The 19th edition of the Iran International Festival of University Theater (IIFUT) wrapped up on Saturday (May 28) at Tehran City Theater hall.
At the ceremony, compered by veteran TV reporter Fariborz Daraei, commendation plaques and cash prizes were awarded to the winners in several categories including ‘Single Photo’, ‘Photo Collection’, ‘Poster’, ‘Research’, ‘Dramaturgy’, ‘Radio Theater’, ‘Performance Experience’ and ‘Stage Performance,’ Mehr News Agency reported.
This year’s edition which opened on May 14 hosted three theater shows from Britain, one each from Iceland and France, and a joint Iran-Italy production.
The veteran French theater artist and choreographer, Jerome Bel, Italian theater director and playwright Romeo Castellucci, and theater masters from Britain and Spain were among the foreign guests who held workshops for theater students during the festival.
The closing ceremony was attended by Fazlollah Iraji, director general of Research and Technology in Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Science, Mehdi Shafiei, director general of Art Bureau’s Dramatic Arts Center, Seyed Zia Hashemi, deputy science minister for Socio-Cultural Affairs, Saeid Asadi, secretary of Fajr Theater Festival, and Shahram Karami, director of Performing Arts Center of Tehran Municipality Cultural and Arts Organization, among other art figures.
In addition, a group of theater artists and playwrights including Ayoub Aghakhani, Fereidoun Mehrani, Fars Baqeri, Christophe Rezaei, Asghar Dashti, Kamran Sepahran and Heidar Rezaei participated.
Iraji said it is necessary to build a robust framework for University Theater. “A conference will be held to make necessary decisions in the field to promote the festival quality and provide suitable grounds for training.”
Selected scripts from the 10th to 19th edition of the festival would be soon published.
Hashemi said theater art has a lofty position, although it is not very visible. “It is for us to give support to talented artists to prosper in the field and promote Iran’s theater industry.”
He hoped the winners would be role models in the field.
The winners included Emad Dolati and Hossein Esmaeili in the ‘Single Photo’ category and in ‘Photo Collection’, Hossein Esmaeili; Vahid Nazari and Meysan Khavari in the ‘Poster’ category; and Mojtaba Rasoulkhani and Abbas Nalbandian in ‘Research’.
In ‘Radio Theater’ the winner was Mohammad Mohaqeq-Montazeri, director of the radio show ‘The Voices.’
The event focused on the quality of works and provided a suitable ground for training theater students, besides production, said Reza Basirzadeh, festival secretary and theater expert.
