FIMFALX12

FIMFA Lx12
- International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms
4th to 20th May 2012

“Punch has no feelings...”. - Edward Gordon Craig

“For me, working with the puppets is like going back to the roots of all theatre. That’s what I’ve discovered. It can be very powerful when it is done really well. It touches you on many different levels”. - Neville Tranter (Stuffed Puppet Theatre)

From the 4th to the 20th of May, A Tarumba - Teatro de Marionetas will hold the 12th edition of the International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms - FIMFA Lx, in Lisbon.

The International Festival of Puppetry and Animated Forms - FIMFA Lx is one of the most important festivals of puppetry and theatre in Portugal. Running since 2001, the festival is organized and produced annually by the puppet company A Tarumba - Teatro de Marionetas.

FIMFA Lx is an artistic project, open to new tendencies, of international dimension presenting an artistic and technical high level programme, with a very contemporary point of view. The Festival won the 2010 Critics Award given by the Portuguese Association of Theatre Critics.

Since its first edition, confront and innovation are characteristics of this event, by presenting a programme that combines the newest technologies with the most traditional puppet companies, and projects with very elemental techniques, performed in an experimental and contemporary way.

The big puppetry stage is back in Lisbon for 17 days of artistic transversality: FIMFA proudly presents a programme combining a diversity of techniques and this year in the opening night the festival celebrates the 350th anniversary of Mr. Punch!

The 12th edition promises to be truly stimulating, forcing us to reinvent and to look for new solutions, in these troubled times of crisis. We don't like the word resignation and, therefore, nothing better than the ancient world of puppetry, which always knew how to reinvent, apart from having accompanied the major revolutions, as well the modern times.

The 12th edition has the support of the Governo de Portugal / Secretário de Estado da Cultura - Direcção-Geral das Artes and other several important cultural partners from Lisbon, such as the EGEAC, co-productions with the Museu da Marioneta, Teatro Maria Matos, Teatro São Luiz, Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, Centro Cultural de Belém - Fábrica das Artes, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, amongst others. Also FIMFA Lx has been extended to other cities in Portugal: Guarda - Teatro Municipal da Guarda and Montemor-o-Novo - O Espaço do Tempo.

Featuring 20 companies and creators from countries such as Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Israel, Italy, United Kingdom and Portugal. FIMFA Lx12 will take place at the Museu da Marioneta, Teatro Maria Matos, Teatro São Luiz, Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, Centro Cultural de Belém, Galeria Boavista, CAMA - Centro de Artes da Marioneta and through the streets of Lisbon...

Welcome to FIMFA Lx12! Experience the unique Puppetry Universe, where anything can happen... and as Mr. Punch would say: "That's the way to do!".