23/08/2025
Adriatic Animation expresses deep concern and outrage over the violent obstruction of the festival Nosi se in Benkovac on 22 August 2025. Threats, physical assaults, and intimidation directed at artists, organisers, journalists, and audiences cannot be tolerated in a society that calls itself democratic.
We strongly denounce the failure of the police to protect citizens and to uphold the basic principle of safety in public space. This silence in the face of violence undermines the rule of law and endangers everyone.
Art exists to provoke thought, open dialogue, and help us confront our collective history and present. To answer art with violence is to reject dialogue itself. It is also to misuse the memory of war and its victims in order to justify new aggression.
We call on institutions at every level—local, regional, and national—to condemn this attack and to guarantee that cultural events in Croatia can take place freely and safely.
Adriatic Animation stands firmly with the organisers of Nosi se, with Melita Vrsaljko and all those who were attacked, and with every artist and citizen who believes that Croatia deserves a society built on freedom, dialogue, and mutual respect.
