The Young Directors Project 2013 has awarded his winner: Mokhallad Rasem from Iraq with his play “Romeo and Juliet”. Each year, Montblanc offers young, emerging theatre directors an international stage to present their extraordinary talent to the broad audience during the Salzburg Festival
Supporting young emerging talents since 2002
The Young Directors Project, originated in 2002 by Montblanc and the former Director of Drama of the Salzburg Festival, Jürgen Flimm, promotes and celebrates young, emerging theatre directors with innovative ideas who offer an unconventional approach to the questions of modern society.
This international theatre project has educed hidden talents as a promising enrichment for the future theatre landscape by giving them the opportunity to embark upon their careers as to become known far beyond their home countries.
Four emerging talents for the YDP 2013
For the Young Directors Project 2013, the Director of Drama of the Salzburg Festival, Sven-Eric Bechtolf had selected four young directors from Great Britain, Germany, Iraq and the Czech Republic to perform in this year’s competition powered by Montblanc.
Each year, an expert jury honours the most convincing performance with the Montblanc Young Directors Award, €10,000 prize money and an exclusive Montblanc Limited Edition Fountain Pen, which is exclusively designed for the award and only available during the Salzburg Summer Festival.
This year’s prominent jury included Dr. Helga Rabl-Stadler (President of the Salzburg Festival) and Thaddaeus Ropac (Ropac Gallery), who have been involved in the project since its inception. Joining for the first time in 2013: actress Brigitte Hobmeier (central character of the play “Jedermann”), author Michael Köhlmeier and director Ulrich Khuon (Deutsches Theater, Berlin).
The winner of the YDP 2013: Mokhallad Rasem
During a ceremony, on August 21st, the jury proudly announced the winner Mokhallad Rasem, who received the prize money as well as the Montblanc „W. A. Mozart Limited Edition 250“ Fountain Pen in presence of Ingrid Roosen-Trinks (Director Montblanc Cultural Foundation) and the five jury members.
Mokhallad Rasem convinced the jury with his new interpretation of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet as jury member Michael Köhlmeier explained during the press conference:
“The fact that love and hatred not only coexist within a relationship, but can both be active within one movement, one glance, one word – that they even need each other, that the most powerful of all feelings are dependent on each other when two people want to survive in a world of horror – this is the insight the Iraqi-Belgian director Mokhallad Rasem tries to introduce us to. He calls his piece Romeo and Juliet. Not that we understood the title immediately – but then not everything that is “immediately apparent” is satisfying. The play tells that part of the story which Shakespeare avoided. We think that shows remarkable ambition! The piece the jury has chosen contains such moments. It hurts us to suddenly recognise that of all people, we love that person most whom we also hate the most. We want to cry and rejoice. And are – touched.”