"Cinderella" by the Italian theater Zakes, the best performance of the 29 th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica

On Friday, September 23, the 29 th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica ended with the closing ceremony and announcement of the award laureates at Subotica Children's Theater.

The jury consisting of Marijana Petrović (Serbia) - president, Cliodhna Noonan (Ireland) and Victor Lyvovich Schreiman (Israel, Russia) awarded the Grand Prix of the Festival for the best play as a whole to the play "Cinderella" directed by Luana Gramegna from Italian Theater Zakes.

Cliodhna Noonan read the explanation of the award on behalf of the jury: "Imaginative powerful play with accurate directorial solutions. All components of the play: acting, choreography, music, scenography, puppets, light are intertwined and complement each other. They are harmonized, unique, subordinated to the director's idea. The performance is a solid unity of all stage components - a harmony of synergy. Discipline, the art of animation, the plasticity of the body, the concentration and the acting of the performers created a powerful and striking stage magic".

A special prize for originality and fantasy was awarded to the performance by Tamara Kučinović - "The Wolf which Smelled of Berries" by the Children's Theater of the Republika Srpska.

"This work deals with the fears of many young people entering the adult world. It would be a real blessing if we all received as much care, patience and support as the main character received from his pack. Strong metaphors about life, isolation, suffering and depression, solved by caring for people, are excellent in this play", says the explanation of the jury read by Noonan.

Tamara Kučinović thanked for the award and said: "It is terribly important that we start speaking very loudly to young people about life, with absolutely all its colors - both dark and light, and that we are not afraid of it because children are eager to see it."

The award for the best director was awarded to Luana Gramegna, for the direction of the play "Cinderella" performed by the Zakes Theater from Italy.

Isa Soto was awarded for the best scenography, for the play "New Shoes" by Tian Gombau Theater - The Drawn Man from Spain.

Mariane Berthault was awarded for the best original music in the French play “SCOOOOOTCH!”.

The prize for the best aesthetic and technological solution of puppets was awarded to Isa Soto from the performance "New Shoes" by the Spanish theater Tian Gombau - The Drawn Man from Spain.

Five equal awards for acting/animating excellence are awarded to: "Cinderella" by the Zakes Theater from Italy - Gianluca Gabriele, Amalia Ruocco and Enrica Zampetti for teamwork; Performances "Princess Rose and the Enchanted Eagle" by Tik Tak Nto Theater Company from Greece - Argiro Tamvakou, Athina Velimvasaki, Chris Kapenis for teamwork; Performance "…Broom, brrrm, brrrn…" performed by Bon Puppet Theater from Indonesia - Riyanti Wisnu Setyorini Putri, Mohammad Farras Togu Simanjuntak, Reisky Monita for teamwork; Tian Gombau for his role in the play "New Shoes" by Tian Gombau Theater - The Drawn Man from Spain; Szilárd Zádori for his role in the play "The Dream of the Fairy Moll" by the Harlequin Puppet Theater from Hungary.

The Young Jury of the 29 th International Children's Theater Festival, consisting of: Nika Vizin, Nađa Berecki, Iva Francišković, Mila Popov and Relja Miković, assigned the award for the best play to "A Little Match Girl" directed by Sonja Petrović and performed by the Novi Sad Youth Theater, Festival of Ecological Theaters for Children and Youth and "Freedom Has No Price" Association.

"We chose this play as the best primarily because of the topic, which is unusual in theater plays, and we think it is necessary to discuss it with a younger audience. The performance reached us, caused strong emotions and held our attention until the very end", reads the explanation of the Young Jury.

On behalf of the Youth Theatre, the award was received by the actors in the play, Kristina Savkov and Danilo Milovanović, who addressed the audience with the following words: "This award means a lot to us, especially since it comes from those for whom this play was made, namely children. We should not show them the world as a colorful lie. It is important that children can develop empathy through the pperformance and learn something new about people who are different, or maybe not, but just like them."

The young jury also praised the play "Cinderella" directed by Luana Gramegna and performed by the Zakes Theater from Italy, "because of the superb scenography that helped us experience the play".

On Friday, on the "Jadran" Stage of the National Theatre, was played the last performance in the Competition Program of the Festival "A Little Match Girl", co-produced by the Novi Sad Youth Theater, the Festival of Ecological Theater for Children and Youth and the Association "Freedom Has no Price". The play is based on a fairy tale about a girl who wanders the streets on New Year's Eve trying to sell matches, but fails. This author's project talks about the fate of forgotten and unloved street children who are victims of trafficking, and from whom society is moving away in parallel with the collective loss of empathy.

Director Sonja Petrović said about the play: "I think that children should be directed to talk openly about everything, even about these kinds of problems, because those children who live and work on the street face much harsher things than what the audience will see in the play. In that sense, I think it's okay to bear the burden of such a topic for the sake of a better world".

The main program featured 14 performances for children from all over the world, chosen by the Festival's programmer, Professor Dr. Zoran Đerić. Lifetime Achievement Awards "Little Prince", for outstanding contribution to the development of culture and performing arts for children, were presented at the opening of the Festival to actress Marijana Petrović and Victor Schreiman - a Russian and Israeli theater director, actor, pedagogue, critic, and one of the leading experts in puppet theater.

The International Forum for Theater Art Research for Children and Youth in Subotica from September 19 to 22 gathered theorists and theater researchers from 11 countries. The rich supporting program of the Festival included numerous exhibitions, workshops, book promotions, films and performances outside the Competition Program.

The realization of the Subotica International Children's Theater Festival was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture of AP Vojvodina and the City of Subotica.