International Puppet Theatre Festival PIF

PIF is an international puppet festival of largely professional puppet theatre groups. It is also a festival for any puppeteer or theatrician who uses puppetry as a means of artistic expression. The festival is for both adults and children. PIF has been held each year since 1968. In 53 years of the festival more than 464 theatres from more than 53 countries from all continents have taken part. For five to seven days very different plays are performed - from traditional to completely new modern experimental shows - for children and adults. The plays are performed in numerous theatre halls, as well as in the streets and squares of Zagreb. They are observed by two juries: the children’s which observes all plays for children and chooses the best according to its taste, and an international jury of experts which follows all the performances at the festival and presents the main festival prize for the best play in its entirety, while also giving prizes for individual achievements. Along with the festival special seminars are offered on the making of puppets and animation. Puppet exhibitions are also organised, as well as projections of puppetry film, promotions and puppet exhibitions.

The main thrust of the PIF is to raise the level of puppet expression in all fields of the Festival. Keeping up with the contemporary tendencies in puppetry, not forgetting the tradition and peculiarity of different puppetry schools, is our guiding idea and requires constant organizational and program-based inquiry and improvement. PIF's mission is to point at some new achievements and views on puppetry art to professional puppetry creators, as well as to audience and puppetry lovers.