ID :
111820
Tue, 03/16/2010 - 13:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/111820
The shortlink copeid
Iranian director withdraws from Prague festival for discrimination
TEHRAN, March 16 (MNA) -- Iranian stage director Azadeh Ansari withdrew her play “Macondo” from Prague’s World Festival of Puppet Art due discrimination against Asian theater troupes, which are to participate in the event.
“The festival runs from May 31 to June 6 in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. I withdrew to protect the dignity of Iran’s puppet theater,” Ansari said.
“The festival organizers have taken an unjust approach, that is, they are not providing accommodations and meals for participating Asian and Iranian troupes. They only cover these expenses for European competitors.
“Based on common practices, the organizers not only should provide lodging and meals but also should pay a per diem fee to troupes. But the festival of Prague has extended these privileges only to European participants,” she stated.
“For me, the national honor of Iran’s puppet theater is much more important than participating in an international event, so I will not permit anyone to insult Iran’s theatrical family this way. I believe not only is the potential of Iran’s puppet theater greater than Europe’s, but also we are already one level above them,” Ansari stressed.
She also lamented that some Iranian troupes still try to attend these programs in any way possible to gain recognition. “If we continue to do this, they will repeat this discriminatory approach toward Iranian troupes, and other festival organizers will begin to follow their lead.”
Written by Arash Parsakhu and directed by Ansari, “Macondo” is an adaptation of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It features the story of a supernatural being in the form of an old man, who arrives in an imaginary town and the strange events that subsequently unfold, influencing the lives of the residents.
Ansari will be staging “Macondo” in Finland and Armenia. The play was previously staged at the International Theater Festival “Belaya Vezha” in Brest, Belarus last September.
It is worthwhile to mention that director Zahra Sabri also withdrew her play “The Earth and the Wheel” from the Prague festival last year for the same reason of discrimination and only submitted a film of her work to the organizers.
“The festival runs from May 31 to June 6 in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. I withdrew to protect the dignity of Iran’s puppet theater,” Ansari said.
“The festival organizers have taken an unjust approach, that is, they are not providing accommodations and meals for participating Asian and Iranian troupes. They only cover these expenses for European competitors.
“Based on common practices, the organizers not only should provide lodging and meals but also should pay a per diem fee to troupes. But the festival of Prague has extended these privileges only to European participants,” she stated.
“For me, the national honor of Iran’s puppet theater is much more important than participating in an international event, so I will not permit anyone to insult Iran’s theatrical family this way. I believe not only is the potential of Iran’s puppet theater greater than Europe’s, but also we are already one level above them,” Ansari stressed.
She also lamented that some Iranian troupes still try to attend these programs in any way possible to gain recognition. “If we continue to do this, they will repeat this discriminatory approach toward Iranian troupes, and other festival organizers will begin to follow their lead.”
Written by Arash Parsakhu and directed by Ansari, “Macondo” is an adaptation of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It features the story of a supernatural being in the form of an old man, who arrives in an imaginary town and the strange events that subsequently unfold, influencing the lives of the residents.
Ansari will be staging “Macondo” in Finland and Armenia. The play was previously staged at the International Theater Festival “Belaya Vezha” in Brest, Belarus last September.
It is worthwhile to mention that director Zahra Sabri also withdrew her play “The Earth and the Wheel” from the Prague festival last year for the same reason of discrimination and only submitted a film of her work to the organizers.
