Selected by the board of Mittelfest, in agreement with the leadership of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Agata Tomšič will be the first woman to lead the historic festival in Cividale del Friuli after 35 years of male leadership. The appointment will take effect from October 1, 2026. Agata Tomšič’s appointment confirms Mittelfest as a space for dialogue between different realities and sensitivities, connecting the Central European and Balkan regions.

“I am very happy and grateful for the trust placed in me in conferring this prestigious role. I am familiar with Mittelfest and have always felt somewhat at home whenever, in the past, as I approached the border on which I was born, I came to attend the festival. This year, I spent the last two weeks in Cividale del Friuli: I met its technical and organisational team, studied the venues, and spoke with the audience. I allowed myself a special time to start connecting with the territory and the people who inhabit it. A rare opportunity that few artistic directions can boast before committing to a new project, which will nourish my imagination and the ambitions of the festival we will build in the future. In the coming years, I wish to draw upon the knowledge I have acquired over nearly 20 years of theatre work in Italy and abroad to ensure Mittelfest continues to be that privileged meeting place from which we can observe and understand our present. To use the power of contemporary performing arts’ diverse languages to keep cultivating that European dream of peaceful coexistence between different peoples and cultures, where opposites meet and merge through dialogue. To employ the art of being together, the potency of theatre’s ‘here and now’, to bridge popular art and experimentation, tradition and innovation, so as to once again become a forge for the new and a point of reference within the European theatre landscape”. Agata Tomšič

POLIS Teatro Festival will continue its journey in Ravenna, under the direction of Davide Sacco and with the operational team from ErosAntEros.

+ info: https://www.mittelfest.org/la-paura-si-vince-a-cividale-mittelfest-guarda-al-futuro/