The Subotica International Festival of Children's Theatres is an international festival dedicated to children's theatre.
The festival The festival is held annually in the third week of the month of May. It is of a competitive nature and festival awards are granted according to the evaluation of an international five-member jury. Both drama and puppet theatre productions are performed at the festival.
The official selection consists of twenty theatre performances in competition.
Besides official selections, the festival includes an accompanying programme encompassing street theatre, outdoor performances, festival performances throughout Serbia and in neighbouring Hungary, a film programme, scientific gatherings, exhibitions, puppetry workshops and publishing.
History The festival was founded in 1994 by Subotica Municipal Assembly (Vojvodina Province, Serbia). The creator of the festival and its manager (director and selector) to the present has been Slobodan Markovic. Since 2006 he has been working together with Olivera Mudrinić, current Executive Director.
The festival is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and the Provincial Department of Education and Culture. It is supported by the Municipality of Subotica and by numerous sponsors and donors. Executive producer of the festival is Subotica Open University.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia has proclaimed the festival as being of national significance, and for its accomplishments it has been awarded the greatest cultural acknowledgement in the Republic of Serbia – Vuk's Award.
Aims The stated aims of the festival are to: present the most valuable and artistically most relevant stage creations in domestic and foreign production for children. contribute to promotion of new and to further recognition of already realized cultural values on the international ground. bring nations closer and to preserve diversities of each culture as the source of our common wealth. encourage making friendships. provide exchange of experiences and to make creative connections. promote theatrical life for children and culture in general. provide the audience in Serbia with various international productions for children and youth of different age and social status.
Target audience Theatre artists and theoreticians; children up to 18 years of age; childminders, parents, carers and practitioners; everyone interested in theatre for children and young people, puppet theatre, or in the art of theatre in general.
Festival awards The following awards are made: Grand Prix for the best performance Best direction Best stage design Best original music Best puppet design Five equal prizes for acting skills
Each year the festival presents "Little Prince" Life Achievement Awards to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the development of culture and theatre art for children.
Participants Since its inception, the Festival has hosted more than 500 theatre productions from various parts of the world, including Europe and host country Serbia. About 400 have been presented in Official Selection, including:Festival Documentation & Catalog Archive
Albania National Puppet Theatre, Tirana (2004)
Armenia State Puppet Theatre named after Hovhannes Tumanyan, Yerevan (2011)
Australia Sydney Puppet Theatre, Sydney (2017)
Austria MOKI Theatre, Vienna (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) Puppet Theatre Trittbrettl, Pressbaum (2006) Karin Schäfer Figure Theatre, Neusiedl am See (2009, 2013)
Belarus Belarusian Theatre "Lialka", Vitebsk (1999, 2000, 2010) Mogilev Regional Puppet Theatre, Mogilev (2001) Minsk Regional Puppet Theatre "Batleyka", Molodechno (2003) Belarusian State Puppet Theatre, Minsk (2004) The Brest Puppet Theatre, Brest (2006, 2010) The Grodno Puppet Theatre, Grodno (2007, 2008, 2013)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Puppet Theatre, Mostar (2000, 2001, 2004, 2007) Puppet Theatre – Mostar, Mostar (2002) SARTR – Sarajevo War Theatre, Sarajevo (2003, 2005) Puppetry Studio Sarajevo & SARTR Theatre, Sarajevo (2016) Children's Theatre of Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
