By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The 4.4 Festival of Short Performances has opened at the State Academic Musical Theater. 

The festival is being held for the first time and is co-organized by the Culture Ministry and Teatro.az with the support of the State Academic Musical Theater and the International Union of Theater Critics.

The first day of the festival brought together well-known theater actors, directors and playwrights.

The main goal of the festival is to increase the number of dramatic performances reflecting the courage and heroism of the Azerbaijani soldiers.

It also focuses on reviving the work theaters which were previously suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The five-day festival features theatrical productions, workshops and panel discussions.

The festival's theatrical performances cover the military theme.

The duration of each production is 15 minutes. The winners will be awarded with a cash prize.

A minute of silence was observed at the festival's opening ceremony. The attendees paid tribute to the Azerbaijani martyrs, who fought heroically for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Next, the festival`s director, theater critic Elchin Jafarov introduced the festival's jury members Honored Art Workers  Israfil Israfilov (chairman), Aydin Talibzade, Ali Amirli, theater director Mehriban Alakparzade, People's Artist, famous theater and film actor Parviz Mammadrzayev.

Head of the Culture Ministry's Arts Department Farah Ajalova addressed the event. 

" When we received an offer to hold the festival, we were very pleased to support this initiative. The festival became the first theatrical project dedicated to the glorious victory in the 44-day Patriotic War. It is remarkable that many applications have been sent to the festival. This indicates that the festival's initiative has been accepted with enthusiasm and success," said Ajalova.

The project manager Vidadi Gafarov and art director Emin Aliyev said that the festival involves new theater performances that have not been shown anywhere before.

"Theater teams from Baku and the country's regions, including 1 state, 6 private and 5 independent theaters, are taking part in the festival which reveals new talents. A total of 22 theater performances will be presented as part of the festival," said Gafarov.

The ceremony was followed by the presentation of the theatrical performances.