On in its first jubilee year
The International Theatrical Festival of Butrint reached its tenth anniversary this year. It was held from the 11th of July to the 16th of July, in the old millenary city of Butrint, in the south-easternmost part of Albania. Five troupes participated in the Festival, coming from Italy, Greece, Kosovo and Turkey. A joint troupe from France and Romania closed the week’s Festival.
The Festival of Butrint, which claims to be the only festival of its kind in Albania, faced its tenth anniversary with a reduction of means. From the 9 nights on which it was held formerly it was shortened to 6, reports Panorama (8.07.2009). The support the Festival received from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports (Ministria e Turizmit, Kultur쳬 Rinis롤he Sporteve) (MTKRS) amounted to a reduced 6 million Albanian Lek (ALL). Only 5 troupes participated in the shortened Festival. The first night, the inaugural day of the 11th of July, a documentary film on the history of the ten-year Festival was shown, accompanied by sounds of music by renowned Albanian composer, Vladimir Kotani.
But this was the only Albanian participation in the Festival. No theater troupe from Albania made it to the festival observes Panorama (8.07.2009). Survival of cultural activities has become more and more difficult from year to year, suggests the press. Support by MTKRS had been reduced even in 2008, stated Alfred Bualoti, organizer of the Festival to Shqip (25.06.2009). From 10 million ALL in 2000, the founding year, support from MTKRS reached 13 million ALL in its fifth year. With support shrinking, suggests Bualoti, there are many arguments why the ten-year Festival should continue to exist, especially, “now that it has acquired European dimensions.”
Butrint is a renowned historic spot in Mediterranean culture with a deep rooted theatrical history. Its ancient name Buthrotum, seated on the Albanian coast in front of Corfu and surrounded by a lagoon, Butrint has been, over the time, a port and a cultural place. The theatre was founded in the 4th century BC. Today Butrint is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Festival in review
Nearly 40,000 spectators and artists have participated in the International Theatrical Festival of Butrint in the nine previous years of its existence.
Nearly 1870 artists coming from numerous countries have climbed to the arena of the old millenary amphitheater over the years.
Troupes from 17 countries, neighboring or distant, have come amidst the antique-charged cultural scene of Butrint.
Participants have come from neighboring Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria as well as from the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the USA.
Source: Shqip, (25.06.2009).
