Beogradski Internacionalni Teatarski Festival
The Beogradski Internacionalni Teatarski Festival (International Belgrade Theater Festival, BITEF for short) is an international theater festival that has been taking place in Belgrade since 1967 .
In 1967, the city assembly decided in Belgrade to hold a theater festival. Since then, the festival has been held every September. Classical works as well as experimental theater are performed there. The program is held in various theaters and buildings in the city and, since 2008, in other cities such as Niš and Novi Sad .
The main program consists of around ten productions selected by the festival directors. There are also other programs such as the showcase , in which the latest productions of the Serbian theaters are presented, and the ENPARTS (European Network of Performing Arts) project, which was developed with five other European partners under the coordination of the Venetian Biennale . There is also Bitef polifonija as a basis for discussion for young theater people and the discourse on the fundamentals of theater and further developments and, since 1976, Bitef na filmu as a presentation of theater productions in film. Furthermore, working groups, round tables, presentations, symposia and multimedia exhibitions are organized at the festival.
At the festival, the “Mira Trailović” Grand Prix is awarded for the best performance and the Specijalna nagrada for the best contribution to the art of theater. There is also the Nagrada publike audience award and the Politikinu nagradu award from Politika magazine .
The festival also took place during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.