16-18 July Mittelyoung / 19-28 July Mittelfest
Cividale del Friuli
Artistic direction Giacomo Pedini

MITTELFEST, NOW IN ITS 33RD EDITION, CLOSES THE 'TRILOGY OF CHAOS' AND, AFTER 'THE UNEXPECTED' (IMPREVISTI) AND 'THE INEVITABLE' (INEVITABILE), EXPLORES THE THEME OF DISORDERS (DISORDINI), AND HOW TO FIND NEW PATHS.

MITTELFEST 19-28 JULY: PRESENTS 29 ARTISTIC PROJECTS FROM 17 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING 15 WORLD OR ITALIAN PREMIERES AND 7 PRODUCTIONS/CO-PRODUCTIONS, WITH TRIBUTES TO PERSONALITIES FROM THE NEAR AND DISTANT PAST, AND PERFORMANCES OF CIVIL COMMITMENT FOR A NEW FUTURE, ALL MIXING STYLES, GENRES AND LANGUAGES TO SHED LIGHT ON WHAT SEEMS CONFUSING.

MITTELYOUNG 16-18 JULY: A UNIQUE EVENT IN EUROPE, STAGING 9 SELECTED PERFORMANCES OF PROSE, DANCE, MUSIC AND CIRCUS FROM UNDER-30 MITTELEUROPA, THUS GIVING SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT TO YOUNG PEOPLE. THIS YEAR WITH THE NOVELTY OF A PRIZE.
AMONG THE PROTAGONISTS OF MITTELFEST: (IN CALENDAR ORDER) IGUDESMAN & JOO, JETON NEZIRAJ, GIUSEPPE BATTISTON, ALESSIO BONI, ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV, JOSEF NADJ, MONI OVADIA, TEATRINO GIULLARE, MARGHERITA VICARIO.

Everything is constantly changing, and this inescapable process of transformation is
accomplished by breaking every established order, towards a new state of things. There is no remedy, except to flow along with the changing events and to seek for the new paths that gradually come together. Mittelfest 2024 closes a trilogy, as an ideal symphony of chaos that recounted the unexpected (imprevisti) in 2022 and the inevitable (inevitabile) in 2023 and thus arrives at the theme DISORDERS (DISORDINI).

Now in its 33rd edition, Mittelfest - a multidisciplinary festival of theatre, music, dance and circus for the countries of Central Europe and the Balkans, based in Cividale del Friuli, thus attempts to disentangle itself from the 'disorder' of the elements that have emerged from recent and earlier history by mixing different languages, genres and styles. It does so by combining, for the fourth year, the main festival with the under-30 Mittelyoung festival, which stages a new generation of Mitteleuropa.

This is how Mittelfest director, Giacomo Pedini, explains the theme that inspired him for the programme: "If the world runs so fast that escapes the eye and leaves those passing by lost: what to do? Take shelter within one's own walls, watching what happens outside from a screen, or throw oneself into the centre of the frame as a protagonist? Or, like a tightrope walker, navigate events, wobbling along one's own slender path, suspended precariously towards the goal, amidst conflicts, illusions, races, hopes and other sumptuous disorders? The die is not cast. The state of upheaval in recent years is very high and Western and Central Europe fears not to recognise itself, to find itself worse, butsometimes - fortunately - still hopes to be better. Yet, the intricate and very fast changing of events is the very condition of history and nature, which never repeat exactly the same: in this algorithmic civilisation of ours, which finds shelter in the rigidity of the machine and in the implacability of the technique useful for control, I think that live performance, elusive in itself, is an opportunity to embrace chaos as a life-giving generator of possibilities."

The two international festivals are staged respectively from 16 to 18 July Mittelyoung, and from 19 to 28 July Mittelfest, while throughout the year Mittelfest continues under the name of Mittelland, with events that give continuity to the festival and identify it as a bridge between European collaborations and local realities.

In numbers, the two festivals stage a total of 38 titles, involving artists from 19 different countries in Central Europe, the Balkans and neighbouring countries, and others from around the world (Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Macedonia, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Romania, Netherlands). 

In detail, this year Mittelfest has 29 artistic projects - 16 music, 8 theatre, 3 dance and
2 circus, to which are added the 3 shows selected from Mittelyoung, for 15 world and
Italian premieres, 7 productions or co-productions, all involving 17 different countries.

Mittelyoung hosts the 9 winning projects from the call for entries closed last February
with 250 applications from all over Europe: 2 theatres, 2 music, 2 dance and 3 circuses,
representing 9 different countries.

Alongside these two national festivals, Mittelfest programme extends from 1 April to 31 December with Mittelland, which will be announced as the year progresses.

Mittelfest is also its territory and its city, Cividale del Friuli, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site: a network of audiences, artists, guests, citizens and a network of hotels, restaurants and cafés, in one of Italy’s most renowned regions for history and food. An international
food and wine landmark surrounded by the unique landscapes of the Natisone and Torre Valleys, the perfect land for slow tourism.

Info, programme and tickets: mittelfest.org