About Festival

The Children's Theatre Festival "POZORIŠTE ZVEZDARIŠTE" is a regional competitive festival that presents the best theatrical productions for children in Serbia and neighboring countries. The festival was founded in 2003 by the City Municipality of Zvezdara. The festival is a member of the International ASSITEJ Network of Theaters for Children and Youth. The initiative to hold the festival was initiated by the actress Olivera Viktorović, the journalist Tanja Peternek Aleksić came up with the name and went down in history as the "godmother of the festival", and the following people provided support and actively participated in the creation: Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Radmila Hrustanović, Željko Hubač, Nebojša Romčević ... The idea was that by organizing "Zvezdarište" to affirm and encourage theatrical creation for the youngest and in that way to at least slightly correct the injustice that is reflected in the treatment of cultural events for children as less important.

The goals of the festival are: developing and fostering cultural habits in children and youth and affirming the educational importance of theatre as an important cultural content and space where in a creative way new knowledge is gained; encouraging mutual acquaintance, cooperation and exchange of experiences of theatre creators from different environments and creating a type of forum for the exchange of experiences, which will enable a faster integration of local artists and children's theatres into European and world trends. The festival is selective and competitive. At zvezdarište the following types of plays are performed: puppet, drama/play and combined forms; performances of classical theatre and performances belonging to new theatrical trends; verbal and non-verbal theatre (shadow theatre, movement theatre, dance theatre…); theatre plays for children of all ages - from the youngest to performances for teenagers; The festival is monitored by an Еxpert jury composed of theatre artists and a Children's jury as an expression of respect and appreciation of the opinions of children as the target group for which the festival is primarily intended. The expert jury awards 7 awards in the categories: Grand prix of the festival, the best text, direction, female and male roles, puppet design and animation, and the children's jury awards 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for the performance as a whole. The awards of the expert jury consist of a certificate and a monetary amount, and the awards of the children's jury consist of a certificate and a children's art work. Since 2013, the annual STAR AMONG THE STARS award has been presented for a lasting contribution to the development of theater for children and youth, established by the Festival Council.