How we won Ibiza
Between 24-29th May 2011 Ibiza hosted the 4th International Music Summit where the Republic was taking part as a speaker. KAZANTIP IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK was the subject of our talk, because, first off, we meant to explain plainly that Kazantip is not a festival. During the performance the reps of the Republic’s honour, minister of music culture Yuriy Marychev, and of propaganda, Andrew Goshva showed the music elite a popular-science film on the subject that we had prepared especially for the Summit and other works of the national movie studio. With their performance they did not just let the world public know what it is dealing with — not just some festival, but a great power whose might (and the force of imagination) is incontestable; they taught it a little lesson — how and where to dance in order to be successful.
The President Nikita Marshunok, who had been announced among the speakers, was not able to attend the Summit in person, which didn’t hurt him to hit it big with two-and-a-half-minute video-address that you can acquaint yourself with here. Having explained all our non-festivalness, we never gave the Summit audience an unambiguous answer to ‘Whatever is Kazantip?’ — we just afforded everyone the opportunity to work out this deeply personal issue on their own. And yet, the result of our performance was really striking. The audience rose in prolonged applause. During the questions-answers process, the leaders of public opinion were grabbing the mic just to say that ‘after THIS all other performances and projects look and sound silly’. For yet more two hours the ministers were answering the question ‘how to play at Kazantip?!’ As a result, we opened up important partnerships with different countries, and the world public concurred that ‘there are only three unique and noteworthy projects on the planet: Burning Man, Glastonbury and Kazantip.’ By the way, the Burning Man reps will pay an official visit to the Republic this year.
It is safe to say that we did not just win Ibiza—we came much closer to world supremacy. Which, as you remember, we’re going to achieve through peaceful means, gathering all the brightest, smartest and most talented people of the planet. We plan to accomplish that to the 20th anniversary of the Republic.
Kazantip is not what you think
In our popular-science film we’re going to acquaint you with the mysterious phenomenon of the Kazantip Republic. The whole point is this: whatever you think, the Kazantip Republic is not what you think. Hope, we explain it unclear enough?
As you know, the Kazantip Republic is a formally non-existent state that cannot be found on any world map. And yet it is – ask anyone who’s been here. The fact of non-existence makes the Republic extremely independent of the rest-of-world laws and absolutely, absolutely invincible.
It may be said that we belong the parallel reality and just throw somewhat of a shadow on the world surface. But those who tried to fight a shadow know it’s anything, but simple – the shadow never gives a shit. It’s hard to beat something that doesn’t exist, but in some weird way keeps on living in hearts, in dreams, in aspiration…
So it is valid to say that the main secret weapon of the Kazantip Republic is imagination. From there it may seem that there is no Kazantip. But just imagine it exists, and here it is! In general, what the Kazantip Republic is depends only on your imagination. Let’s consider some examples.
For instance, music festival organisers believe that Kazantip is a large, well-done international music festival and there is no shame in giving some prestigious award for it. DJs believe that Kazantip is the best beach discothèque with an incredible atmosphere and the most grateful public. Oh, and just guess what frustrated sex-tourists believe! They believe that Kazantip is their embodied erotic dream with leggy beauties lusting for them to spread for. Not overburdened with fancy party animals believe that Kazantip is one endless party where they can thoughtlessly hang out 24/7.
As you can see, Kazantip for most people is just a reflection of what they really are. This is a sort of phenomenon too: though the Kazantip Republic is something of a world behind the looking-glass, you can see your true reflection in it.
However, there is one more class of people — they are hundreds of thousands and they consider themselves a great nation of a small, but grandiose country with the highest ratio of happy people and the lowest ratio of idiots. They do their constitutional duty, trying to find their own harmless way of being happy and to become from the ones they are the ones they could really be. They believe in the reality of miracles, every day they bid farewell to the sun and express their appreciation for the past day through applause, make wishes, when in love climb the stairway to heaven, learn to fly, develop Mars, make believe that they’re princesses, psychos and robots, dye suitcases yellow, cherish visas like a holy relic, cry when they leave and throughout long winters miss their small homeland.
For all these people, the Kazantip Republic is a beautiful, kind and funny world of their dreams and it’s absolutely real, as real as… well, you know, as any other embodied dream. It would be no exaggeration to say that these are exactly them who the Kazantip Republic owes its existence to.
There is yet another, quite radical point of view toward the Kazantip phenomenon. At times, the President of the Kazantip Republic who founded it nineteen years ago throws out the Zen ideas like ‘There is no Kazantip and there has never been. You were just dreaming and you still are.’ On the one hand, he knows better. On the other, it’s not a fact. As you remember, the question ‘whether it was lao-zi who had dreamt the butterfly or the butterfly dreaming lao-zi’ has no unambiguous answer. Therefore, all we can say summing up the film is
KAZANTIP IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK
BUT AT TIMES WHAT YOU DREAM ABOUT
Official Statement of The Kazantip President Nikita Marshunok
Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I extend my sincere apology for not being able to attend the summit – weighty matters of national importance didn’t allow me to join you. Namely, the process of building a warm future for the Republic. As you can see in our film, the current landscape could make you think that there’s no Kazantip. However, it is and it’s being built at the moment and requires my participation.
If I could’ve been with you, what would I say within my allowed 5 minutes?
Perhaps, I would once again repeat that Kazantip is not a festival. Once, about 15 years ago, we were a ‘festival of everything related to summer, sea and so on’, but we grew out of this little pants a long while ago. As soon as I realized that the form of a music festival was boring and done for. Everything is changing – music, market, audience, and in order to remain interesting — not only for rotating generations of teenagers, but also for a growing up audience – we need a strong and beautiful idea. To love and to live with. If you have a game for the audience to play for years on end, you’ll get the right audience that will make it on its own. That is why Kazantip is not a festival, but a republic. Not just ‘hanging out’ for clubbers from around the world to get in and have fun. It’s a place where the great nation is living, playing, dreaming, creating, rebelling, criticizing the social system and missing it, and coming back like coming back home. For almost 20 years.
But you know, despite an understanding of marking mechanisms, sometimes I look upon all this and think it’s a miracle that has been happening for a long time beyond my taking part in it. I just settle the space that they fill with their energy and turn out the light and music.
Something like that.
Credits:
Natasha Kto Nado — concept, copywriting, tape сo-director, voice-over producer.
Oleksandr Demianenko — DP, camera, tape director, sound, postproduction.
Dmitry Oparin, Maxim Melnik — camera.
Olesya Gordeeva, Kirill Cherenkov — voice-over.
Mara Fauque — design.
* russian version of the whole IMS film and performance is here >>
