58 theater troupes and 500 artists to attend

 

The press conference of Tehran-Mubarak International Puppet Festival was held on Saturday 10^th  of June with the presence of Kazem Nazari (Director General of Dramatic Arts), Hadi Hejazifar (Festival Secretary) and Esrafil Farajollahi (CEO of Iran Performing Arts Association) and the press. The official poster of the festival was unveiled which is designed by Marzieh Sarmeshghi and Rafat Hashemi Sisakhet and with the presence of Homa Jedikar and Hassan Dadshekar at the ceremony.

Hadi Hejazifar was the first speaker of the meeting who announced the date of the fesitval: The 19th Tehran-Mubarak International Puppet Festival will be held in Tehran from June 29 to July 8 with the participation of 58 domestic and foreign troupes and 500 guests.

Referring to the necessity of honoring the masters, he continued: " We will honor Mrs. Hema Jedikar and Mr. Hassan Dadshekar at the 2023 festival."

Seven foreign shows in the international section

Hejazifar explained about the international section: "We tried to invite the shows in which the topic of education is important especially in the international section. We received 120 requests in the international section, and with the delay in holding the festival and changes in the program of some groups, we finally accepted seven performances from the countries of Armenia, Turkey, Spain, Brazil and Peru."

The actor added: We are trying to create a platform for the activities of all puppet artists, because everywhere in the world, puppet shows are a lucrative field; But there is no such situation in our country.

Art for audiences of all ages

Hassan Dadshekar, a veteran artist, pointed out that the puppet show is not only for children: I hope that the puppet show will return to theaters and that this human language will flourish in our country so much that it will be considered as one of the Constructive phenomenon.

The actor added: When I see international works, I regret why we have not progressed. We can work better than foreign artists, but on the condition of accepting and exchanging ideas with each other.

 

The peaceful atmosphere of puppets

Hema Jedikar, a veteran teacher and director of puppet show said: "Puppet show is a serious  art and needs support. This art invests in humanization and its applications are very wide. The puppet show educates the next generation and allows us to educate children with complete tenderness.

She continued: "If the puppet show was active, we wouldn't be witnessing these traits of anger and frustration that we see in society. I hope that after the festival, by supporting the puppet show, conditions will be created so that the happy and peaceful atmosphere of the puppets will dominate all of us."

Puppet theater support fund is launched
Kazem Nazari, director general of Dramatic Arts, said: After the festival, a support fund for puppet theater will be launched and a special hall will be assigned to puppet shows.

He added: "Dr. Mahmoud Salari, deputy minister of culture, is also pursuing the construction of new theater halls. We ourselves want to build special theaters for puppet shows, and we hope to achieve good results by consulting the veteran artists of the puppet theater.