Subotica International Children's Theatre Festival

The International Festival of Children’s Theatres in Subotica has from the very beginning imposed itself on the widest theatre public – thanks, first and foremost, to the wisely and thoroughly designed basic programme concepts and principles – as one of the most prominent European and world festivals, thus taking the leading position in the west Balkans region. In 1994, when it was being constituted and established, the hesitant and faint-hearted considered that act an adventure. Fortunately, for a long time now we know that the Festival is not only reality but also the fact.

The International Festival of Children’s Theatres was founded in 1994, upon decision of the Assembly of the City of Subotica, as a permanent event of an international character with the official selection consisting of home and foreign productions for children up to eighteen years of age. The Festival is held each year in the last week of the month of September, during six days.

The aims set at the time of its establishment became the framework of its further development, and those were:

• to present the most valuable and artistically most relevant theatre accomplishments for children in home and foreign production;
• to contribute to promotion of new and further recognition of already realized cultural values on the international ground;
• to bring nations closer and preserve diversities of each culture as the source of our common wealth;
• to develop desire for mutual friendships;
• to provide exchange of experiences and make creative connections;
• to assert theatre life for children and culture in general;
• to provide for the audience in Serbia diverse international programmes for children and young people of different age and social status.

Programmes and Events

The Festival consists of Official Selection (competitive programme), which includes about twenty puppet and drama performances competing for the Festival awards annually, and rich and diverse Accompanying Programmes encompassing street theatre, touring performances throughout Serbia and in neighbouring Hungary, music and film programme, scientific gatherings, theatre workshops, book promotions, exhibition activity and publishing.

The main, competitive programme of the Festival includes only those performances chosen by the selector.

The Accompanying Programmes have been an integral part of the Festival since its inception and while some of them have become its permanent and inseparable part, others represent one-year or multi-annual projects.