Predrag Azdejković


Predrag Azdejković is a Serbian LGBT human rights activist, journalist, writer, filmmaker and theater producer. Azdejković is the director of the Gay Lesbian Info Center, and was the director of the Merlinka festival, until he resigned following comments described as transphobic. He is also the editor in chief of Serbian only gay magazine Optimist, and producer of several short films and documentaries and award-winning plays dedicated to LGBT Serbians. He is a member of the Journalists' Association of Serbia.

Biography

Predrag Azdejković was born on 15 July 1978 in Leonberg, West Germany.
Until his sixth year, he lived in Germany and in 1984 he moved to Serbia, which was then part of Yugoslavia. He is a founder of GayEcho web portal, editor of Rainbow column in Yellow Cab monthly guide, founder and editor in chief of the only Serbian gay magazine Optimist, and was for a time the director and selector of International queer film festival Merlinka. He wrote for several Serbian media such as daily Sutra, Borba, web portal E-novine, weekly Vreme, monthly Status, Beton. In 2006 he became VIP blogger at B92 blog. In 2006 he was included in the anthology Others - From patriarchal construction to alternative politics., edited by Boban Stojanović. He published a satirical book Time of hemorrhoids in 2011. In 2017 he co-edited the book ''I have something to say to you - Return from Brisbane and other stories''

Controversies

During his time with the Merlinka film festival, Azdejkovic was the subject of controversy over comments deemed offensive to transgender people. These included calling on social media for an elderly man who lost a testicle over the course of police torture in Novi Sad to be sent to box against professional boxer Imane Khelif. After this initial controversy, backers of the festival threatened to cancel funding.
Separately, his appointment to an overseeing body of the national television station was protested by journalists working there, who have since demanded he be removed from it, though this request was reportedly ignored.