Brazil Opera na Mala Company, São Paulo (2011)
Bulgaria State Puppet Theatre, Silistra (1994) Central Puppet Theatre, Sofia (1998, 1999, 2005) Theatre "Atelie 313", Sofia (2004, 2007, 2009, 2011) State Puppet Theatre, Plovdiv (1995) State Puppet Theatre, Varna (1996, 2006) State Puppet Theatre, Vidin (1997, 2001, 2010, 2013) Konstantin Velichkov Drama And Puppet Theatre, Pazardzhik (2000, 2002, 2003) Vessel Theatre, Veliko Tarnovo (2014) Aladdin Theatre, Sofia (2017)
Canada Ombres Folles, Montreal (2016)
Chile David Zuazola Puppet Company, Santiago (2012)
China Marionette Theatre, Chaozhou (2000) Dandelion – The Chinese Children Puppeteer Troupe, Zhangzhou (2005) Zhangzhou Puppet Theatre (2006) Shanghai Puppet Theatre, Shanghai (2007)
Colombia Madretierra Theatrical Foundation, Palmira (2016)
Croatia Branko Mihaljević Children's Theatre, Osijek (2000, 2001, 2016) Zagreb Puppet Theatre, Zagreb (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015) Rijeka City Puppet Theatre, Rijeka (2005, 2008, 2013) Split City Puppet Theatre, Split (2007) Mala Scena Theatre, Zagreb (2012) Točka na i (Dotting the i), Zagreb (2017)
Czech Republic Puppet Theatre On The King's Road, Prague (1996) Drak Theatre, Hradec Králové (2003, 2005) The Naive Theatre, Liberec (2006) Alfa Theatre, Plzeň (2007, 2009) Pavel Vangeli – Actor and Puppets, Prague (2010) South Bohemian Theatre, České Budějovice (2011)
Egypt Cairo Puppet Theatre, Cairo (2012)
Estonia Estonian State Puppet Theatre, Tallinn (2006, 2008) Tuuleveski (Windmill) Theatre, Jõhvi (2014)
Finland Puppet Theatre Sampo, Helsinki (1996, 2003)
France Theatre Du Petit Miroir, Paris (2006) Pointure 23 Theatre, Paris (2007) Garin Trousseboeuf Company, Savenay (2008) Barbara Mélois, Charleville-Mézières (2009) Turak Theatre, Lyon (2010) Jean-Pierre Lescot Company, Fontenay-sous-Bois (2011) Bouffou Théâtre, Hennebont (2012) Le Lutin Company, Balma (2013)
Georgia Batumi Puppet and Youth Professional State Theatre, Batumi (2014)
Germany Magdeburg Puppet Theatre, Magdeburg (1996) Waidspeicher Theatre, Erfurt (1998) Puppet Theatre, Erfurt (2003) Das Weite Theater, Berlin (2000, 2011) Maer (Fairy Tale) Theatre, Hamburg (2002) Theaterwerkstatt (Theatre Workshop), Hanover (2004) Handgemenge Theatre, Berlin (2007) Theater des Lachens, Frankfurt (Oder) (2015)
Greece Puppet Theatre Tiritomba, Larissa (1999, 2000) Marionette Company, Vasiliki (2005) Hop Signor Puppet Theatre, Athens (2015)
Hungary "Kolibri" Theatre, Budapest (1994, 1995, 1999) Budapest Puppet Theatre, Budapest (1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014) Hattyu-Dal (Swan's Song) Theatre, Budapest (2002) Levendula Theatre, Pécs (1998) Ciroka Puppet Theatre, Kecskemét (2000, 2004, 2012) Vojtina Puppet Theatre, Debrecen (2001, 2006) Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre, Szeged (2008, 2010, 2012) Bóbita Puppet Theatre, Pécs (2009, 2013, 2017) Inversedance – Zoltan Fodor Company, Budapest (2015) Griff Puppet Theatre, Zalaegerszeg (2017)
India Vinod Bhatt & Party, Jaipur, Rajasthan (2014) The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, New Delhi (2015)
Iran Apple Tree Group, Tehran (2007) Ariya Theatre, Tehran (2011) Deemak Theatre, Tehran (2017)
Israel "Koom-Koom" Theatre, Jerusalem (2006) The Galilee Multicultural Theatre, DN Merom Hagalil (2009) The Orna Porat Theatre for Children and Youth, Tel Aviv (2010)
Italy Piccoli Di Podrecca, Trieste (2003) Di Pietro – Colombaioni, Rome (2000) Teatro Dei Piedi, Rome (2006) Tieffeu – Teatro Figura Umbro, Perugia (2002) Giullare Little Theatre, Bologna (2005) Figli D'arte (Children Of Art) Cuticchio, Palermo (1998) Zaches Theatre, Scandicci (2011, 2015) Teatro Verde Company, Rome (2012) La Capra Ballerina, Acquapendente (2013)
Japan / Czech Republic Nori Sawa's Art Theatre, Sapporo / Prague (2009)
