TEHRAN-The dramatic arts section of the 21st edition of Imam Reza (AS) International Festival is scheduled to be held in different provinces across the country, the organizers have announced. 

During a press conference held in Tehran on Monday, Atabak Naderi, secretary of the festival's theater section stated that the organizers have taken a new approach to decentralizing the festival in order to produce works that can be performed in their own cities, providing a selection of works for public performances.

"In this edition of the festival, we have tried to take a more professional and original approach to creating works, avoiding a repetitive atmosphere," he added.

Naderi also emphasized that theater festivals are not just about winning awards and creating a competitive atmosphere, but rather, they should be focused on the works themselves.

Acknowledging that some expenses can be allocated to theater, such as groups and selections for all festivals, he stated that these costs could be used to benefit artists. Furthermore, the judging stage has been eliminated, and fifteen works from each section have been selected as winners.

This year, works based on religious beliefs and ethics are considered Razavi, even if the name of Imam Reza (AS) is not mentioned, he added. 

The message of the Imams is about living a healthy life, so artists should not be hasty in their approaches, and should remember that the audience's perception is more important than that of judges and managers, he stated. 

In addition to the fifteen selected works in each section, the organizers plan to contribute to the filming and sending of other submitted works, and these works can also be performed publicly under the emblem of Razavi theater, he added. 

Discussions with the Imam Reza Foundation and the policy-making council indicate efforts to internationalize the festival from next year, he mentioned. 

Naderi stressed that we should not get caught up in cliches, and emphasized the need to redefine what it means to be international. He proposed taking Iranian works abroad as well as bringing works from other countries to Iran. He also noted that there are no selected works for this edition, only works with more audience engagement being awarded special prizes.

If conditions allow, the organizers plan to negotiate taking some works to neighboring Muslim countries for performances, he explained. 

Plans are also in the works for the next edition of the festival to perform audience-friendly works in cities other than the host city, allowing theater colleagues to produce and present works to the audience, he said. 

This will help change the tastes and needs of donors themselves, and promote Iranian theater culture and other elements as cultural offerings, he concluded. 

The Imam Reza (AS) International Festival is held annually in various provinces of the country as well as in several other countries.

This festival encompasses various fields such as articles, plays or screenplays, produced shows, stories, visual arts, books, literary texts, poetry, press and digital works, and radio and television productions.

The festival will come to an end in Mashhad on May 19 that marks the birthday of Imam Reza (AS).

SAB/