31st INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN'S THEATRES SUBOTICA 2024 - The Jury Announcement

The festival jury, consisting of: theatre expert Dr. Luka Kecman (jury president), director Dr. Ewa Tomaszewska (jury member, Poland) and director Morana Dolenc (jury member, Croatia) has, in the period between September 22 and September 27 2024, reviewed 12 plays and reached the following conclusions:

The winner of The Best Play Award and the Festival Grand Prix is the play Don’t Wait for Me… produced by Compagnie La neige sur les cils theatre - for the all-encompassing authorial expression of Vera Rozanova. The performance was characterized by exceptional stage poetics, imagination and unity of stage expression which was carried out through minimalistic means, exceptional acting , cleaver solutions and tenderness in expression. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winner of the Best Director Award is Ljudmila Fedorova for the play Little Red Riding Hood produced by the Children's Theatre of Republika Srpska. Her stage adaptation and directing of the classic fairy tale has enriched a well-known story thus creating a blend of style and genre. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winner of the Best Stage Design Award is Alexander Andreev for the play The Kuthi produced by the Triktrek Theatre from Estonia. The concept design for the castle and its exceptional craftsmanship provided the play with its quintessence. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winner of the Best Musical Score Award is Ivan Marović for the play The Green Mountain produced by the NGO Youth Theatre from Montenegro. His musical score has provided the play with a true-to-life aspect, somber and sad in its essence. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winners of the Aesthetically and Technologically Best Puppet Design Award are Marija Kločjeva, Andrej Zaporožskij, Polina Čufirjova, Olga Kaerlina for the play Little Red Riding Hood produced by the Children’s Theatre of Republika Srpska. The creative team has produced fully functional, stylistically wholesome, lovable puppets with a distinct expression capabilities. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winners of the Best Actor Award are, equally:

1. Horváth Blanka for the role of Construction worker in Play with Me! produced by Subotica Children’s Theatre. Her acting without any lines and with perfectly controlled stage movement has created a character that is funny and a true counterpart to her partner.

2. Marli Santana for the roles in the play Simona the Monkey produced by La Sonrisa del Lagarto from Spain. With her exceptional voice transformation abilities, she has successfully portrayed a number of distinctly recognizable roles.

3. The entire cast of the play The Prehistoric People produced by Divadla Kladno theatre from the Czech Republic for their team play and puppet animation.

4. The entire cast of the play Little Red Riding Hood produced by Children’s Theatre of Republika Srpska for their team play and puppet animation.

5. The entire cast of the play A Sugar-Made Fairy Tale produced Virovitica Theatre and City Theatre Joza Ivakić Vinkovci for their team play and puppet animation. The jury has concluded that the team acting and animation in these 3 performances stands out as the soul of the show - getting the impression that all cast members breathe as one. The decision was reached unanimously.

The winner of the Special Award for Originality and Imagination is the play The Gold Diggers produced by the Zwickau Puppet Theatre from Germany. This play is completely on the track of theatre research and, as a result, has a great didactic impact on children as potential future theatre performers. The decision was reached unanimously.

Dr. Luka Kecman, president of the jury

Dr. Ewa Tomaszewska, member of the jury

Morana Dolenc, member of the jury