In a time of social alienation, when people only think about the future and have no time for the present, any and all past-oriented events which provide an escape from the dregs of our modern day-to-day life are bound to sparkle the interest of Slavic Chronicles and our fans. Just Out does just that – they bring back to life a world long-forgotten, a world slower-paced, danger-ridden, a way of living which probably was as hard as today, but definitely more honorable and enjoyable. They bring a breath of fresh new air in these scorching days. And just like the brothers at Wolin, they give us great amounts of joy. In this interview, we will inquire into the what, when and how. Enjoy.
Slavic Chronicles: When does your festival take place and when did you guys start? Just Out: The Just Out festival is a yearly international festival from 25th to 27th August. It is held in the magnificent monastery of Manasija (pronounced mah-nuss-iya) and the magnificent fort surrounding it, only an hour and a half from Belgrade. This year will be the third year of the festival, and we expect around 70.000 visitors from all around the globe.
Just Out was established in August 2015, and even then we received ample attention for our quality content and a rich program, such as, for instance, the Shaolin monk performance.
SC: We’ve heard of you quite recently, and we immediately wanted to know more. What is the theme of your event?
JO: We have a unique concept called K.A.M.F:
Kfor Knights
A for Art \ medieval
M for Music\authentic
F for Future \ combine with history
Last year, the big effort we put in was recognized and we were awarded top accolades, The best new festival, and the Best virtual reality award. Our program, which is free of cost, is packed with performances of hundreds of knights, dancers, medieval-style archers, old crafts displays, and much more.
SC: Wonderful! How did you guys come up with the idea of organizing a festival of this kind?
JO: Serbia has some world-renowned festivals, such as Exit, Guča, Nishville Jazz festival, and so on. However, they are all about music, and on top of that, one must pay to enter. Exit, for example, charges 50 euros and upwards. Our team wanted to make something different. Inspired by what we feel is lacking in the modern world, we wished to show in a vivid manner the long-forgotten virtues – bravery, loyalty, a knight’s word…
Source Boris Jovanović
SC: What is your driving force? What motivates you to do this in the times we live in?
JO: What motivates us are our families, the fact that people recount on the experience they watched even months after it, and the grins of joy we see on children’s faces.
Just like the guys at FUN@FREE festival, we try to give the kids, who spend most of their time playing games on their phones, a chance to experience firsthand what it’s like to work in a smithy, get them to know the races of animals endemic to this land, we teach them how to shoot arrows from a bow. Our content is not limited to ancient skills – we use augmented reality to educate the public on how Despot Stefan Lazarevich, to whom the festival is dedicated, really looked like and who he was.
Source Boris Jovanović
SC: What particular activities comprise your event?
JO: Asthe backbone of the festival, we planned to bring some guests over. In fact, we had our audience vote between having the Samurai or the Vikings come. The Vikings won by a landslide. They will be hosted by the Beli Orlovi [White Eagles], a group of over 100 knights from Serbia, and by the Ska Team, the best stunt team in the world, also from Serbia. Our visitors will be able to witness old crafts displays, medieval dances performance by the Vagant theatre from Germany, a “knight’s village” which is filled with associated activities, see and shoot from a bow, tug of war and so on. In the evening, there will be a stage performance in front of the Manasija, with Slobodan Trkulja as a special guest.
SC: And who are the participants? Are they all from here, or are some of them from abroad as well? JO: So far, we’ve had participants come from as far as China – the Shaolin monks, to the neighboring Montenegro, which probably has less inhabitants than their smallest city. This year, there will be people coming from 20 countries: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Republic of Srpska, Croatia, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, and of course, China.
Source Boris Jovanović
SC: You seem to be growing quite rapidly. What impressions have you met with so far? JO: The reactions we got from our visitors have been outstanding! Some of them have come from thousands of kilometers away just to attend our festival, and they loved it. I would like to thank them all again for coming.
Unfortunately, the Municipality of Despotovac, where the Manasija monastery is located, fails to grasp the importance and magnitude of the festival. We hope they will rethink their stance in the future, because next year will be the 600th anniversary of the monastery’s foundation, upon which occasion we will hold a great celebration. The heads of state are supposed to attend it, and we also expect a record number of participants. What’s more, we would like Slavic Chronicles to come as well!
Source Boris Jovanović
Source Boris Jovanović
SC: Thank you for the invitation! We will be honored to come. Besides that, what are your further plans and goals?
JO: Our main goal is to keep the spirit of friendship alive among the knights representing their different nations and religions. In fact, even after the most vigorous of fights, which are all authentic, our knights take off their armor, weighing up to 40 kilograms, and finish with a hug regardless of the other’s faith or race. We also want to grow into the greatest family festival in the world which will cherish traditional values.
And lastly, we want to show, in these hard times for the whole world full of violence and insecurity, that we all can, and will, at least once a year, be humane, just like in the song “I am only human.”
SC: Thanks for this lovely conversation!
We encourage all our readers to go and visit the festival. For more info, contact the festival at their fb page or their website, or send us a question, we’ll be delighted to answer.
We would like to thank Boris Jovanović who has contributed to Slavic Chronicles by sharing his photos. You can contact him at borisjphotography@gmail.com
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