In his speech, Bilandžić thanked the expert jury and all participants of the awarded production—director Kokan Mladenović, author Viktor Ivančić, and the acting and creative team.
“Thank you to the jury for recognizing the risk we are taking, for acknowledging this approach, above all for the future of Croatian theatre. I believe theatres must be spaces of exploration, confrontation, questioning, and of pointing out the critical and contentious issues of the society we live in. If not the national theatres, then who will dare to stage such productions? I thank the jury who, alongside their praise for the play, also credited the artistic leadership of CNT Split for its bold repertoire choices. I am also glad that, despite some warnings we received, in our society it is still not forbidden to say what, as the jury put it, ‘does not go with the grain’ of the times and customs. I hope that in the future, themes will be even more topical and authentic, and more importantly, more nationally intimate—serving to spark the catharses our society always needs. And no, let’s not criticize those who seemingly ‘go with the grain.’ I believe that in the long run they also want and can bring about collective change, and I want to believe they are working diligently toward it. May this award be an encouragement for them too, to be bold in the future.”

The award was unanimously decided by the HDKT jury consisting of Dubravka Crnojević-Carić, Kim Cuculić, and Petra Jelača. In their detailed explanation, the jury highlighted in particular the way the play combines a childlike playfulness with layered poetics of detail, simple yet striking stage solutions and collective dedication, its examination of the relationship between the personal and the social, as well as its courageous bringing of the neglected back into the spotlight.