Japan Yuki☆Puppet Works, Kamakura (2013) Theatre Genre : Gray = Grotesque by Egoistic Objects and Servantlike Bodies, Tokyo (2014, 2015)
Kazakhstan Alakay Puppet Theatre, Aktobe (2011)
Latvia Latvian State Puppet Theatre, Riga (2005)
Lithuania Puppet Theatre, Kaunas (2002) Vilnius Theatre "Lele", Vilnius (2005)
Republic of Macedonia Children And Youth Theatre, Skopje (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2013)
Mexico Muf Theatre, Mexico City (1996) La Cucaracha Puppet Theatre, Jalisco (2015)
Moldova Marionette Theatre, Chişinău (2001) Republican Puppet Theatre "Licurici", Chişinău (2004)
Montenegro Children's Theatre, Podgorica (1994, 1997, 1999) Podgorica City Theatre, Podgorica (2001, 2014, 2015, 2016) Theatre of Nikšic, Nikšic (2000)
Norway The Puppet Theatre of the Cat, Tønsberg (2015)
Peru / Great Britain Jose Navarro, Lima / London (2011)
Poland "Guliwer" Puppet Theatre, Warsaw (1996, 2005, 2008, 2013) "Rabcio" State Puppet Theatre, Rabka (1995, 1998, 2000) Opole Puppet Theatre, Opole (1997) Actor And Puppet Theatre, Łomża (1999, 2008, 2015) Conieco Puppet Theatre, Białystok (2001, 2004) Tecza Puppet Theatre, Słupsk (2002) Animation Theatre, Poznań (2003) Maska Theatre, Rzeszów (2006, 2009, 2010) K3 Theatre, Białystok (2007) Olsztyn Puppet Theatre, Olsztyn (2011) The Puppet and Actor Theatre of Wałbrzych (2012) Białystok Puppet Theatre, Białystok (2014) "Baj" Theatre, Warsaw (2016)
Romania Puppet Theatre "Colibri", Craiova (1994, 2003, 2004, 2006) National Theatre Craiova (2006) "Tândărica" Puppet Theatre, Bucharest (1995, 1996, 2010, 2012) Ariel Theatre, Târgu Mureş (1997, 2011, 2016) Gong Theatre, Sibiu (1999) "Vasilache" Puppet Theatre, Botoşani (2001) Csiky Gergely State Theatre, Timișoara (2002) Baia Mare Puppet Theatre, Baia Mare (2005, 2009) Puck Puppet Theatre, Cluj-Napoca (2007, 2017) Arlechino Children's Theater, Brașov (2008) Hungarian Theatre – Lilliput Troupe, Oradea (2011) Prichindel Puppet Theatre, Alba Iulia (2012) Ilona Hrestic, Bucharest (2014) Ioan Slavici Classical Theatre, Arad (2015) Ion Creanga Theatre, Bucharest (2016)
Russia "N.P. Akimov" State Academic Comedy Theatre, Saint Petersburg (1994) "V. F. Kommissarzhevskaya" Drama Theatre, St. Petersburg (1995) Saint Petersburg State Children's Drama Theatre "On the Neva", Saint Petersburg (1996, 1999) "Kukolny Dom" ("Puppets' Home") Puppet Theatre, Saint Petersburg (2004) St. Petersburg "Sobachka" ("Little Stray Dog") Puppet Theatre, St. Petersburg (2006) Astrahan State Puppet Theatre, Astrahan (2000) "Kolobok" ("Little Round Bun") Puppet Theatre, Volgograd (2001, 2002, 2014) Murmansk Regional Puppet Theatre, Murmansk (2003) Puppet Theatre "Puppets And People", Moscow (2005) Kamchatka Regional Puppet Theatre, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (2007) The Omsk State Theatre of Puppet, Actor and Mask "Arlekin", Omsk (2008) Saint Petersburg State Theatre of Musical Comedy, Saint Petersburg (2008) Penza Regional Puppet Theatre "Kukolny Dom", Penza (2009, 2010) Khakassian National Puppet Theatre "Skazka", Abakan (2009) Ekaterinburg Puppet Theatre, Ekaterinburg (2010) Sakhalin Puppet Theatre, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (2010) The Kalmyk Republic Theatre for Youth "Dzhangar", Elista (2010) Irkutsk Regional Puppet Theatre "Aistenok", Irkutsk (2011) Krasnoyarsk Puppet Theatre, Krasnoyarsk (2011) Belgorod State Puppet Theatre, Belgorod (2012) Kostroma Puppet Theatre, Kostroma (2012) Kursk State Puppet Theatre, Kursk (2012) Drama Theatre "On the Left Bank", Novosibirsk (2012) Theatre for the Young Audience of the Sakha Republic, Yakutsk (2012) Tomsk Puppet and Actor Theatre "Skomorokh", Tomsk (2013) Vologda Regional Puppet Theatre "Teremok", Vologda (2013, 2017) State Puppet Theatre "Ulger", Ulan-Ude (2013) Ivanovo Puppet Theatre, Ivanovo (2014) The Northern Stage Theatre, Novy Urengoy (2015) Samara Puppet Theatre, Samara (2015) "Karabaska" Theatre, Perm (2016) "Folding Giraffe" Theatre, Saint Petersburg (2016) The Tula State Puppet Theatre, Tula (2017)
Serbia