The Competition Programme of the 29th International Festival of Children's Theaters Subotica is announced

Within the Competition Programme of the 29 th International Children's Theater Festival Subotica, held this year from September 18 to 23, organized by the Open University Subotica, there will be 14 plays for children from all over the world, chosen by the Festival's programmer, Professor Dr. Zoran Đerić. The audience of the Festival will be able to watch diverse and imaginative performances coming to Serbia from Russia, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, France, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), Spain, Israel, Indonesia, Greece, as well as performances from local theaters.

Three plays from Serbia will participate in the Competition programme. "The Stolen Prince and the Lost Princess" performed by Duško Radović Little Theater, directed by Branislava Stefanović, is a story set in the Middle Flower Empire, that deals with the issue of changing the ancient custom according to which only a boy can inherit the imperial throne. Novi Sad Youth Theater, the Festival of Ecological Theater for Children and Youth, and the "Freedom has no price" Association produced the play "Girl with Matches" directed by Sonja Petrović, a fairy tale about a girl who wanders the streets on the New Year’s eve trying to sell matches, which she can't do. This author's project talks about the fate of forgotten and unloved street children who are victims of trafficking, and from whom society is moving away with the collective loss of empathy. The play "Love and the Violin" by the Children's Theater Subotica, directed by Anna Vovchok, presents a Roma legend about love and boldly opens up the dilemma of the selfishness of the highest affection for a living being and art.

Three productions arrive from neighboring countries: "The Great Word Factory" produced by the Little Stage Theater from Croatia and directed by Morana Dolenc; from the Children's Theater of the Republika Srpska comes the play "The Wolf which smelled of berries" directed by Tamara Kučinović, and from Hungary "The Dream of Fairy Moll" by the Harlequin Puppet Theater (directed by Réka Szűcs).

The Russian Karabaska Theater presents "I Ask for Permission to Live " (directed by Evgeny Ibragimov), the Italian Zaches Teatro performs Cinderella (Luana Gramegna), the Theatre Corsair Foundation from Bulgaria performs "Paper Stories" (Dimitar Stefanov), the French theater Les Nouveaux Ballets du Nord-Pas de Calais presents the play “SCOOOOOTCH! (Amélie Poirier), the Tian Gombau production - The Drawn Man from Spain performs "New Shoes" (Jordi Palet i Puig), and the Tik Tak Nto Theater Company from Greece performs "Princess Rose and the Enchanted Eagle" (Panagiotis Adam).

From Israel comes the production of "Up and Down Story" by the Koom-Koom Theater (director: Andrei Urbakh), and from Indonesia "Broom… Brmm… Brmm…" by the Bon Puppet Theater (Angela Dwicahya, Rizki Putri).

The jury of the Main Competition Programme consists of Marijana Petrović, actress at the "Duško Radović" Little Theater in Belgrade and director; Victor Schreiman - Russian and Israeli theater director, actor, pedagogue, critic, and one of the leading experts in the field of puppet theatre; and Cliodhna Noonan, an Irish early childhood art practitioner.

The International Children's Theater Festival Subotica is one of the most important festivals in the region that gathers creators who have dedicated their work to the youngest. With a focus on puppetry but also with space for other art forms, the Festival continuously contributes to the promotion and development of children's theaters in Serbia. For its outstanding contribution to the development of performing art for children and culture in general, the Festival was awarded the "Vuk Award" in 2005, the highest cultural recognition in the Republic of Serbia, while in 2009 the International Festival of Children's Theaters Subotica was awarded the "Pro Urbe" award for significant contribution to the development and reputation of the city of Subotica by raising its material and spiritual values. The Festival is also the laureate of the special international award for contribution to the development of drama education 2009 "Grozdan's giggle", awarded by the Center for Drama Education from Mostar (BiH center of IDEA (International Association for Drama/Theatre and Education).

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