Pozorišni akademski festival – PAF (Academic Theatre Festival) is a project launched in 2022 by the Center for Visual Arts and the Academy of Arts of the University of Banja Luka. PAF is designed as a festival of academic theatre, which gathers students of performing arts from academies and faculties from the region, with the aim to give them an opportunity to exchange knowledge, experiences and skills, promote their work, as well as create new artistic values.

During the festival, theatre fans have the opportunity to watch performances of the best academies and faculties of performing arts from the region. Apart from the competition program, each edition of the festival has a rich and interesting accompanying program, within which educational workshops and lectures are held, as well as concerts, exhibitions, etc.

The general goal of this project is to promote and affirm the contemporary creations of young theatre artists and encourage more intensive cooperation on creative projects between the Academy of Arts UNIBL and other academies and faculties of dramatic arts in the region, in order to develop a strong and authentic youth theatre scene. The festival program is aimed at several target groups – young, unestablished theatre artists, students of various majors of dramatic arts, academies and faculties of performing arts from the region, as well as fans of theatre arts.

The main and accompanying activities of the Academic Theatre Festival provide multiple benefits to all target groups included in this project. Young theatre artists (actors, directors, playwrights, producers etc.) have the opportunity to show the audience their talents and artistry, acquire new knowledge, skills and acquaintances, expand their horizons, and create opportunities for new artistic collaborations. AUBL drama students are involved in numerous stages of the festival’s production, and through such engagement they gain valuable practical experience, which is why this festival is of exceptional importance for the teaching process at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka.

Through their participation in the festival, academies and faculties of performing arts from the region strengthen their existing relationships and also establish new partnerships, which opens paths for numerous other future artistic and scientific collaborations. Such circumstances are of great importance both for the Academy of Arts and for the University of Banja Luka itself. In addition, through the cooperation of the Academy of Arts and the National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska, the Children’s Theatre of the Republic of Srpska and the City Theatre “Jazavac” on this project, the ties between important educational and cultural institutions are  also strengthened.

This festival offers new artistic values to theatre fans in Banja Luka, while also educating the audience. In addition, this project provides a significant contribution to the cultural and tourist offer of the city and the country, as well as the promotion and affirmation of the local young art scene.

Our wish is for PAF to become a traditional festival of academic theatre that will continue to develop and grow from year to year, push the boundaries, create new theatre professionals, educate new generations of theatre audiences and, in the long term, give contribution to the presentation, but also to the implementation of fresh, creative and innovative ideas at the theatre scene in our country.