Tehran puppet theater festival kicks off with hopes for world peace
Tehran puppet theater festival kicks off with hopes for world peace

TEHRAN – The 17th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival opened on Wednesday as the festival director, Marzieh Borumand, wished children in the world peace and friendship. Parents and their children holding their dolls and puppets joined a large carnival of puppets and walked from the Mina Dome at the Abbasabad Cultural Complex to Ab-o-Atash Park […]

TEHRAN – The 17th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival opened on Wednesday as the festival director, Marzieh Borumand, wished children in the world peace and friendship.

Parents and their children holding their dolls and puppets joined a large carnival of puppets and walked from the Mina Dome at the Abbasabad Cultural Complex to Ab-o-Atash Park where the opening ceremony of the festival began.

Live musical performances featuring songs from popular TV series and a vast collection of popular characters from puppet shows turned the opening ceremony into a joy-filled event.

Borumand delivered a short speech wishing happiness for all and asked people to resolve their problems through sympathy and compassion.

Borumand who was overwhelmed to see the large crowd of people at the opening ceremony hoped to hold the next edition in the Azadi Stadium next year.

She invited people to watch the puppet shows selected for the festival and said, “I am sure any individual regardless of tastes can find his/her own play to watch during the event.”

The ceremony continued with short speeches delivered by actors and veterans.

Filmmaker Manijeh Hekmat noted that peace and happiness is the absolute right of people.

Puppeteer Azadeh Purmokhtar said, “We should not forget real life. Let’s give our children a chance to play with water and with soil. Green children are more creative. The sky of our puppets is blue.”

Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi also attended the opening ceremony along with other screen and stage actors, including Mitra Hajjar, Gelareh Abbasi and Reza Fayyazi.

The director of Iran’s Dramatic Arts Center, Shahram Karami, also attending the ceremony, promised to support puppet shows and provide facilities to stage more puppet shows in different venues across the city.

Photo: Popular puppet characters perform during the opening ceremony of the 17th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival in Ab-o-Atash Park in Tehran on August 22, 2018. (IRNA/Mahtab Karambeigi)