Iranian puppet play wins Grand Prix at Polish festival

TEHRAN,June 6(MNA) -- The Iranian puppet play “The Earth and the Universe” won the Grand Prix for the best presentation at the International Festival of Puppetry Art, which was held in Poland from May 25 to 30. Led by Zahra Sabri, Yase Tamam troupe received a statue by Polish sculptor Bronislaw Krzysztof and a cash prize of €7000, the festival website reported this week. Puppeteers Roxana Bahram, Fatemeh Abbasi and Mona Sarbandi and assistant director Zohreh Baratlu accompanied Sabri during the performances. “The Earth and the Universe” is an adaptation of seven stories from the Masnavi-ye Manavi, the magnum opus of the Iranian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi. The festival’s Special Award went to “Crash” from Spain, and the Award for Best Performance for Children was given to Divadlo Drak from the Czech Republic for “Zlotowloska”. Over 30 performances from 18 countries including the United States, Italy, Spain, Finland, Portugal, and China went on stage during the five-day event.