Sleeping Beauty by DRAK Theater from the Czech Republic the best play of the 28th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica

On Friday, September 24, the 28th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica closed with a solemn closing ceremony and the announcement of the award winners at the Children's Theater Subotica.

Jovan Caran, president of the jury of the competition program, addressed the audience with the words: "Diversity is one of the important features of this year's program. A wider range of types and procedures also gives a clearer picture of events in the world of puppetry. At the same time, the diversity that contains the spectrum, from one might say exotic types of theater, to those that involve the use of special machines, made the work of the jury more difficult. Still, good acting and animation can always be recognized and rewarded. The same applies to all other categories that the jury evaluates: directing, scenography, puppet design and others. The Jury, not without remorse, for omitting some, only slightly weaker achievements, made all decisions unanimously ".

The Jury consisting of Jovan Caran (president), Ludmila Konstantinova Hense and Sandrine Grataloup, awarded the Grand Prix of the Festival for the Best Play as a whole to the play Sleeping Beauty by the DRAK Theater from the Czech city of Hradec Kralove. This production of the famous fairy tale is based on the psychoanalytic interpretation of the American psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, who identifies the story of the Sleeping Beauty as a parable of initiation and female growing up. He notices the symbolism of blood, ie red color, the motif of a high tower with a spiral staircase and other psychoanalytic themes. The play pays special attention to these motives, so the performance is attractive to adult audiences, but it is also understandable to the youngest spectators.

Sleeping Beauty was performed on the last day of the festival on the Jadran Stage of the Subotica National Theater. Speaking about his version of this play, director and co-author Jakub Vašiček said: "For me, the most challenging thing is that, it seems to me, the audience expects lyrics and poetic expression. We try to play it contrary to those expectations - with action in music, acting and scenography. The play is primarily for children because the main part of the performance is action and grotesque, but in the second line there are some symbols that may be interesting for adults as well”.

The award for the Best Director went to Jakub Maksimov, for directing the play Bambi performed by the Children's Theater Kragujevac.

The award for the Best Scenography went to Svila Veličkova for the scenography of the play Oz performed by the Vaskakas Puppet Theater from Győr, Hungary.

Lazar Novkov is the winner of the award for the Best Original Music in the play Bambi, performed by the Children's Theater Kragujevac.

The award for the Best Aesthetic and Technological Solution of Puppets went to Mladen Bolfek for the creation of puppets in the play On the Trail performed by the City Theater Zorin Dom Karlovac from Croatia.

Five equal awards for acting / animation mastery went to Sigi Herold for the role of the Red King in the play Three Timkes King, performed by the Gruena Sosse Theater Frankfurt, Germany, Miloš Milovanović for the role of Bambi in the play Bambi, performed by the Children's Theater Kragujevac, Serbia, Rozália Gergely for the role of Dorka in the play OZ performed by the Vaskakas Puppet Theater, Győr, Hungary, Jan Popela for the role of the evil fairy in the play Sleeping Beauty, performed by DRAK Theater, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Roni Level Marsland for the role of Guli in the play Guli, performed by the Galilean Multicultural Theater, Israel

A special award for originality and fantasy went to the play Aero performed by the Odivo Theater from Slovakia.

The young jury, consisted of six students from the drama studio of the Raičević Elementary Ballet School, awarded the Young Audience Award for the Best Play to the performance Oz by the Vaskakas Puppet Theater from Győr, Hungary. “We liked the play Oz because of the rich scenography and costumes. We especially liked the effect of light and music, which additionally contributed to the overall experience of the show. The young jury also wants to praise the play On the Trail because of the contemporary topic, the new story which communicates with our generation, as well as because of the humor that the play abounds with”, was the explanation of the decision read by Magdalena Anić and Simona Cvijin on behalf of the Young Jury.

Sandrine Grataloup, a member of the Jury for the Competition Program, closed the Festival with her addressing: “During one week, people from Subotica met the world, and the world met Subotica. The children were really fully here, present. They listened and watched the plays, and reacted very warmly to them. I enjoyed it. Theater for young audiences can also touch both adults and professionals. I was really touched by what I saw and what I was thinking about, the universal themes that were presented at the Festival. Among them was one of the vital importance, and that is how to preserve the environment, and how to preserve the diversity of humanity itself. We are diverse, as are the trees around us, and trees are just as important as we are.”

The Competition Program of the 28th International Festival of Children's Theater Subotica, held from September 19 to 24, organized by the Open University Subotica, consisted of 10 plays for children from all over the world, chosen by the Festival's selector, Professor Dr. Zoran Đerić. The audience of the Festival could see various and imaginative performances that arrived in Serbia from Israel, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Brazil, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) and Serbia.

At the opening ceremony of the Festival, the Lifetime Achievement Award Little Prince was asigned to director and actor Jovan Caran, and also to puppet, costume and set designer Ludmila Konstantinova Hense from Kazakhstan, for outstanding contribution to the development of culture and performing arts for children. The posthumous award for a life dedicated to creativity for children went to director Dragoslav Todorović.

The International Forum for the Research of Theater Arts for Children and Youth in Subotica, the largest theatrical gathering in this part of Europe, gathered theorists and theater researchers from 16 countries and from three continents. A total of 30 participants in this important gathering for theatrical art were mostly guests present in Subotica, and a smaller part of the participants presented their works online. The rich accompanying program of the Festival included numerous exhibitions, workshops, book promotions, film screenings, and performances outside the Competition Program.

The realization of the International Festival of Children's Theater Subotica was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the AP Vojvodina Provincial Secretary of Culture and the City of Subotica.