TEHRAN- The 21st Tehran-Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival officially opened in Tehran on Friday, bringing together artists and puppetry enthusiasts for an event highlighting the power of puppetry to address contemporary social and humanitarian issues.

The opening ceremony was held at the Cinematheque of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts (TMoCA,) with festival director Poupak Azimpour Tabrizi highlighting the event’s four-decade history and the challenging circumstances surrounding this year’s edition.

Azimpour said she was honored to lead the festival, which has a 42-year history, while noting that circumstances had changed significantly since she initially accepted the responsibility.

She also highlighted the festival’s collaboration with the internationally renowned Bread and Puppet Theater and its founder, Peter Schumann, who created two puppet film-theater works specifically for the festival.

The two works were produced in response to the war in Gaza and were dedicated to the martyred children of Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, southern Iran, as well as journalists killed in Gaza. The films were screened during the opening ceremony.

John T. Bell, a longtime member of the Bread and Puppet Theater, also addressed the ceremony online, discussing the history and artistic approach of the group and Schumann’s work.

Bell, a puppeteer and professor of theater history who has worked with Bread and Puppet since 1974, described the group as one of the most innovative puppet theater companies of the 20th and 21st centuries.

He said Schumann’s approach to puppetry reflects contemporary life while also drawing inspiration from ancient puppet traditions, including figures such as Iran’s traditional puppet character Mobarak.

Bell noted that Schumann’s artistic perspective was also influenced by his family’s experience of displacement and war during World War II, adding that themes of bombing, exile and death have found their way into his artistic works.

He also explained the significance of bread in Schumann’s artistic philosophy. Bread has traditionally been distributed to audiences at the end of Bread and Puppet performances, reflecting the belief that art, like bread, should be affordable and accessible to everyone.

According to Bell, Schumann has emphasized that art should not be treated merely as a commercial product. Rather, he has compared art to food that, although it cannot literally be eaten, can spiritually nourish its audience.

The opening ceremony concluded with the unveiling of the official poster of the 21st Tehran-Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival, designed by Iranian artist Farzad Adibi.

The 21st edition of the Tehran-Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival is set to take place in Tehran in October, continuing the festival's tradition of promoting puppet theater as a platform for artistic innovation and international cultural exchange.

Since its inception in 1989, the Tehran-Mobarak Festival has established itself as a prestigious cultural gathering in Iran, attracting puppet theater troupes from around the world. The festival not only showcases international talent but also promotes the rich tradition of puppet theater.

SAB/