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{{Article
| status       = PHOTO NEEDSUPDATE
| maintainer   = Katja Kosi
}}
{{Infobox
| name                = Borštnik Theatre Festival
| local name          = Festival Borštnikovo srečanje
| logo                = Borstnik Theatre Festival (logo).svg
| street              = Slovenska 27
| town                = SI-2000 Maribor
| telephone           = 386 (0) 2 250 6227, 386 (0) 2 250 6100
| fax                 = 386 (0) 2 250 6228
| email               = borstnikovo@sng-mb.si
| website             = http://www.borstnikovo.si/
| organised by        = Slovene National Theatre Maribor
| frequency = annual
| dates and duration  = October, 10 days (shortened in 2020, due to Covid-19); in 2021 shifted to June
| duration weeks      = 40,41,42 (2012) 42,43 (2013) 42,43 (2014)
| festival dates      = 15.10.2015 - 25.10.2015, 14.10.2016 - 23.10.2016, 20.10.2017 - 29.10.2017, 19.10.2018 - 28.10.2018, 14.10.2019 - 27.10.2019, 12.10.2020 - 16.10.2020, 14.6.2021 - 27.6.2021, 30.5.2022 - 12.6.2022, 5.6.2023 - 18.6.2023, 3.6.2024 - 16.6.2024
| contacts = {{Contact
| name                = Aleš Novak
| role                = Festival Director
| email               = ales.novak@borstnikovo.si
| telephone           = 
}}{{Contact
| name                = Mojca Kolar
| role                = Assistant Director
| email               = mojca.kolar@borstnikovo.si
| telephone           = 386 (2) 250 61 48
}}{{Contact
| name                = Daša Šprinčnik
| role                = Producer and Public Relations
| email               = dasa.sprincnik@borstnikovo.si
| telephone           = 386 (2) 250 61 48, 386 (2) 250 61 00
}}
|accounts=
http://twitter.com/festivalbs
http://www.facebook.com/FestivalBorstnikovoSrecanje
http://www.youtube.com/user/festivalbs
https://instagram.com/festival_borstnikovo_srecanje
}}



{{Teaser|

{{Wide image|Maribor Theatre Festival 2010 Leonce and Lena Photo Ivan Vinovrski.jpg}}

Every autumn since [[established::1966]], various Slovene theatres have met in Maribor at the [[Maribor Theatre Festival]] (its Slovene name being Borštnikovo srečanje), organised by and held at the [[Slovene National Theatre Maribor]]. This most prestigious theatre event is the largest annual review of Slovene theatre production. The festival awards the [[Borštnik Ring Award and Borštnik Awards|Borštnik Ring]], the highest accolade for theatre actors in Slovenia, further [[Borštnik Ring Award and Borštnik Awards|Borštnik Awards]] are bestowed for best achievements in directing, acting, and other categories. 

To honour individual Borštnik Ring recipients, the festival launched a book series devoted to the work and lives of laureates in 2017.
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==History==
The festival took place for the first time in 1966 under the name Slovene Drama Week and was re-named the Borštnik Meeting in 1972 (today its Slovene name is still Festival Borštnikovo srečanje, but it has come to be known as the Maribor Theatre Festival in English). Prior to 1990, the festival was also held in other Slovene towns; in the 1990s there were several unsuccessful attempts to move the festival from Maribor to Ljubljana. Until 1992, all professional Slovene theatres presented at least one production at the festival's competition programme, with independent productions appearing only in the off-programme. Subsequently, the selection became more rigorous, including only the most representative theatre productions. The 1990s saw the protest of numerous independent theatre producers and makers, arguing that with the festival's existing conceptually-closed orientation, it did not present the actual theatre production nor acknowledge the variety of aesthetics, poetics, approaches, and procedures. 

On its 45th anniversary, the festival was reorganised and internationalised. In addition to the selected Slovene performances by repertory theatres from Maribor, Ljubljana, Nova Gorica, Celje, Kranj, Ptuj, Koper, and Trieste, as well as by a few independent theatre producers, the festival's programme featured international performances. A special showcase selection addressed international professionals who also participated in debates and symposia. 

Since 1994, the selector of the festival has a two-year mandate. The jury usually comprises four to five persons (critics, directors, writers, theorists, artists, etc.). The [[Borštnik Ring Award and Borštnik Awards|Borštnik Ring Award]] recipient is selected by a different jury. 

The festival is named after [[Ignacij Borštnik]] (1858&ndash;1919), director, actor, playwright, translator and the founder of the Slovene artistic theatre. He was the first Slovene theatre director in the modern sense of the word and a master craftsman of the most demanding roles, especially from turn-of-the-century modernist realism.

==Programme==

Each year, around 10 new performances are presented in the selected competition programme of the Maribor Theatre Festival. These stagings compete for the following [[Borštnik Ring Award and Borštnik Awards|Borštnik Awards]]: best performance (Borštnik Grand Prix), best director, best actor, best young actor, other achievements (set design, costume design, lighting design, musical score, and other artistic categories), plus a special jury award. The award of the [[Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia]] for the best performance in the previous season is also presented. 

The accompanying non-competitive programme consists of interesting performances of the previous season, often created by a younger generation of authors, whose innovative approaches to creating performances challenge the established concepts and boundaries of theatre, as well as performances by as international artists and theatre houses.

The Maribor Theatre Festival also presents the annual production of the [[Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT)]] and has recently started running an international student programme.

==International symposia and conferences==

Each year the festival cooperates closely with the [[Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia]] in the organisation of conferences, symposia, round tables, workshops, seminars and talks, dedicated to relevant topics, such as festival production, criticism, dramaturgy, archiving, intercultural exchange, etc. The festival has also hosted several international symposia and conferences, which were prepared with international partners, such as the International Theatre Institute (ITI) or the international network of theatre critics AICT/IATC.

== E-xhibitions ==

Digital collections (photo galleries) presenting outstanding authors (e.g., actors who won the Borštnik Ring Award) were compiled by the [[Slovenian Theatre Institute]] in collaboration with the institute Novi zato., Prodok teater TV, Slovene theatre houses and regional archives. Further digital galleries present some of the recent Grand Prix performances, referential documentary photos, video and audio excerpts which are accessible to the wider public on the [[Sigledal.org - Slovene theatre portal]].

== Contemporary European Drama book collection ==

To bridge the gap to the international space and open communication with it, the festival has devoted special attention to the playwriting and theatre of a selected country. To this purpose, the Contemporary European Drama book collection was launched in 2011, which brought translations of contemporary plays written by authors coming from Finland, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Holland, Spain and Slovakia.

== See also ==
* [[Borštnik Ring Award and Borštnik Awards]]
* [[Slovene National Theatre Maribor]]

==External links==
* [http://www.borstnikovo.si/ Maribor Theatre Festival website] 
* [http://www.sng-mb.si/ Slovene National Theatre Maribor website]
* [https://www.borstnikovo.si/en/e-xhibition-archive/ Maribor Theatre Festival's E-xhibition archive]
* [http://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacij_Bor%C5%A1tnik Ignacij Borštnik on Wikipedija] (in Slovenian)


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[[Category:Festivals]]
[[Category:Festivals in October]]
[[Category:Theatre festivals]]

[[Category:Theatre]]
[[Category:Updated 2020]]
[[Category:Theatre & Dance]]