The play "Father" produced by Atelje 18 from Belgrade was declared the best play at the 212th International Mediterranean Theater Festival "Purgatorija" in Tivat.
This was decided by the festival jury, consisting of Mirko Vlahović, actor, president of the jury, Željka Turčinović, playwright, and Stela Mišković, playwright, after watching nine plays that were in the competition of this year's "Purgatory".
The award for the best play was unanimously awarded to the play "Father", which is based on the text of Florian Zeller and adapted by Željka Pleština Udovičić, directed by Paolo Magđeli.
"Director Paolo Maggeli in the play "The Father" uses impressive directorial means, through a complex dramaturgical structure, to read the all-encompassing tragic theme of the decay of the human mind eroded by dementia and in it all the horrors of that process, as well as the helplessness of man himself and his suffering, against the essential need for his neighbor. For love For the warmth of what is known. For home. For childhood. For the essence. With a reliable directorial process, he builds authentic theatrical magic, pulls us into a whirlwind of emotions, makes us participants in the stage events, opens an intimate space that sucks us in and produces a catharsis that lasts hours after the viewing" is stated in the decision of the jury, which the organizer of the festival, the Tivat Cultural Center, distributed to the media today.
The award for the best female role was also unanimously awarded to Arijana Čulina for the role of Fana in the theater play "55 Squares" produced by the Croatian National Theater Split, Croatia, Croatia.
"A wistful, somewhat resigned Mediterranean woman, a widow who remembers some of the better days of Split, is a subtle and universal acting creation of Ariana Čulina in the role of Fanny in the play "55 Squares". With minimal acting gestures, grimaces and seemingly suppressed energy, Ariana Čulina achieves the fullness of the character on a realistic and symbolic level, portraying a Dalmatian woman whose time has passed, but the wisdom of life and patience remains, turning into nostalgic Dalmatian blues, giving the play a timeless stamp," he stated. the jury.
The award for the best male role was unanimously awarded to Vojislav-Voja Brajović for the role of Andrej in the play "Father" from Belgrade's Atelier 212.
"With organic play, truthfulness, subtle psychologization and fullness of emotion, Voja Brajović portrays the character of the Father, using a wide range of means, both comic and tragic, as well as all shades between these two extremes. His acting meticulously layers the character, presenting him to the audience stripped down to the essence of man. beings and gives the basic note of the play of the entire ensemble. With a reduced acting procedure, controlled expression, and an eruptive effect, with a play purified to the essence, Brajović unites the spirit of the writer, the director and the entire cast," explained the jury.
The festival award for acting bravura was also unanimously awarded to Branimir Popović for the role of Capo Pompieri in the play "The Bald Singer" produced by the Tivat Culture Center.
"Branimir Popović's acting in the play "Bald Singer" flows with striking ease and leads us into the world of the grotesque and the absurd. Theatrically precise and eloquent, he carefully and sovereignly builds his acting character. Through intelligent solutions to repetitive monologues, he shows that he has command of many, by no means simple means of expression and in this way manages to meet and adequately respond to the high and very complex artistic demands placed before him," announced the jury, which was unanimous in its decision to award the special award for the most successful visual and technical innovation of the play, awarded by the theater to the play "55 Squares" produced by HNK Split from Croatia.
"The dialogue between theater and film that we saw in the play achieves new visions of realistic dramatic action in the foreground (kitchen, living room) and documentary theater in the spaces behind the stage where the nuanced psychological states of the characters and their reactions are recorded with a camera in the foreground. Although the procedure itself is not new, in this play it represents an integral, rather than a decorative, element of the play, giving it another layer of intrigue and interest. In this visually innovative procedure, the play acquired a special quality that we can freely call "a new theatrical reality", it is written in the explanation of this decision.
Every year, the Tivat Culture Center awards a special house award as part of the "Purgatory" Festival. It is the "Ivana Tomičić" plaque, which is named after the young Montenegrin actress who tragically died, who started her career precisely in the performances of Tivat's CZK.
This year, that award was given to the famous director Jagoš Marković.
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