FIMP or puppets in motion at the Invicta

Welcome back to FIMP, the Puppet Theatre artistic triumph in Porto, which is running in Porto, in different venues, from 11th to 20th October.

"This year FIMP reaches an important hallmark: it celebrates its 30th edition. A festival devoted to puppets and animated form. FIMP's relationship with the city and its institutions is, thus, invaluable", Mayor Rui Moreira stated, on occasion of the official programme presentation a few days ago, at Rivoli.

It all started in 1989, when this special lady, Isabel Alves Costa, gave life to animated forms in FIMP's first festival. Thirty years past, FIMP - Porto International Puppet Festival is celebrating this special edition with "a programme of 16 performances, one concert, two workshops, a festival own intellectual creation jointly with Balleteatro (also marking its 30th anniversary), in a total of 37 presentations" announced FIMP artistic director Igor Gandra.

Fifteen troupes from Portugal, Belgium, Canada, England, France and Germany, sixteen shows and two anniversaries are the figures for the 2019 International Puppet Festival in the Invicta, a modern theatre festival that will take to the stage of Porto Municipal Theatre (TMP) and to other locations in town.

But, this task of devoting oneself to performing arts is no bed of roses; the most paiful coup happened in 2018, when the Directorate-General for the Arts - DGARTES - cancelled all the support to the festival. It could have been the KO blow but it wasn't because "Porto City Hall decided to create a two-year special support, otherwise we would not be here, celebrating this special date", highlights Igor Gandra.

The entire FIMP is now economically viable, however, news from public funding are expected to surface anytime now.

Times change, but the will to do more and better never changes, rather increases in its desire to correlate with different languages, experiment new artistic forms, be it theatre, music, visual arts, dance or performance that find the perfect stage in this vibrant city called Porto.

Puppets do inspire terror and awe, in a sort of magical element that goes with the puppet show, if you will.

The festival kicked off on 11th October and runs till 20th October: 37 performances brought to the stages of Rivoli, Campo Alegre, Helena Sá e Costa, Palácio do Bolhão, Teatro de Ferro, Mosteiro de São Bento da Vitória, Teatros Carlos Alberto, Belomonte and espaço MIRA.

So, on 17th October, the by A Tarumba Company presents "Curtas de Papel, Osso e Fel" ["Shorts on Paper, Bone and Bile", free translation], at Rivoli, starting at 7pm.

This performance takes its inspiration from Edward Gorey, Mário-Henrique Leiria or Max Aub, to build a narrative with multiple interpretations, regarding odd daily events. Expect loads of black humour.

Saturday, 19th October, is time to appreciate "Ninho" ["Nest", free translation], at Campo Alegre, at 4pm, by the Partículas Elementares Company.

This play is inspired by the poem with the same name by Miguel Torga. With an elemental plot, carefully prepared, takes the audience to a narrative that is built by chance.

"Alma Nómada" will be on show at Carlos Albert Theatre, on 19th and 20th October. This is another show that "is able to reach to a wider audience during the festival", asserts FIMP's director, Igor Gandra. The combination of illustration, animated cinema, masks and marionettes by artist Magali Chouinard, sets up a sensory and dreamlike fable, starting from Julio Verne's Centre of the Earth, through the adventure of a woman's visual innerness.

On 18th and 19th October, the Campo Alegre Theatre presents "Don't we deserve grand human projects that give us meaning?"

Definitely, we say.

So, if you are looking for a total way of experiencing puppet theatre, look no further. Robbert&Frank Frank&Robbert will not be found wanting.

It is worth mentioning that the "Objetoteca Popular Itinerante" is a performance that features the association of ideas, based on everyday tangible and intangible objects. This project was established in the framework of the municipal programme "Cultura em Expansão", and after touring the country, it is presented at FIMP, in a special version.

Everyone at FIMP is pleased as punch to let you in the superior art of puppetry.

+Info: Full programme