TEHRAN – The 24th edition of the International Storytelling Festival announced the international jury on Thursday.

The all-Iranian jury comprises writer Ali Khanjani, theater teacher Moslem Qasemi and children’s book writer Mohsen Hejri.

The Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, the organizer of the festival, also unveiled the national jury, which is composed of Hejri, Qasemi and writer Mohammad Simazari.

The performances in the ritual-traditional section will be judged by actor Mehdi Saffarinejad, writer Ali Mehdinejad and storyteller Mehdi Chayani.

A jury composed of director Farzad Zeidi, actor Sadeq Kiani-Moqaddam and playwright Mohammad-Ali Yazdanshenas will judge the storytellers in the 90-second performance competition.

Ten storytellers from across the world will attend the festival to share tales from their folk cultures during the Iranian event, which will open in Yazd on Sunday.

Deepa Kiran, a founder of the Story Arts Foundation in India, is one of the storytellers to participate in the festival, which will take place from January 8 to 12, 2023 in Yazd. 

She is also a professional writer and educationalist, engaged with employing story arts as a pedagogical intervention, deeply impacting both the learner and the teacher.

Divya Sarkar, a member of the Mumbai Storytellers Society, will join her fellow storytellers to give her own performance, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults – Kanoon, the organizer of the festival, announced on Saturday. 

She is also a phonics teacher, a special needs educator and the founder of the Word Power Activity Center.

Kenyan storytellers Grace Wangari and John Mukeni Namai, Canada’s only traditional Palestinian storyteller Sarah Abu-Sharar, Sila Topcam and Suheda Sahin from Turkey, and Argentinean storytellers Mily Ponce and Claudia Montesino, and Mauricio Patino from Colombia have been invited to give performances at the festival.

Fifteen Iranian narrators, including Mehri Khosravian, Mahmud Kharaqani, Shadi Pakzad and Mohsen Karimi, have also been selected to tell stories in the international section of the festival, which will run for five days.

Photo: A combination photo shows jury members for different categories at the 24th International Storytelling Festival.

MMS/YAW