The Meeting of the Islamic World Theater Union was held in 2023 FITF

The meeting of the Islamic World Theater Union was held Sunday morning, Jan.29, on the 10th day of the 41st FITF, with the presence and speech of Hassan Rahimpour- Azghadi in the City Theater Complex.

The meeting of the Islamic World Theater Union was held with the presence of guests and officials: Kazem Nazari (Director General of Performing Arts and Chairman of the Founding Board of the Islamic World Theater Union), Ahmad Hassan Moussa from Iraq, Jamal Garmi (theater director and head of the artistic department of the National Theater of Algeria), Sadegh Rashidi from Iran. Ezzeddin Abbasi (head of the Tunis University of Fine Arts), Jalila Fahdi from Oman, Adel Shams from Bahrain and Kourosh Zarei (theater director and secretary of the 41st Fadjr International Theater Festival) as founding members of the Islamic World Theater Union.

Kazem Nazari, director general of performing arts of Culture Minister, said: I hope that good things will happen in this international consensus of the Islamic World Theater Union. There is a theater union of European countries in UNESCO, but there was a lack of such a union for Islamic countries with this capacity and potential. And we hope that we will be able to form this union with the cooperation of the festival guests, so that it has a constitution, a guideline, and members who can provide education in performing arts, networking between countries and members, as well as Sustainability in performing arts and macro planning in the field of drama and theater.

Then the poster of this cultural event was unveiled. Kourosh Zarei, secretary of the 41st Fadjr International Theater Festival, was the next speaker of this meeting.

"Theater is a medium that brings us closer to each other, and also allows us to agree on a common and global message and a word of peace and friendship. Islamic countries have made significant progress in economy, industry and construction. . Like industry, economy and all elements needed by people, art and theater must develop. If we are together, we will achieve this progress in art. Theater is the art of dialogue and conversation between civilizations. With theater, we can create human harmony between the cultures and customs of both Islamic and non-Islamic countries.

Theater is the only art that just deals with human beings and human values and ethics; Because human produves theater, the subject of theater is man and the beneficiary of theater is man. This triangle is made up of people with great people and moral thoughts, something that has been lost in the world today and we can."

Hassan Rahimpour- Azghadi, a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was present as a special guest and speaker in this event.

"There should be a discussion about the concept of Meeting of the Islamic World Theater Union because it is the first time we have gathered together. As long as theater and cinema universities in the Islamic world do nothing but translate and the works that are translated are without sources, we will not have anything called the theater of the Islamic world."

"Ontology, anthropology, moral philosophy and legal philosophy are all influential in making the content and art that is offered."

He continued: "We have been told that art has nothing to do with commitment and ideology, but today you will not see any work in cinema and theater in the world that is not ideological. We say that art has nothing to do with morality, but in today's society we see anti-moral art."

This expert stated: In the field of aesthetics, tangible beauty has been divided from reasonable beauty. Although both form and content should be beautiful. . You cannot bring a vile content into an art form. This is a betrayal of beauty. We have to reproduce our own beliefs, worldview and anthropology as well as Islamic ethics and moral philosophy with new thinking, far from deviating towards westernization or easternization. Otherwise, civilization cannot be built without theater or new cinema.

The 2023 FITF is underway in Tehran until January 31. The festival is presided over by Iranian actor and director  Kourosh Zarei