“Man is the child of hope, the soul-seeker looking for immortality. Puppets and dolls are the children of this worship,” he said.
“The puppet shows are representations of the myths of the past and visualization of the future. They are made in order to remember beauties and discover the virtues for a better world built on simplicity and honesty,” he added.
The 18th edition of the festival has begun with emphasis on personal creativity, and, due to the coronavirus restrictions, many artist and cultural events have gone online, he said.
He also paid tribute to puppet show director Golzar Mohammadi, who was the secretary of the 18th edition of the festival and died in March 2020 after months of suffering from cancer at the age of 42.
A lineup of 57 puppet shows will be performed during the 18th Mobarak Puppet Theater Festival which opened Sunday.
The photo section of the festival also opened on Sunday at the Iranian Artists Forum under the supervision of Amir Abedi.
“29 puppet shows from Tehran and 28 from other cities will be performed online from February 28 to March 7 available at tiwall, namayeshnet and Hashure, the Iranian platforms providing video on demand (VOD) service for films,” secretary of the festival Mehdi Hajian had said earlier.
Hajian said that the veteran artists of Puppet Theater, Iraj Mohammadi and Mohammad-Hassan Abuyi Mehrizi, will be honored with lifetime achievement awards this year.
Three books on puppet shows will also be published to promote the art of puppet theater, he said, adding that several virtual workshops and meetings have also been held that were warmly received by puppet theater artists in the country.
A lineup of seven traditional puppet shows have also been selected to be performed during the festival.
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.
Source:Tehran Times