TEHRAN – A lineup of 57 puppet shows are scheduled to be performed during the 18th Mobarak Puppet Theater Festival that will go online next week.

“29 puppets shows from Tehran and 28 from other cities will be performed online from February 28 to March 7 available at tiwall, namayeshnet and Hashure, the Iranian platforms providing video on demand (VOD) service for films,” secretary of the festival Mehdi Hajian said in a press conference held on Tuesday.

Hajian said that the veteran artists of Puppet Theater, Iraj Mohammadi and Mohammad-Hassan Abuyi Mehrizi, will be honored with the lifetime achievement awards this year.

Three books on puppet shows will also be published to promote the art of puppet theater, he said, adding that several virtual workshops and meetings have also been held that were warmly received by puppet theater artists in the country.

The festival will open with a tribute to puppet show director Golzar Mohammadi, who was the secretary of the 18th edition of the festival.

The 42-year-old puppeteer died in March 2020 after months of suffering from cancer.

A lineup of seven traditional puppet shows have also been selected to be performed during the festival.

The puppet shows have been chosen from 14 submissions by a selecting board composed of Pupak Azimpur, Shahrzad Mobarhan and Davud Fat’hali Beigi.

The lineup includes “The Last Autumn Celebration” by Ali Jabbari, “Salim Khan Court” by Zahra Amini, “Salim Khan Court” by Safar-Ali Mohammadzadeh, “Salaman and Mobarak” by Mahmud Dehqan Harati, “Stay in the Jar” by Amir-Hossein Ensafi, “Favorite of the Stage” by Hossein Rabiei and “Korsibazi” by Mohammadreza Azadfar.

Photo: “Son of Hunter, Son of Hunter”, a puppet show by Vahid Khosravi. (Iran Theater/Reza Moattarian) 

RM/YAW