Nušićijada is an annual

comedy festival A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of c ...

held in the town of

Ivanjica ) , motto = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Serbia##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , pushpin_map = Serbia#Europe , coo ...

, in the Moravica region of southwestern

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

History

;1967–1972 The festival was founded in 1967 under the name "September in Ivanjica" ( sr-cyr, Септембар у Ивањици). It was organized on the initiative of Radovan Vasović, and it was envisioned as the festival of affirmation of large socialist companies which operated in Ivanjica. In the following year, the festival changed name to "Nušićijada" and ran as a celebration of film comedy from 1968 to 1972, which attracted the cultural elite of then

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The festival had a ''Round Scene with a Corner''. The festival bears the name of the famous Serbian comedy playwright,

Branislav Nušić Branislav Nušić ( sr-cyr, Бранислав Нушић, ; – 19 January 1938) was a Serbian playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant. Life Bra ...

, who used the sentence "You’re bound for Ivanjica!" as a punchline in his comedies, indicating the 19th century threat of exile to this town. Later it became the festival's slogan and the invitation to Ivanjica. In 1972, the festival ended. ;2010–2018 In 2008, a citizen petition to revive the festival was signed by over 10% of the population. A citizen organization named KudeS (Cultural Decentralization of Serbia) was formed and led the process of organizing the new festival. After the local Assembly adopted the proposal, the Municipality of Ivanjica, Ivanjica Culture Centre and Ivanjica Tourism Organisation joined the partnership, and these four organizations organised Nušićijada beginning in 2010. According to the organizers, the 2015 Nušićijada attracted more than 55,000 visitors, the highest number since its founding. The 2016 Nušićijada again attracted 55,000 visitors. ;2018–present In March 2018, the municipality's president and the local leader of ruling

Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling political party of Serbia since 2012. Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a s ...

made a decision to expel KudeS (the leader of the festival's revival and its main organizer) from the list of event's organizers. The move was widely seen as politically motivated, as the event's former participants have satirically mocked the

President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...

and leader of the Serbian Progressive Party

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić served ...

References

External links

* * * Recurring events established in 1968 1968 establishments in Yugoslavia Cultural festivals in Serbia Serbian culture Tourism in Serbia Summer events in Serbia {{Comedy-stub