SADA Awards

Under the 51^st Week of Slovenian Drama, which is currently taking place in Kranj, The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists presented the awards for 2020 and 2021. The jury of experts comprising of Barbara Cerar, Rok Andres, and Branko Jordan (the president) awarded the prizes as follows.

The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists the "Marko Slodnjak" biennial award to director IVANA DJILAS for her artistic achievements in the field of theatre directing in the last two years. 
The eruptive life force of director Ivana Djilas, who tackles taboo topics and issues related to otherness, combines intimacy, magic, and social topics in her genre-diverse performances. She fearlessly interweaves drama narrative with live music, video, movement, puppets, and cabaret, yet she always maintains an intimate identification point that tends to transcend stereotypes. In the last two years, Ivana Djilas directed over ten performances, which are distinguished by well-versed ensemble performances and a different meta-theatrical language that she invents time and time again. 

The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists the "Duša Počkaj" biennial award to actress ANA FACCHINI for outstanding acting creations in the last two years.
The actress Ana Facchini, a member of the SNG Nova Gorica, has shown an exceptional and subtle sense for creating genre-diverse and in-depth dramatic figures in her rich acting career, especially in the past two years. She has created convincing and subtly designed performances may it be by acting-challenging, realistic, imaginative, or unrealistic characters that are both comic and dramatic. 

The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists the "Duša Počkaj" biennial award to actress NINA VALIČ for her exceptional acting creations in the last two years. 
The actress Nina Valič, a member of SNG Drama Ljubljana, enriches the work at each performance with her talent, personality, and attitude towards work. Her play is focused on the show as a whole and it is never intended to gain personal affirmation. The multifaceted nature of her stage personality affects all the viewer's senses and allows for instant identification with the character she is playing. In the mature period of her acting career, Nina Valič surprises with extremely interesting sides of her characters, which she shapes by consistently integrating into various production concepts, with a precise play and attention to the very last detail, as well as with her mature personality.

The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists the "Polde Bibič" award for lifetime achievements to DARJA HLAVKA GODINA. 
Darja Hlavka Godina has been creating as a music designer, composer and music editor at the Croatian Radio and at the RTV Slovenia since she was a student. In 1998, she joined the Editorial for Radio Drama Programme at the Radio-Television of Slovenia and (co)designed radio plays, documentary radio plays, literary, children and youth performances as a music designer. Many radio plays, in which she created a sound/music image, participated in important international radio (media) festivals (Prix Europa, Prix Italy, Prix Ex Aequo, Prix Marulić …). Many were awarded (e.g., Zgodbe nekega Hektorja in Stvari, ki jih je treba narediti pred smrtjo), made into the finals or were short-listed. The radio archive of the national radio contains hundreds of literary broadcasts, literary evenings, and radio plays, which were significantly refined by Darja Hlavka Godina’s artistic expression.
A special chapter of her rich creative path is the co-creation of performances, where she is recognized as an excellent music designer, music playwright and designer of the overall sound image. With her recognizable poetics, she co-created many performances, such as the Rdeča in Jaltska igra – Poigra (SNG Drama Ljubljana), Zgodbe vsakdanje norosti and Češnjev vrt (MGL), Na valovih (SSG Trieste), Helverjeva noč and Hilda (PG Kranj), as well as performances in other theatres. A special dedication can be seen in her collaboration with amateur theatergoers (Šentjakobsko gledališče Ljubljana) and in non-institutional projects. The performances, in which she participates, have received many awards and were included in festival programs. She collaborates with directors of different poetics and generations, which testifies to the staggering amplitude of her creative expression.

The Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists the "Marija Vera" lifetime achievement award to MARKO MLAČNIK. 
The actor, dancer, and choreographer Marko Mlačnik belongs to the generation of artists who occupy a special place in the history of Slovenian performing arts and Mlačnik is the personification of its thought and practice. Until his retirement, Marko Mlačnik was employed at the Mladinsko Theater, where he created a number of extraordinary and elaborate roles in important productions (Missa in a minor, Levitan, Razredni sovražnik, Ujetniki svobode, Strah in pogum, Šeherezada, Razredni sovražnik (Re-/de-/konstrukcija), Fragile! ...). The Mladinsko stage was marked by his accomplished creations and a refined and controlled movement.
An important part of his opus is his work at the Ljubljana Dance Theater (especially in the productions of Ksenija Hribar) and his participation in the cult projects of the Dragan Živadinov Theater (Krst pod Triglavom, Gravitacija 0, Noordung: 1995–2045, Odilo. Zatemnitev. Oratorij., REKA, REKA/ Syntapiens::IZ in Biokozmizem::izreka). Mlačnik has been the holder of Dragan Živadinov's retrogardist and post-gravitational theatrical repertoire since 1982. 
His artistic charge also extends to the international sphere, where a special place is occupied by the collaboration with the Dance Energy group from Munich and the Roma Theater Pralipe. One of the international highlights of his directing is certainly the guest performance Zadnji ples Nižinskega in the USA, where he regained fame amongst the professional and general public with an ascetically imaginative performance.

We sincerely congratulate all of this year's recipients.
Snippets from the ceremony can be viewed here.