7th Erbil International Theater Festival

Erbil Governor: Theater art is rooted in the history of Erbil

 On Saturday, November 12, 2022. In the presence of the representative of the Respected Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw, Deputy Minister of Culture Dr. Salar Osman and a large number of artists, theater, writers and intellectuals
The 7th Erbil International Theater Festival was held in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Several countries including Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, Jordan, Egypt, the Sultanate of Oman and Morocco have been invited to participate in the event. In addition to the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad, Basra and many other cities participated in the event.

The festival started with the national anthem and then the screen showed the pictures of the deceased leaders of Kurdish theater and welcoming speech was delivered by Hiwa Suad

Then, the representative of Mr. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Omed Khoshnaw, delivered a speech in which he welcomed the participants of the participating countries and cities.

He also stressed that Erbil as a city has a deep history of connection with the theater movement. He emphasized the importance of theater and called it the mother of all arts. Throughout history, theater and theater artists have had a national attitude and have described their art as a weapon and struggle for Kurdish work. The governor also praised the role of the theater directorate and theater artists, who have worked tirelessly. He considered this as an important step for the development of the arts in Erbil
It is worth mentioning that this festival is organized annually by the Erbil Theater Directorate and in addition to presenting several debates and seminars, the participating countries participate in theatrical work and present their theatrical performances. Finally, Sabah Abdulrahman was awarded the Golden Award by the Governor of Erbil for his half a century of service in performance, text and theatrical criticism.