Russian puppet show about the occupation of Leningrad opened the 50th edition of PIF – International Puppet Theater Festival.
The 50th edition of the PIF Puppet Theater Festival will be held from September 16th to 22nd in Zagreb, reports Jutarnji.hr. The festival will host over 200 performers from eight countries in seven days, including 15 selected puppet shows in the official part of the program.
This year’s PIF will present a cross-section of the best European, world and regional puppet shows of a wide range of topics, from the themes of growing up, tolerance through unusual friendships and relationships to feelings of belonging, freedom, happiness and courage.
The oldest international puppet theater festival in Croatia was officially opened by the Central Academic State puppet theater from Moscow Sergey Obrazcov on Saturday, September 16, at the Cultural Center Travno with the performance of the play “Little Girl from Lenin”, which through the combination of puppetry, animation and movie depicts the life of a little girl named Valja during the occupation of Leningrad. Must see shows of the festival, according to the organisers, include the Chinese theatre troupe Guangxi, which mixes ancient Chinese instruments, dance and puppets, then the awarded solo performance called “Autumn Portraits” by Eric Bass and a traditional Spanish story of Don Juan performed by the Tyjatr Theater from Slovakia.
The arrival of puppets and puppeteers in the city was announced by the benevolent giant Pifko and the traditional procession, which started from Tkalciceva Street at 11 A.M. on Saturday, continued across the main square and the Flower Square to the pavilion at Zrinjevac.
The organizers also announced this year’s rich ‘off program’, which will includes creative and educational workshops, screenings of animated films, exhibitions and performances on city streets and squares. The programme of the 50th PIF festival has already begun with the opening of a photo exhibition by Ivan Špoljarac “Puppets Squared” in the Bogdan Ogrizović Libabry, followed by a presentation of the selected works of the fifth art competition for children “Puppet, mask…PIF ” at the Ethno Art Gallery on September 14th. During the festival, you will also be able to take a look at the retrospective exhibition “PIF’s 50” in the Cultural Center Travno.
The festival officially closes on September 22 at the Cultural Center Travno with the award ceremony and the latest puppet show ‘Behind the Paper’, performed by students of the Academy of Arts in Osijek, long-term partners and participants of PIF.
A detailed schedule of performances, as well as information about performers, accompanying programs and tickets are available at the official PIF website.
Source: Jutarnji.hr
