Communication with the world begins and ends through cultural communication

The show "Amal" from Iraq competes in the 41st Fadjr International Theater Festival, it has a bold and truthful approach to the issue of identity and human security in Iraq.

Iran Theater had a conversation with Dr. Ali Al-Sudani, Director of Theaters, Cinema and Theater Department in Iraq, director of the Baghdad International Theater Festival and head of the theater troupe, about the show "Amal", the experience of attending FITF.

Considering the facilities you had at the FITF in Iran, are you satisfied with the experience of performing the show in Iran?

- It was a wonderful experience. For our performance, the organizers of the festival chose Molavi Plateau, where everything is done very orderly, accurate and professionally. Definitely, all the facilities we needed for this performance were provided to us. This is a proof of the correct choice of the selection board of the festival theaters, which chose that hall for our show.

                                                       

Are you familiar with performing arts in Iran? How do you evaluate the status and quality of performing arts in Iran?

- I have seen very few shows from Iran. I saw very few plays this year, but in 2022 when fifty Iranian plays were submitted to the Baghdad International Theater Festival, I saw both strong and weak ones.

I saw shows that were really beautiful. In my opinion, there are two kinds of shows, public and independent. Sometimes independent shows are stronger than public shows and sometimes public shows are stronger than independent ones. Our two shows that were performed at the 2023 FITF, although they were introduced by the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and Arts, are actually independent shows.The weak point that I see is that, in my opinion, the show should not be in competition and under the microscope of a festival and the festivals should  not recognize the value of the shows, but the people themselves should have the microscope and recognize the quality of the shows. This is how it should be and this is very important to me.

What do you think about FITF? What achievements do you consider for holding this festival?

- Fadjr International Theater Festival has been held for 41 years and I am only one year older than FITF, because I am 42 years old. I had never heard anything about Iran's Fadjr Theater Festival in my entire life. When I met Morteza Mansouri in Iraq, I got to know the Fadjr Theater Festival. It should also be kept in mind that the festival is not the only place where the show is performed in a country; the festival means exporting culture and truth and changing the world's opinion towards the country. We have to be careful even in choosing theater critics. In this festival, there are guests from Arab countries and the world. We, the foreign participants in this festival, differ only in the regional situation, but we all agree about the love for Iran against its foreign enemy, and this is the secret of the victory of FITF. In order to win, we must find each other's mistakes and complete each other. FITF has started with strength and is still trying to continue with strength.  FITF is not just an event for performing plays; I see that what festival is doing today is actually one of the tasks and goals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Communication with the world begins and ends through cultural communication.It is the duty of all Iranian artists to support theater directors of Iran nowadays.After the end of the festival, a meeting should be held and talke about the shows and  past editions of festivals. This was one of the secrets of the success of the Baghdad Theater Festival. We may have disagreements, but we all agree on theater.

The 2023 FITF is underway the Iranian capital until January 31.