated with war.