Among the numerous literary festivals held each year, Dedica stands out not only as one of the longest-running but also for its unique formula: the Festival focuses on a single author – a leading international literary figure – around whom to create an interlinked series of conversations and interviews, as well as theatre, cinema and musical performances: it is a densely-packed programme, but the individual events are spaced evenly so that the public is able to gain a better understanding of the author.
A “unicum” – a one-off event – which for the last twenty-four years has represented the very best of Italian literary events: this is the Dedica festival, whose original formula comprises an intense week-long programme of stage performances, conversations, cinema, music, art, books, and projects for children and families. The participants are immersed in the world of the author, who is the central theme around which each edition of the festival is constructed. In this way, Dedica offers the public a rare opportunity of sharing an exhaustive knowledge of the guest whose work is celebrated by the festival, going beyond his work per se to explore the thoughts, the cultural context and the various artistic forms expressed in his work in a variety of ways.
This year’s edition of the festival is dedicated to Atiq Rahimi, a Franco-Afghan writer, photographer and director who won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2008. A refined and sensitive storyteller with a style that is intense and essential, Atiq Rahimi describes dramatic topics such as pain, war, violence, oppression and the female condition in the context of his native country – though it is a context which, in light of recent history, is increasingly common throughout the world and may lead us to make a deeper analysis and perhaps a more general reflection.
The Dedica project, which is organized by Thesis Associazione Culturale, is sponsored by a number of public bodies and institutions – in particular the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, PromoTurismoFVG (Regional Tourist Board), the Municipality of Pordenone and the Fondazione Friuli foundation – and is staged with the support of several major private organizations: our special partners are Servizi CGN, Crédit Agricole FriulAdria and the Pordenone branch of UnipolSai Assicurazioni.
In memory of Angelo Cozzarini