XVII KROKODIL Festival 2025 – UNDER PRESSURE

02 Jun XVII KROKODIL Festival 2025 – UNDER PRESSURE

XVII KROKODIL Festival

UNDER PRESSURE

27-29/06/2025

In front of the Museum of Yugoslavia, Mihaila Mike Jankovića 6, Belgrade

No pressure, under pressure!

“Gdańsk in the Eighties / When Autumn said No / Gdańsk in the Eighties / We kept our fingers crossed

Miners / Students / Shipyard / All of us

Gdańsk in the Eighties / Boiling factories / You don’t use / Tanks against workers twice / They didn’t dare /

We won…”

(“Poland, in My Heart,” Džoni Štulić)

Dear friends,

Here we are again, for the seventeenth time since 2009 when we started our festival in a time quite different from today’s which is indeed more complex and challenging. Yet, we are still here; gathering those with whom we share values and beliefs, striving to remain true to ourselves, despite everything.

As the ground trembles, not from earthquakes, but from voices that have been silenced for too long, the streets once again become classrooms in which young people write sentences they couldn’t find in textbooks. As pressure mounts, we walk together for more than half a year, pushing back the darkness with songs that accompany our steps. Towards freedom?

The lyrics “Poland, in My Heart” have been with us for months. “We won,” declares Džoni Štulić, with a powerful sound of resistance, the spirit of rebellion, solidarity, and historical memory. The culture of remembrance and love is the cornerstone of what we have created over the last sixteen years, but also the foundation of a conceived responsible and progressive society where we all together seek our freedom here and now. In every square, on every street, and in every corner of our country.

Like last year, when we made a vigorous turn and changed the concept of the KROKODIL Festival, this year from June 27 to 29, you can expect three days full of diverse content: morning and afternoon programs in the Debate, Children’s, Workshop, and Film zones, as well as the evening literary-musical show on the main stage.

So, stroll to the Museum of Yugoslavia with children, friends, and/or pets, bring your favorite picnic blanket to enjoy in the shade of the park, and delight in our festival’s daily events where you will hear and see: Dragan Markovina, Dragan Popović, Hanan Faour, Margo Rejmer, Filip Grujić, Tampon Zona and Kritički, Radivoj Cvetićanin, Iya Kiva, The Wrong Language Tour with Dukat Stray Dogg, Marko Šelić Marčelo, Anna Luňáková, Dinko Gruhonjić, Barbara Woźniak, Marko Vidojković, Dubravka Stojanović, Olga Manojlović Pintar, Boris Buden, Igor Štiks, and many, many others; while you can in the same time play and exercise in the several workshop zones with Ana Petrović, Illustration Date collective, BrainoBrain team, Wostok, Cirkusfera, and more.

Don’t forget to secure your tickets for the evening program on Friday, June 27 — an unforgettable June evening at the amphitheater, with the scent of linden trees and company of some of the most significant local, regional, and European authors, including Sara Stridsberg*, Barbi Marković, Dragan Velikić, Radmila Petrović, Dorota Masłowska along with a mini music performance by the band Oxajo…

When the earth shakes, and when everyone tells us to be silent, we choose to write, create, and erase the boundaries between art and real life. Here is another dynamic festival edition that does not ask for the pressure to be ignored but to happen.

Under pressure, but — together. 

Because, when the pressure overwhelms us, we resist with solidarity and engaged words.

No pressure, under pressure!

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE KROKODIL FESTIVAL PROGRAM HERE.

TICKETS YOU CAN PURCHASE ONLINE HERE: https://new.gigstix.com/event/xvii-festival-krokodil-under-pressure-beograd-jun-2025/

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING TICKET SALES FOR THE KROKODIL FESTIVAL

Tickets are required for the evening program of the KROKODIL Festival, on Friday, June 27. Entry to the programs in the debate and film zones is free. If you wish to contribute to the realization of the festival, daily tickets for the debate programs will also be available. For workshop programs, prior registration is required, and for some, payment of a participation fee is necessary.

Tickets will be on sale from Friday, May 30 through the GIGSTIX sales network and at the KROKODIL center (Male stepenice 1a) every working day from 10 AM to 6 PM, as well as at the festival ticket booth one hour before the program starts (for the evening program), and at the bar next to the Debate zone (for the debate program). Links for workshop registrations and information for fee payments will be available on krokodil.rs starting June 1.

The ticket price for the evening program in presale is 1000 Serbian dinars, while on the festival day it will be 1500 Serbian dinars.

The ticket price for students and pensioners is 800 Serbian dinars.

The daily ticket for debate programs is 1000 Serbian dinars.*

*Not mandatory

The organizer of the KROKODIL Festival is the KROKODIL Association.

The festival is supported by: ERSTE Stiftung, European Delegation in Serbia, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia, Swedish Embassy in Belgrade, Terre Solidaire, British Council in Serbia, European Commission through the Creative Europe program co-financing the CELA project, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Patronage of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, Polish Institute in Belgrade and hotel Moxy.

Program partners: Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade Center for Human Rights, Civic Initiatives, Veseli četvrtak, DAH Theater, Kreativni centar (Creative Centre), Patriot and Propeace.

Media support: Danas, Nova, Birn, LiceUlice, Tampon Zona, Radar.

Technical production: Production Pool.

*Sara Stridsberg’s appearance is part of the Literature Actually project supported by the British Council through the Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans project.

The “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs) is a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.

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The KROKODIL Festival (Literary Regional Gathering that Alleviates Boredom and Lethargy) is a literary festival that presents local, regional, and international literature in its full scope in a unique and original way—without generational, poetic, gender or any other exclusivity. With its modern and dynamic approach to presenting authors, featuring readings with the use of contemporary video and audio media, musical-stage performances, and a broad selection including poetry, prose, and dramatic texts, the KROKODIL festival has become one of the most attended literary events in the region since its inception in 2009. To date, sixteen summer festivals have been held as well as over twenty KROKODIL Festival guest appearances in nine European countries, with the participation of nearly five hundred authors from the country, region, and Europe.