Overview
- The festival's politically composed board vetoed his invitation, declaring Rau a “persona non grata” rather than objecting to the production, a move he denounced as censorship.
- Artistic director Miloš Lolić and his team resigned in protest, and the board that issued the decision subsequently dissolved.
- Organizers now say a 2025 edition is unlikely to proceed after an earlier postponement driven by public funding cuts and political pressure.
- Rau had been slated to present Der Prozess Pelicot, a documentary work co-created with Servane Dècle for Wiener Festwochen and the Avignon Festival.
- The dispute traces back to Rau’s 2024 Bitef speech criticizing a planned lithium mine, after which then-chief Nikita Milivojević’s contract was not renewed.