The puppet shows have been chosen from 14 submissions by a selecting board composed of Pupak Azimpur, Shahrzad Mobarhan and Davud Fat’hali Beigi.

The lineup includes “The Last Autumn Celebration” by Ali Jabbari, “Salim Khan Court” by Zahra Amini, “Salim Khan Court” by Safar-Ali Mohammadzadeh, “Salaman and Mobarak” by Mahmud Dehqan Harati, “Stay in the Jar” by Amir-Hossein Ensafi, “Favorite of the Stage” by Hossein Rabiei and “Korsibazi” by Mohammadreza Azadfar. 

As a prelude to the festival, Iranian expert Hamidreza Ardalan is also scheduled to hold an online workshop on Monday under the title “Puppets and Seven Rituals of Transmodernism”.

“The workshop centers on the seven words dot, letter, name, circle, repetition, silence and death. These words have been the turning points in the formation of human culture,” Ardalan has said. 

The festival will open with a tribute to puppet show director Golzar Mohammadi, who was the secretary of the 18th edition of the festival.

The 42-year-old puppeteer died in March 2020 after months of suffering from cancer.

Mohammadi was a graduate of theater and had directed several puppet shows, including “Tiba and Tibuni” and “King Jamshid and the Monster”.

The 17th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival was held in August 2018 with parents and children holding their dolls and puppets who joined a large carnival of puppets and walked from the Mina Dome at the Abbasabad Cultural Complex to Ab-o-Atash Park where the opening ceremony was held.

Live musical performances featuring songs from popular TV series and a vast collection of popular characters from puppet shows turned the opening ceremony into a joy-filled event.

Festival director Marzieh Borumand delivered a short speech wishing happiness for all, and asked people to resolve their problems through sympathy and compassion.

Borumand who was overwhelmed to see the large crowd of people at the opening ceremony hoped to hold the next edition in the Azadi Stadium next year.

She invited people to watch the puppet shows selected for the festival and said, “I am sure any individual regardless of tastes can find his/her own play to watch during the event.”

Puppeteer Azadeh Purmokhtar said, “We should not forget real life. Let’s give our children a chance to play with water and with soil. Green children are more creative. The sky of our puppets is blue.”

Source:Tehran Times