June 1, 2018 - "Like scum, we love relaxation by the sea and a relaxed way of life. I think that the meaning of the program itself confirms the name of the event. This is a three-day festival that starts today at 8.30pm on the stairway from the port of Škver to the city center of Herceg Novi. The event entirely takes place on the cult stairs, as they are the most famous stairs to the older citizens of Boka known as the center of alternative culture. For decades, it was the Studio club, and the current Prostorija club is our venue and our partner in the organization of the MORZ festival," announces the beginning of the first edition of a new cultural event in Herceg Novi Sofija Popović from NGO Alternaut. MORZ in Montenegrin means “scum”, and the acronym comes from “Morski Ritam Života” which means “The Marine Rhythm of Life."
Festival MORZ brings many music, film and art programs, and the entrance to all programs is free. After the official opening of the festival, scheduled at the Stairway of October 28, at 8.30pm, a large regional exhibition will be opened this evening, featuring works by 25 visual artists from the former Yugoslavia, led by illustrator Vanja Vikalo from Herceg Novi, his colleague Miron Milić from Zagreb and Aleksandar Jestrović-Jamesdin, a Belgradian who built his career in Berlin.
Two documentary films are planned to be screened tonight. Ivan Salatić's "Yard" is the only Montenegrin film achievement that has ever represented Montenegro in the prestigious Venetian Mostra. Bruce Brown’s documentary 'Endless Summer' is a cult achievement in the context of pop culture, which talks about two surfers traveling the world and seeking a forever summer and perfect waves.
"This is a cult story of two California fellows who traveled the world, from Australia, across Hawaii, to Africa. They did not come to Europe but had spread their passion for surfing and surfing music all over the world, including Europe. I think it will be exciting for viewers to look at this movie and maybe recognize some of the Bokelian lifestyles in those longtime California odysseys," says Sofija Popovic, whose organization Alternaut stands behind the viral Herceg Novi Cool site, dedicated to culture and art at times the most popular gathering place for Yugoslav artists.
At 11pm, which is a standard term for concerts within MORZ, Dukat Stray, currently the most favorite songwriter in the former Yugoslavia, American pioneer and front man of the band Stray Dogg, will perform tonight. Sofia emphasizes: "This is an artist who filled the Belgrade Sava Hall center and Lisinski Hall in Zagreb. We hope he will attract a large audience to our stairs."
The film program, within which films will have a theme or scenery of the sea, is realized in cooperation with the Montenegrin Cinematheque. Children are not forgotten either. "We have succeeded in working with our partner to select an interesting series of works of the Seventh Art, which a common to deal with the sea in one way or another. On Saturday, in the interior of Prostorija, we will see the “Seventh Continent” film from 7pm. This is the film by Dusan Vukotic, the only Montenegrin Oskar winner. It is a modernist, science-fantasy film about a group of children who discovered a new continent and moved there without parents. The was filmed in Ulcinj and Rijeka, and it is interesting to note that children from all over the world participated in the filming, the daughters and sons of foreign diplomats who worked in Yugoslavia at the time, and children who deliberately went to the filming," explains Sofia. Two hours later, 'Life Aquatic' follows.
This is a Wes Anderson film featuring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchet, Jeff Goldblum and others. The movie finely and lovingly parses the life of Jacques Yves Cousteau, the famous French adventurer, and his journey to the famous Calypso boat. "The second evening of the festival will remain in this humorous and cheerful tune, also with the performance of musician Miki Solus from Zagreb. He plays an acoustic tail featuring energetic and fast jazz/punk elements. He is a great piano player, but is best known for his witty texts, which often rely on Yugoslav pop culture," explains cool Herceg Novi girl, Sofija Popović.
The last night of the festival, which Sofia says will be a little bit intense, will see 'To Catch a Thief', a romantic thriller of Alfred Hitchcock, played by Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, at 9pm.
"When it comes to tension, it's a typical Hitchcock movie, but it also carries a dose of romance. It was recorded on the French Riviera, and it is interesting to note that for this film, Grace Kelly was introduced to her future husband, Prince Reiner. Following is the appearance of a new princess of electronic sound, Belgrade's musican Sana Garić with her band. "It will be interesting for older audiences as well, because they will visit the sounds of the early 80's, while I think the younger audience will experience a totally realistic sound."
The organization of the MORZ festival, behind which stands Herceg Novi Cool (NGO Alternaut) and Cafe Prostorija, in partnership with the Montenegrin Cinematheque, was supported by the Tourism Organization of Herceg Novi, the Public Enterprise of the Sea, the Public Institution of Culture Herceg Fest, the Public Utility Company Herceg Novi, Blue line, Water Supply and Sewage System Herceg Novi, Azalea Maritime Agency, Guest House Tomanović, caffe-pizzeria “Al posto giusto”, the City Cafe
Herceg Novi, marketing company “Reklame Svijet”, Municipality of Herceg Novi, and Krušo Tavern.
