They Are All Gone (Balkan Showcase) – December 4-7

ABOUT

This play examines the position of all of us in the audience—how we understand and relate to those who survived the genocide in Srebrenica. It is the artistic way of questioning and trying to understand the fates and consequences of the wars that took place across the former Yugoslavia. You will meet Sadika, a fictional character, and her family—also fictional—whom she lost and never really had. Can people truly continue to live if we remember them? And what happens if we forget? Now, as this play is being created and performed, people in the Balkans are once again hearing similar voices—those who hate, who spread fear, and who deepen the consequences of a war that ended thirty years ago.

CREDITS

WRITTEN BY: Doruntina Basha
DIRECTED BY: Andrej Nosov
STARRING:
Mirjana Karanović
Svetozar Cvetković
Alban Ukaj
with voices of Maja Salkić, Davor Sabo, Kemal Rizvanović, Matea Mavrak, Hana Zrno, Sanin Milavić, Faruk Hajdarević, Alen Konjicija, Natalia Dmitrieva, Dino Hamidović
TRANSLATION: Alexandra Channer
SET DESIGN: Zorana Petrov
COSTUMES: Selena Orb
MUSIC: Draško Adžić
LIGHT DESIGN: Nemanja Calić
SOUND DESIGN: Nikola Erić, Luka Cvetko
TECHNICAL CREW: Nikola Erić, Luka Cvetko, Nađa Vukorep, Nemanja Calić
SOUND RECORDING: Mirza Tahirović/Studio “Chelia”
PRODUCTION: Aleksandra Lozanović, Selena Pleskonjić, Ksenija Milutinović
DRAMATURGICAL SUPPORT: Nejra Babić Halvadžija
PHOTOGRAPHY: Nebojša Babić
VISUAL DESIGN: Ismar Žalica

TRANSLATOR: Alexandra Channer Producer Heartefact (Serbia), Coproducers Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and My Balkans in collaboration with Allianz Foundation, Ibsen Scope 2022 Winner, Creative Europe, Sigrid Rausing Trust.

BIOS

Mirjana Karanović is one of the most acclaimed and influential Serbian actresses, as well as a director, screenwriter, educator, and human rights advocate. She was born on January 28, 1957, in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, and graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of Arts in Belgrade.

She made a powerful film debut in 1980 with the lead role in Petrijin venac (Petrija’s Wreath), which brought her instant acclaim and established her as a major talent in Yugoslav cinema. Her international breakthrough came with When Father Was Away on Business (1985), directed by Emir Kusturica, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Over the decades, Karanović has built a remarkable body of work, collaborating with prominent directors including Goran Paskaljević (Cabaret Balkan), Jasmila Žbanić (Grbavica, Quo Vadis, Aida?), and Miloš Radović. Her performance in Grbavica (2006), where she portrayed a woman confronting the trauma of wartime sexual violence, earned her widespread international recognition and a nomination for Best Actress at the European Film Awards.

She made history in 2003 by becoming the first Serbian actor to appear in a Croatian film after the breakup of Yugoslavia, taking a courageous role in Witnesses (Svjedoci), directed by Vinko Brešan.

In 2016, Karanović made her directorial and screenwriting debut with A Good Wife (Dobra žena), a poignant film exploring personal responsibility and moral awakening in post-war Serbia. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was widely praised for its sensitivity and bravery.

Beyond her artistic achievements, Karanović is widely respected for her activism. She has been a vocal advocate for the rights of women, survivors of wartime sexual violence, the LGBTQ+ community, and broader issues of reconciliation and social justice in the Balkans. She has consistently used her public platform to confront nationalism and discrimination.

From 2001 to her retirement, she taught acting at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade, where she also served as dean, mentoring generations of young actors with dedication and integrity.

Karanović has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, including the Golden Arena for Best Actress at the Pula Film Festival, the Heart of Sarajevo Award, the Miloš Žutić Award, and several lifetime achievement recognitions. In 2021, she was awarded the Alpes-Maritimes Prize at the Cannes Rendez-vous with French Cinema for her contribution to European film and human rights.

Mirjana Karanović remains a symbol of artistic excellence and moral courage in the region and beyond. 

She has collaborated with Heartefact since 2013 on several productions: Hunger (2013, directed by Andrej Nosov), Ghosts (2015, directed by Andrej Nosov), JuliJA (2017, based on Miss Julie, directed by Mirjana Karanović), Kiddo (2018, directed by Andrej Nosov), They Are All Gone (2025, directed by Andrej Nosov).

SVETOZAR CVETKOVIĆ – He was born in Belgrade. He graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 1980. That same year, he joined the ensemble of Atelje 212 Theater, where he still works as an actor. In the meantime, he has collaborated with numerous theater troupes and theaters in Zagreb, Novi Sad, Maribor, Split, Sombor, Sarajevo, Budva, and Podgorica.

He has acted in over 100 feature films, TV series, and TV dramas, mostly produced in the former Yugoslavia and Serbia, with some made abroad. He worked with film directors who significantly shaped Yugoslav cinema – Živojin Pavlović, Stole Popov, Dušan Makavejev, Goran Paskaljević, Miša Radivojević, Aleksandar Petković, Goran Marković – as well as with prominent international and regional filmmakers such as Franco Rossi, Enki Bilal, Goran Rebić, Srđan Vuletić, and Dimitri de Clercq.

He has performed in various theatrical productions across Yugoslavia, as well as in Canada, Austria, Switzerland, England, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Over the past 40 years, he has received numerous awards for his acting at all major festivals in Yugoslavia and Serbia, both in film and theater – including three Sterija Awards.

He won the Best Actor award at the Magdeburg Festival in 1994 for the film Gorilla Bathes at Noon, as well as the Critics’ Award for Best Actor in Houston for the film You Go to My Head.

At Atelje 212 and other theaters across the country, he has performed over 50 significant roles in modern theater repertoire, working with the most important directors of the domestic theater scene – Dejan Mijač, Tomaž Pandur, Vida Ognjenović, Ljubomir Draškić, Alisa Stojanović, Nikita Milivojević, Jagoš Marković, Boris Liješević, Ana Tomović, Tomi Janežič, Zoran Ratković, Mira Trailović…

He participated in producing and organizing the renewal of collaborations with theaters across Southeast Europe, including the Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana, HKD Rijeka, the Drama Theater of Skopje, and Chamber Theater 55 in Sarajevo.

In 1997, he was appointed by the Assembly of the City of Belgrade as the director of Atelje 212 Theater, a position he held for 12 years, until the end of June 2009.

Since 2005, he has been the founder and owner of the production company Testament Films d.o.o. based in Belgrade, which has produced five films:
Awakening from the Dead (2004), The Rejected (2006), The Tour (2008), How the Germans Stole My Father (2011), and The Multitude and the Minority (2016).

For his work in film, he has received not only acting awards but also awards for best annual productions, as judged by the YU FIPRESCI jury for Awakening from the Dead and The Tour, as well as international awards for both films.

He is the recipient of the Pavle Vuisić Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film.

He is also the recipient of the Sterija Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theater Arts.

He is a member of the European Film Academy (EFA) and is a permanent member of the ensemble at Atelje 212 Theater.

He has collaborated with Heartefact since 2014 on the production of the play This Grave is Too Small for Me (directed by Dino Mustafić), then in 2024 on the production of How I Learned to Drive (directed by Tara Manić), as well as on the production of They Are All Gone (2025, directed by Andrej Nosov).