Initiated in 2000 at the UNIMA Congress in Magdeburg, the International Festivals Commission supports networking between festivals around the world. The IFC disseminates information, encourages collaborations and stimulates discussion on current trends, aesthetics and the development of the art.
Introduction
The UNIMA Commission for International Festivals will continue in the upcoming period to develop its informational role and support in the area of international festivals — specifically those that focus on puppet theatre or dedicate a significant part of their programming to puppet theatre in its various forms. The commission’s work will focus on collecting and distributing information, fostering mutual connections between festivals, creating links between festivals and artists, raising the professional standards of festivals and their staff, and addressing current topics related to the realization of international puppet theatre festivals and cooperation between artists and festivals. The commission will strive to include representatives from all world regions represented in UNIMA, and this will be reflected in the composition of the commission’s members.
Objectives
• Develop and consolidate the creation of networks between festivals around the world.
• Stimulate debate on the development of art and encourage emerging artists.
• Establish links with centers and distributors dedicated to the puppet arts
• Seek true integration and exchange between festivals from different regions of the world, valuing the diversity of characteristics and management models.
• Communicate CFI projects on the UNIMA website
• Provide a space for reflection on the responsibilities of festivals.
Programme and Activities
Online session on the topic of working with audiences and audience development
An online meeting and discussion on the theme Festivals and Audiences. Representatives of festivals from different continents and regions will discuss together with an audience development expert the following questions: what kind of audiences festivals have, how to broaden the spectrum of audiences, what to offer to spectators, and how audience interests may develop in the future.
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Festival Passport Project
This project will continue from the previous period into the current commission’s term. In collaboration with the Communication Commission, we will continue to expand awareness of the project and aim to engage additional festivals in the initiative.
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Directory of Festivals – update and maintenance
This ongoing project will also continue. We will keep working on updating the database, with each commission member responsible for maintaining information for their assigned region.
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Roads of Tour – a project aimed at negotiating touring routes for artists in different regions of the world
The goal of this project is to define and describe viable touring routes for artists across different regions. It aims to encourage collaboration between festivals and better coordination of artist tours. In practice, the commission will identify and describe potential touring routes among festivals that are close in time and thematically aligned. The commission will then carefully negotiate with the festivals to explore the possibility of sharing and coordinating artist performances. The outcome will be a world map highlighting the “Roads of Tour” across all global regions.
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Symposium on the Topic of Festivals
Once every four years — at the end of the commission’s term — we plan to organize a major professional gathering of international festival directors, with representation from all regions. This symposium will address current issues in the world of international puppet theatre festivals, including programming trends, artistic development, funding and sustainability, festival management and production, and audience engagement.
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ALA Puppet Movies
ALA Puppet Movies is an international exchange and cooperation initiative aimed at emerging puppet festivals in the Southern Hemisphere, reaching countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Its main objective is to promote integration and equitable access to audiovisual content of high artistic quality, strengthening cultural dissemination among independent artists and festivals.
