How the rebellion on my island began
On the occasion of Šibenik City Day, on 29 September at 7 PM, the NKC Azimut Gallery will open Jan Zalović’s photography exhibition “Cartography of Silence – Cisterns”, created as part of the Invisible Pašman project.
Following the exhibition opening, the programme continues at 8 PM at Azimut Club with the premiere screening of the documentary film “How the Rebellion on My Island Began”, directed by Nikola Duper and organised by the PERISKA Association for Environmental Protection and the Promotion and Improvement of Life on the Island of Kaprije and Kolektiv 4B.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with the director, moderated by Šibenik journalist Jordanka Grubač Granik.
How the Rebellion on My Island Began
What does it mean today to defend an island as a place to live, rather than as a postcard image?
The film tells the story of the residents of Ilovik and their struggle against the Mrtvaška harbour construction project, as well as the consequences its implementation would have on their everyday lives, according to the islanders.
For the people of Ilovik, the connection with Mrtvaška Bay on the neighbouring island of Lošinj is not simply a matter of transport. Lošinj is their administrative centre, and the boat connection provides access to school, healthcare and other basic necessities. The planned prolonged closure of the harbour during construction, together with the way the new harbour was designed, prompted residents to organise and attempt to stop the project.
Over the course of nearly two years, the islanders gathered documentation, questioned the way the project had been prepared and implemented, and publicly raised concerns about decisions they believe threatened the quality of life of their community.
In the film, their story therefore reaches far beyond the boundaries of a single infrastructure project. It raises the question of how much say the people who actually live on islands have in decisions that directly shape their surroundings and everyday lives — and what happens when the interests of a local community and the plans of institutions find themselves on opposing sides.
It is precisely here that the story of Ilovik meets that of Kaprije.
For PERISKA, the experience of the Ilovik residents strongly parallels events on the Šibenik island of Kaprije, where residents spent years opposing the way a new ferry port project was being implemented. The opposition began with mass petitions in 2018 and, during 2023 and 2024, developed into a large number of protest actions.
Two different island communities and two different projects thus raise a very similar question: who decides what the future of an island will look like, and what role do the people who live there have in those decisions?
Following the screening, Jordanka Grubač Granik will discuss these issues with director Nikola Duper, broadening the conversation to the wider question of preserving islands as places of everyday life — rather than seeing them solely as spaces for infrastructure and tourism, or as picturesque postcard images.
7:00 PM – NKC Azimut Gallery
“Cartography of Silence – Cisterns”
Photography exhibition by Jan Zalović / Invisible Pašman project
In collaboration with KU Teatar od soli
8:00 PM – Azimut Club
“How the Rebellion on My Island Began”
Premiere screening of the documentary film
Guest: Director Nikola Duper
Conversation moderated by: Jordanka Grubač Granik
In collaboration with the PERISKA Association