80% of the works in Fadjr Other Types of performance section addressed social issues

He said that this year, 80 percent of the works in this section refer to social and environmental issues, social connections, traditions, and immigration, and addressing these issues should not be viewed from a politicized perspective.

Regarding the number of works that reached the secretariat, Rahimi said: “The festival secretariat received  70 works for the Other Type of performance section .About 52 percent of these works There  were about 52  percent of works from the provinces and 48 percent from Tehran.”

He continued: “We selected a team consisting of darmatic arts artist Saeed Hashemzadeh and Dr. Erfan Nazer, a researcher in performance studies, in cooperation with the festival office. First, we created a teaser including the complete conditions of this section to eliminate misunderstandings and published it. Then,  these tow artists accompanied the groups until the final selection  during four months of effort and extensive communication via email, phone, and in person.”

The author of the article “The Essentials of Performance Art,” continued: “We contacted all the groups and asked them to send a 5-minute video explaining the reasons why they think their work should be added in the Other Types of performance section.”

The director and theater instructor stated: "There was a basic flaw in the content submitted by all groups. While in this section, the groups were supposed to address a real situation that includes moments of events without  theatrical convention, unfortunately they sent synopsis of the work."

He declared: "There was a thought that this section belongs only to young people but it has changed. The most expensive artists in the world have been performance arts artists and new artists. We focused more to the idea  and several groups were invited to perform, but unfortunately, one of them could not come."

The manager of the other types of performance department pointed out to the need to avoid a politicized perspective in selecting works: "The content of other types of performance in the world is often about supporting nature and preserving the environment, animal rights, the hustle and bustle of metropolises, bureaucracies, unenforced laws, human communication and identity, etc.  80 percent of these works refer to social and environmental issues, social connections, traditions, and immigration, and addressing these issues with a politicized perspective should not be considered."

The 43rd edition runs January  22 - February 1, 2025.