Primitive Girl announced the best play of the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica

Primitive Girl announced the best play of the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica On Friday, September 22, the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica has concluded with an official closing ceremony followed by the announcement of award-winners at Subotica Children's Theatre.

The jury - presided by Amela Vučenović (Serbia) with members Jelena Sitar (Slovenia) and Jaroslav Antoniuk (Poland) - awarded Toša Jovanović National Theatre from Zrenjanin the festival Grand Prix for the best overall performance, for their play Primitive Girl. On behalf of the jury Amela Vučenović read the statement which concluded that the play Primitive Girl earned the award "for the highly aesthetic unity of all the necessary ingredients of a puppet show - both in writing, directing, artwork and music score as well as in the excellent acting of the ensemble". On behalf of the Toša Jovanović National Theatre ensemble, the play’s leading actress Una Beić received the award.

The award for the best director was presented to Jevgeny Ibragimov for the play Nocturno performed by The Flying Cow theatre from Estonia for "successful discovery of "theatre within a theatre" form with an active audience participation in the play, as an equal".

The award for originality and imagination was awarded to Jevgeny Ibragimov and Irina Marijapu for the play Nocturno. The jury's explanation stated: "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".

Nikola Yakimov was awarded for the best original music, also for the performance Nocturno. The jury explained its decision with the following: "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."

The prize for the best stage and puppet design was awarded to Irina Somborac for the play Primitive Girl of Toša Jovanović National Theatre from Zrenjanin "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".

Five awards for acting/puppet animator skill were equally distributed among Ivica Lučić - for the role of grandfather in the Grandpa’s Tales by Branko Mihaljević's Children's Theatre from Osijek, Panecsa Mészáros - for the role of the witch in Paprika Jancsi and the Devil's Tongue by the Harlequin Puppet Theatre from Hungary, José Gill, Sofia Vinagre and Natacha Peira of the play Etc. performed by Teatro S.A. Marionetas – Teatro e Bonecos from Portugal, Lucia Svobodova for her performance in the play Seal-Woman by the Anima-Act theatre from Slovakia and the entire ensemble of the Baja Mare City Theater from Romania for their performance in the play Peter and the Wolf.

The jury has also handed out five special prizes: to the play Seven Ravens by the Children's Theatre of the Republic of Srpska from Banja Luka - for the team-effort animation of Bogdana’s puppet in the sequence of leaving the house; to the play Paprika Jancsi and the Devil's Tongue by Harlequin Puppet Theater from Hungary - for the best established connection to the audience; to Maja Lučić - the original dramatization concept for the play Grandpa's Tales performed by Branko Mihaljević's Children's Theatre from Osijek; to the play The Art of War by the Children's Theatre of the China Welfare Institute - for its high-fantasy and excellent expression through stage movement; to Ágyas Ádám and Dudás Dániel for the best stage movement in the play Over the Hill and Far Away performed by the Children's Theatre of Subotica.

The young jury of the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres consisting of: Milica Ličanin, Teodora Marković, Dorijan Rastko Gladić, Petar Budinčević and Matija Iveljić awarded the prize for the best play to Seven Ravens performed by the Children's Theatre of the Republic of Srpska. On behalf of the jury, Milica Ličanin and Petar Budinčević read the explanation: "Excellent directing - that led the viewers through an easily comprehensible story - and its outstanding sound effects and music score.

The jury would like to particularly praise the ensemble’s teamwork especially notable during the animation sequence for the puppet of the main character’s sister". The young jury also highlighted the play The Story About the Love of a Tree performed by Play Aree Theatre from South Korea “for their simple yet very picturesque story - as well as the multitude of sound and visual elements the actors employed in order to captivate and hold the attention of their all-ages audience”.

On Friday, the last play in the official selection of the festival was performed: Peter and the Wolf, produced by the Romanian theater Baja Mare, was performed at National Theatre’s Jadran Stage. Peter lives at the edge of a forest with his grandfather who doesn't allow him to venture into the forest because of the wild animals. Instead, he reads to him a lot of stories, even the one about the fierce wolf. One day, Peter, Lightning Sparrow, Duck and Cat went hunting - without a tank, a rifle or a cannon - to catch the Big Bad Wolf. The play’s director Iulian Bulancea said about the play: "We used Sergei Prokofiev’s fairy-tale for the symphony orchestra as well as his wonderful music. All of those elements we incorporated into shadow performance, adding lyrics to the verses". This is not Baja Mare theatre’s first visit to Subotica. "We were here before, with other plays, and each time it was very interesting for us to see plays from different parts of the world such as China. For us, it is a great pleasure to take part in the festival", concluded Bulancea.

The official selection featured 13 plays for children from all over the world, chosen by the festival’s selector, professor Zoran Đerić, PhD. The Little Prince Lifetime Achievement Awards for outstanding cultural development of performing arts for children were presented to actress and director Amela Vučenović and puppeteer, pedagogue and author Jelena Sitar. The third recipient of this year's Little Prince award is actor and director Bonyo Lungov.