TEHRAN -- “Macondo”, an Iranian play directed by Azadeh Ansari won the grand prize at the 12th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival.

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 happen, which influence the lives of the residents.
“Macondo” was on stage at Tehran’s City Theater Complex in June. Afsaneh Mahian, Ramin Sayyar-Dashti, Farzin Mohades and Ali Milani are the actors and the puppeteers are Marzieh Imankhani, Farzaneh Aqeli, Nasim Yaquti, and Naima Karami.
The 12th festival was held in several of Tehran’s theaters including the City Theater Complex, Sangalaj Hall, as well as Honar and Ferdowsi halls from August 10 to 16.
The closing ceremony began with a report on the festival delivered by the secretary Rahmatollah Mehrabi in the open-air portion of Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Saturday evening.
Culture Minister Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi also gave a short address and spoke of the process of developing the country’s theater arts.
The ceremony continued with a tribute paid to veteran puppet theater actors Yusef Seddiq and Bijan Nemati-Sharif.
Afterwards, prizes for each section were handed to the winners. In the street theater section, the winners are as follows:
* Best stage designer: Bahareh Nozad-Moqaddam for the play “Don’t Tell Anybody”
* Best puppet designer: Foruz Hashemi “Awaiting Spring”
* Best puppeteer: Mohammad Molaii “Gallows and Circle”
* Best theatrical idea: Javad Tulami “Mobarak and the Black Demon”
* Best director: Siamak Baniani “Fairy Cockroach”
The winners of Iran’s competition section are as follows:
* Best music: Ehsan Analuii “Hayat-un-Nofus”
* Best stage designer: Amir Jadidi “Afsaneh, Ey, Vai, Hai”
* Best puppet designer: Soheila Bajelan “Little Girl of Bahar”
* Best puppeteers: Hossein Divandari and Ahmadreza Alaii
* Best playwright: Setareh Aminian “Afsaneh, Ey, Vai, Hai”
* Best director: Hadi Hejazifar and Setareh Aminian
The winners of the international competition section are as follows:
* Best puppet designers: Erika Schmitzer, Werner Hierzer, and Christian Hierzer “Johann Strauss” from Austria
* Best puppeteer: Luca Runga “Pulcinella with Four Hands”
* Best stage designer: Ezzio Antonelli “Alice in Mirror” from Italy
* Best playwright: Davud Fat’hali-Beigi “Story of Fortune” from Iran
* Best director: Sima and Fahimeh Mirza-Hosseini “Arash” from Iran
The jury of the international section gave their special jury award to the Iranian play “The Earth and the Wheel” by director Zahra Sabri.
The ceremony ended with a musical performance by Gholamali Pur-Ataii from the Khorasan region.
Photo: Azadeh Ansari’s puppet troupe performs “Macondo”, an adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”, at Tehran’s City Theater Complex in June 2008.