“Our principles have not changed: we are organizing an open festival built on dialogue, characterized by diversity, courageous debates, and intellectual connections among creators,” emphasized Attila Vidnyánszky, CEO of the National Theatre of Budapest, in his introductory remarks at the press conference. The founder and artistic director of MITEM first praised the collaborations that have emerged over the past twelve editions of the festival, which have helped open up new theatrical worlds previously unknown to Hungarian audiences. As examples, he mentioned the many years of rich cooperation with Romanian and Serbian theatre artists, the more recent theatrical partnerships established with Bulgaria and Slovakia, as well as co-production plans taking shape through the 2025 MITEM with the Mongolian National Theatre for a production about Attila the Hun. He also spoke about how it has become increasingly difficult to curate selections from Western European theatres, where current political messages too often override aesthetic considerations and the representation of universal human values. According to Vidnyánszky, one of the most exciting theatrical languages in Europe today is represented, for example, by Romanian theatre, which is continuously present in the MITEM program with its bold and experimental productions. The director also paid tribute to Valère Novarina, who passed away in January and was a great admirer of Hungarian culture. It is no coincidence that, already during his time as theatre director in Debrecen, Vidnyánszky developed a close relationship with him, as a result of which the French artist’s production staged there was also presented in Paris. This year, Novarina’s The Characters of Thoughts will arrive at MITEM, performed by L’Union Des Contraires, the company of which he was artistic director.

“An interesting feature of this year’s program is that it begins with Richard III and also ends with it: the opening performance comes from the Harag György Company of the Northern Theatre in Satu Mare, while the closing performance will be presented by Israel’s Gesher Theatre,” highlighted Edit Kulcsár, the festival’s chief organizer. In addition to what had already been mentioned, the dramaturg of the National Theatre added that creators already familiar to Budapest audiences, such as Avtandil Varsimasvili and Diana Dobreva, will each bring a production to MITEM. Audiences will also be able to see a Chekhov adaptation from the Kazan Tatar Theatre—also not unfamiliar—as well as Pinocchio. What Is a Human Being?, directed in Naples by the Italian artist Davide Iodice, whose work, marked by a distinctive social sensitivity, was introduced at last year’s festival. Kulcsár also emphasized that there will once again be a premiere in the festival program: this time, the presentation of Kanáripaprikás, directed by János Feledi and created as a Croatian–Hungarian co-production, will be shown at MITEM.

Among the guests at the press conference, Ioana Anghel, director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Budapest, also spoke appreciatively of Hungarian–Romanian theatrical relations, highlighting that an exceptionally large number of Romanian theatre productions have appeared at MITEM over the years, including Hungarian-language theatres that are highly regarded within the Romanian theatre profession. A striking example of this is that the festival’s opening performance, the Satu Mare production of Richard III, won two UNITER Awards—considered the most prestigious honors in Romanian theatre—last year, receiving the prizes for Best Direction (István Albu) and Best Performance in May. She noted that one of the most frequently awarded companies in the history of the prizes has been the Hungarian company in Cluj-Napoca. She also emphasized that cooperation between Romanian and Hungarian artists is indeed very strong, with creators regularly performing and directing in each other’s theatres. She further drew attention to the Bucharest production arriving at MITEM, directed by Andrei Șerban, which she considers to be the great Romanian artist’s finest work to date, summarizing his accumulated experience. István Bessenyei Gedő, director of the Harag György Company of the Northern Theatre in Satu Mare, added that thanks to the festival, their Richard III production will now be guest-performing in a third capital city.

Playwright and dramaturg Kirill Fokin spoke about the minority theatre world organization currently taking shape, noting that an important new phase of the initiative will take place at MITEM. He mentioned that in December 2025, representatives of interested theatres exchanged ideas at a webinar, including theatres working in Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Welsh, Frisian, and Catalan. Productions from these communities will be presented in a separate block at the festival, with the detailed program to be announced later by the organizers.

Also attending the press conference was Irén Novák, Deputy State Secretary for the Arts and Community Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, who likewise emphasized the importance of joint thinking. She highlighted that the National Theatre, as a strategic cultural institution, plays a crucial role in dialogue with other cultures. She also spoke about why there is such a high level of sensitivity toward national minority theatres operating in minority contexts: the institution’s director, Attila Vidnyánszky, himself comes from such a background and is therefore intimately familiar with the problems that characterize these communities.

Milán Rusz, director of the Serbian Theatre in Hungary and ministerial commissioner for the Serbian–Hungarian cultural season, emphasized that although Serbian theatre has been present at MITEM every year, this presence will be even stronger in 2024. The National Theatre in Belgrade will arrive with Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid; in addition, the Subotica Children’s Theatre will present a children’s performance in two languages, the Subotica National Theatre will also participate, and there are plans for a joint production by students of the theatre academies.

The detailed program of the 13th MITEM can be found at mitem.hu.