Svetlana Mihajlović and Todor Valov, recipients of the Little Prince Lifetime Achievement Award

The International Festival of Children's Theatres – Subotica (its 33rd edition taking place from September 20 to 25, 2026), organized by the Open University Subotica, will award this year's Little Prince Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to the development of culture and performing arts for children to Svetlana Mihajlović (in the category of domestic artists) and Todor Valov from Bulgaria (in the category of foreign artists).

Gunnar Horn from Norway will receive the Oton Tomanić Award - a recognition for theoretical contribution in the domain of theatre for children and youth.

Actress Svetlana Mihajlović (born in 1961 in Vranje) has been employed at the Puppet Theatre Niš for 40 years. Over the course of her career, she has collaborated with directors such as Miroslav Ujvić, Živomir Janković, Srboboj Stanković, Mima Janković, Nikita Milivojević, Kokan Mladenović, Vladimir Lazić, Ivan Pilni, Borislav Mrkšić, and many others. Among her dearest colleagues is actor and director Zoran Lozančić, whose productions have given her the opportunity to perform a number of unforgettable roles: Mutt (The Three Little Pigs), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), the Black Queen (Alice in Wonderland), Pollexia (The Emperor's Hero), Nannerl (Mozart), the Fox (The Little Prince), the Snow Queen (The Snow Queen), the Fox (Pinocchio)...

For these roles - as well as many others - she has received awards at major festivals in Serbia, the former Yugoslavia, and internationally, including the Meetings of Professional Puppet Theatres of Serbia (Subotica, Belgrade, Zemun, Niš, Kragujevac...), the Kotor Festival (Yugoslav and International), the Banja Luka Festival, and the International Festival of Children's Theatres in Subotica. She is particularly proud of the production Thorny Rose, directed by Vladimir Lazić and staged and performed at her home theatre, which has already received prestigious recognition, including awards at the FEDU Festival in Sarajevo.

Todor Valov (born in 1966 in Varna) began his career as a puppet director with an adaptation of Donald Bisset’s fairy tale Good Morning, Good Night. In 1998, he has received a National Award, which opened the doors of Sofia’s Central Theatre to him. At the beginning of the century, he became a frequent guest director at numerous children’s theatres in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Montenegro. He has also directed productions in Germany and received countless awards at numerous festivals.

A special place in his directorial oeuvre is occupied by two productions in Serbia: Swan Lake at the Theatre for Children and Youth in Kragujevac, and A Pair of Shoes at the Children’s Theatre in Subotica. Swan Lake was named the best puppet production of 2013 by UNIMA Serbia. He particularly cherishes the memory of A Pair of Shoes being performed at the Zvezdarište Festival in Belgrade in 2015, where it won awards in every category, from the Grand Prix to individual acting and authorship awards. Among the impressive number of awards he has received throughout his career, Valov personally highlights the 2020 “ICAR” National Award for Best Production for Pinocchio, performed by Teatar Ruse from Bulgaria.

Gunnar Horn from Norway is a playwright, actor, and university professor. During his multi-decade career, he has dedicated himself particularly to theatre for children and youth, working as an artist, educator, and researcher. He has authored several books on drama, theatre and education, including Theatre for Young Audiences (1993), Alone with the Audience (2005) and Drama and Society (2010). In 2024, he was a co-editor of Theatre Mediation Handbook.

At the University of Agder, Gunnar Horn has taught Drama and Theatre at both bachelor’s and master’s level for many years. He was Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Agder (UiA) for 9 years. He has been a Board member of ASSITEJ Norway for many years. From 2019 to 2024, he was the Head of the Theatre Mediation Programme within Connect-Up, a major project involving professional partners from ten countries.

Last year, the Little Prince awards were presented to Chinese author and playwright Feng Li (in the international artist category) and to graphic designer and visual artist Zdravko Mićanović (in the domestic authors category). Previous recipients of the award - which the Festival has been presenting since 2000 - were Branka Veselinović (2019), Zoran Hristić (2016), Minja Subota (2015), Timothy John Byford (2014), Branko Milićević-Kockica (2007), Ljubivoje Ršumović (2006) and many other renowned authors for children.

Organized by the Open University Subotica, this year's 33rd edition of the International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica will take place from September 20 to 25, featuring an exceptionally compelling program comprised of 13 shows from around the world aimed for toddlers and school-aged children.

The International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica is among the most important regional festivals gathering authors who dedicated their lives’ work to the youngest. Focused primarily on puppetry - but always allowing space for other art forms - the Festival continues its contribution to promotion and development of children’s theatre in Serbia.

Traditionally, the International Festival of Children's Theatre - Subotica is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities and the Municipality of Subotica, whereas The Vojvodina Theatre Museum is acting as a partner in the festival's production. The executive producer of the festival is the Open University Subotica.