The 14th International Izmir Theater Festival has started. Organized with the slogan "The world changes with a line, justice begins with a word", the festival will bring theater to all corners of Izmir on 18 different stages. The festival will bring theater groups from different countries and cities together in Izmir until November 22. Within the scope of the festival, 28 plays will be staged, 3 workshops and 1 conversation will be held.
The opening and award ceremony of the festival was held at Alsancak Architecture Center. Within the scope of the festival, two names who contributed to the world of art were given awards. This year, the Honor Award was presented to Bilge Şen Ündüz, and the Labor Award was presented to Menderes Samancılar. The Theme Award was presented to Nizamettin Kabaiş, the father of university student Rojin Kabaiş, who died suspiciously in Van. Kabaiş could not attend the award ceremony due to life-threatening conditions for himself and his family. Sending a message via video, Kabaiş reiterated his demand for justice.
Making the opening speech of the festival, Özgür Topçu, on behalf of TAKSAV Board of Directors, said, "Tonight, we are happy to say hello for the fourteenth time to all theater lovers from Izmir, to all friends whose hearts beat for goodness, equality and freedom. As you all know, we are going through very difficult times in terms of art, especially theaters. The deep economic crisis we are experiencing as a country, on the one hand, increases the costs of theater plays and halls, and on the other hand, reduces the public's interest in theater plays. Poor segments of society, especially young people and "While students have difficulty in meeting their basic needs, they first give up artistic activities such as cinema, theater and concerts. These festivals organized by our foundation offer a great opportunity to bring theater plays to large segments of the public," he said.
"THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IS THE STRUGGLE FOR THE FUTURE"
Topçu stated the following: "We are trapped in hunger, poverty, unemployment and an insecure future. We are faced with the picture of a country whose economy has completely collapsed, the law has been completely politicized, the parliament has been neutralized, the constitution and laws have been rendered meaningless, the mind and science have been replaced by superstitions, the understanding of the state of law has been replaced by the understanding of the person and the party state. Far from confronting the problems and seeking solutions, the political power, which is the creator of this painful picture, is oppressing the social opposition elements and using coercive policies." He wants to intimidate and silence. He is taking over the municipalities that he could not take over through democratic elections. He is banning strikes, festivals, concerts and artistic events. Elected mayors are being detained, artists are being detained, bureaucrats, journalists, writers and artists are being detained. Justice is the protection of nature, our cities and our common living spaces. Justice is the guarantee of freedom of thought and expression, freedom to organize and seek rights. It is our fundamental right to live in a country where people are not punished for what they seek. The struggle for justice is also the struggle for an equal, free and democratic future. This is exactly why we have determined the theme of this year's International Izmir Theater Festival, which we organize around a theme, as justice. We believe that art is not only about telling what happened, but also calls us to question, think and change. We see this festival as an opportunity to discuss justice with the language of art, to understand each other and to grow our solidarity. communities will be on our stages with their plays depicting different faces of justice.”
The award ceremony ended with a storytelling performance.
