Beirut – With the participation of theatrical performances from Spain, Portugal, Chile, Tunisia, Romania, South Africa and Lebanon, and under the slogan “Women are a force for change”, and within the activities of Tripoli, the Capital of Arab Culture, the “Lebanon International Theater Festival for Monodrama” celebrated the femininity and nun of women and their strength in the language of adversity theatrically and artistically, paying tribute to Women and their struggle in various fields.
The festival was attended by a crowd of families, students and interested parties. The performances were presented free of charge to the public, who discussed the performances with artists coming from different cultures. The festival management also honored the artistic Bendali family as part of the events in the city of Tripoli, and the actress Julia Kassar among the events in the city of Tyre.
Actor and director Qassem Istanbuli, founder of the Lebanese National Theatre, said, “The continuation of festivals, film screenings and free training workshops despite all the crises around us constitutes an important opportunity for convergence and an opportunity for the public to learn about different cultures from the world so that art will always be a right for all and with the insistence of young volunteers to work for the sake of art.” .
In the official competition of the festival, the Portuguese actress Anna Palma won the award for the best integrated show for the play “Waiting for the Bird”, and the actress Marisol Robertson from Chile won the best actress award jointly with the actress Silvia Relliano from Romania, and the actress Zelia Lansaba from Spain won.
The Best Musical Show Award, and the Lebanese actress Maysan Sharaf El Din won the Best Scenography Award for her dance show.
The festival is held annually to celebrate women and their theatrical and artistic work and for equality, freedom, social justice and empowerment in society. The first session of the festival was launched in 2019 and paid tribute to the late actress and director Siham Nasser, and eight theatrical performances from Arab and foreign countries participated in it.
Within the activities of the third session of the festival, the first Lebanon Theater Conference was held, which raised the issue of the theater crisis in Lebanon, the importance of breaking cultural centralism, the role of theater in awareness and change, and research on the status of theater in terms of writing, directing, acting, the relationship with the audience, and the role of cultural centers outside the capital.
The second session was launched in 2021 and included the honor list, Rene Dick, Watfaa Hammadi and Fadwa Hashem. Local, Arab and foreign theatrical performances participated in it, competing in the official competition for awards for best actress, best theatrical script, best scenography and costumes, best directing, best integrated work, and the jury award.
