International Puppet Festival – Zagreb, City of Puppets

The International Puppet Festival will once again present the most famous puppet theatre shows and the best of European and international productions.

A sea of creativity and love for puppetry has washed over Zagreb for more than 50 years. Through its long history, the International Puppet Festival has presented almost 1000 performances by more than 400 theatre houses from some 50 countries from all continents.

Plays, street events, exhibitions, puppetry workshops and competitions, films, round tables and seminars and publishing will all turn Zagreb into the centre of the puppet universe. With a history spanning half a century, the Festival has hosted over 1000 performances which have been watched by an audience of 10,000 people, big and small. There is no doubt that the Festival will be just as successful this year since it has over the years become a trademark of the city of Zagreb.

A programme of accompanying events is always organised, with puppet shows, presentations of books and magazines on puppetry, exhibitions of puppets from all over the world, puppetry workshops, film screenings, expert symposia on puppetry and fundraising activities. Since 1990 the Festival has also had its own mascot: a giant puppet named PIFKO created by Academy artist Professor Mira Dulčić, which every year heads the jolly Festival procession.