Skopje, 26 July 2023 (MIA) - Ministry of Culture is marking the 60th anniversary of the disastrous Skopje earthquake under the project entitled "Skopje at 5:17.” The programme features a series of events that will be held at different locations in the capital city.

The concert featuring Macedonian evergreen songs dedicated to Skopje was held late on Tuesday in Ibni Pajko park as part of the project.

The programme will continue today by the opening of Kiro Georgievski’s digital exhibition of the State Archives entitled "The Rise and Fall of Skopje" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje. The exhibition will be open from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Culture Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska is to open the exhibition and will present certificates of appreciation to the ambassadors from the donor countries following the disastrous earthquake.

President Stevo Pendarovski will also address the event, and on behalf of the diplomatic corps, the Polish Ambassador to North Macedonia, Krzysztof Grzelczyk, will deliver remarks, whose country donated the building project of the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje.

On this commemoration, the Cinematheque will show an extraordinary selection of short film journals of “Filmske Novosti” that were recorded after the earthquake.

The world restoration premiere screening of Dimitrie Osmanli's Memento will take place at 8 pm on Wednesday at the Cinematheque of North Macedonia. Memento poignantly portrays these historical events, the collective memory of the catastrophic earthquake, and the reconstruction of the trauma in an attempt to make sense of it. 

The story follows the brief encounter of local student Jana and German music conductor Willy Muller, on the day before the earthquake. Three years later, Muller returns to Skopje to participate in the Solidarity Meetings and tries to meet her again. Their subsequent discussions offer a reflection on memory, loss and healing.

Moreover, Skopje Light Art District team will perform audiovisual installations with laser projection and 3D mapping as an illustrative display of the earthquake and reconstruction at the building of Telecommunication Centre and the Postal Center.

A multimedia event featuring art exhibitions, film screenings, visual art and music program, club music, an event for the urban and modern Skopje will be held in the Museum of the City of Skopje.

Photo: Ministry of Culture/ Cinematheque of North Macedonia