ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE JURY OF THE 30TH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN'S THEATRES SUBOTICA

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE JURY OF THE 30TH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN'S THEATRES SUBOTICA held from September 17 to 22, 2023 in Subotica

The jury of the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres consisting of jury president Amela Vučenović (Serbia) and jury members Jaroslav Antoniuk (Poland) and Jelena Sitar (Slovenia) reviewed 13 plays in the official competition performed by 13 theatres from 12 European countries, the rest of the world and the host country of Serbia.

The jury made the following decisions:

FESTIVAL GRAN PRIX:

Awarded to the play Primitive Girl performed by the Toša Jovanović National Theatre from Zrenjanin, Serbia - for the highly aesthetic unity of all the necessary ingredients for a puppet show - both in writing, directing, artwork and music score as well as in the excellent acting of the ensemble.

AWARD FOR THE BEST DIRECTIOR:

To Jevgeniy Ibragimov for the play Nocturne performed by The Flying Cow theatre from Tallinn, Estonia - for successfully discovery of "theatre within a theatre" form with an active audience participation in the play, as an equal.

THE SPECIAL AWARDS OF THE JURY:

1. For the team-effort animation of Bogdana’s puppet in the sequence of leaving the house in the play Seven Ravens by Children's Theatre of the Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina -due to the excellent team animation of Bogdana’s puppet a great illusion of human figure walking movement was performed.

2. For the best contact with audience in the play Paprika Jansci by the Harlequin Puppet Theatre from Hungary - with skillful display, the play’s actors managed to fulfill one of the most crucial tasks of this type of traditional puppet theatre – to successfully interact with the audience.

3. Maji Lučić for the original dramatization concept for the play Grandpa's Tales performed by Branko Mihaljević’s Children's Theatre from Osijek, Croatia - a drama-based concept with visual elements of directing that reaches important humane and ethical values with a strong emotional message.

4. For its high-fantasy and excellent expression through stage movement in the play The Art of War by Children's Theatre of the China Welfare Institute, Shanghai, People's Republic of China - the actors managed to bring out audiences’ emotion via flexibility of their bodies.

5. For the best stage movement to Agyas Adam and Dudas Daniel in the play Over the Hill and Far Away performed by the Children's Theatre, Subotica, Serbia - with their temperamental and on-point acting utilizing large dose of comedy the actors did an excellent job of directing and choreographing the play.

AWARD FOR THE BEST STAGE DESIGN AND THE BEST PUPPET DESIGN:

To Irina Somborac for the play Primitive Girl performed by the Toša Jovanović National Theatre from Zrenjanin, Serbia - for the original portrayal of every character providing them with a visual identity of mythological creatures and for the extraordinary puppet and mask stylization inspired by the local archaeological heritage.

AWARD FOR THE BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC:

To Nikolaj Yakimov for the play Nocturne performed by The Flying Cow theatre from Tallinn, Estonia - the music was fully in service of play’s magical mood, unpretentiously aiding the director's treatment of the source material and the overall impression on the audience.

AWARD FOR ORIGINALITY AND IMAGINATION: To Jegeniy Ibragimov and Irina Marijapu for the play Nocturne performed by The Flying Cow theatre from Tallinn, Estonia - for the plethora of puppetry elements - puppets, masks, light, music – which, combined, brought the play an aura of high-aesthetic metaphor and produced an unprecedented audience reception and a lasting impression.

AWARDS FOR THE BEST ACTING:

1. To Ivica Lučić for the role of grandfather in the play Grandpa's Tale by Branko Mihaljević Children's Theatre from Osijek, Croatia - for an extremely well-thought-out and emotional performance with superb animation of objects and props.

2. To Pancsa Mészáros for the role of The Witch in the play Paprika Jansci and the Devil’s Tongue by Harlequin Puppet Theatre from Hungary - employing skillful animation of the glove puppet with elements of the traditional Paprika Jansci folk theatre, she succeeded in bringing to life all the unique features of the Witch’s character.

3. To Jose Gill, Sofia Vinagre, Natacha Peira in the play Etc. performed by Teatro S.A. Marionetas-Teatro e Bonecos from Portugal - extremely on-point animation in the minimalistic manner under meticulously well chosen stage lighting.

4. To Lucia Svobodova for her performance in the play Seal-Woman performed by the Anima-Act theatre from Slovakia - by animating puppets, props, costumes, lights and decor the actress utilized in unison every available puppeteering element – thus creating an entire, believable fairy-tale world.

5. To the entire ensemble of the play Peter and the Wolf performed by the Baja Mare City Theatre from Romania - for a superb animation in the multi-planar plethora of various unified theatre of shadow techniques.

Members of the Jury: Amela Vučenović, the president of the jury Jelena Sitar, member of the jury Jaroslav Antoniuk, member of the jury September 22 2023, Subotica