“The show must go on” was probably the most common phrase that resonated in the minds of the festival-goers in the past year, the infamous 2020 year. As is well known, somewhere in the first months of the year when the corona came into our lives and began to spread in Israel and around the world at a dizzying pace, the existence of the Festigal was very much in doubt, and even some managed to eulogize it. But in the Festigal, as in the Festigal, anything can happen and anything is possible. In just a few months, the production of the Festigal, conducted by Hanoch Rosen, managed to change everything they planned in advance and pick up a first event of its kind that lasted 40 days, and included dozens of artists, games and especially experiences and songs from 40 unforgettable Festigal years.
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To be honest, I do not know how to sum up 40 days of Festigal. I had not yet digested that it had happened at all, I was sure it would not work and I had a lot of doubts that almost came true last night (Thursday), when the Festigal site collapsed from congestion (as expected). For moments it seemed that I would not get to see this year the favorite show, to which I have been waiting every year since I was five years old. So I got to hang out behind the scenes and meet my favorite stars at the time. Over the past 40 days, we have all opened 40 secret doors that have reminded us of how many experiences the Festigal has instilled in each and every one of us over the years. We saw the most beloved stars every day, played online and special games, experimented in escape rooms, practiced on Saturdays with Roni ‘Superstar’ (aaaahaha!), Danced with Noa Kirl, Eden Meiri and Nicki Goldstein, saved Noa with the stars of “Ziggy” , We fell in love again and again with Libiana, we remembered why we love the stars of “Gallis” so much, AudioNo innovations to the most iconic songs and identified with the Festigal and in between “Electric Girl”, “Fly”, “Lightning Man” and more, We remembered the beloved artists who are no longer with us – but will forever remain, we realized how much each and especially one of us matters and of course, that at the end of the day – the good always wins.
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To be honest, the Festigal plot is not the only issue that has preoccupied us all lately, the castings to it have also occupied the expectant audience and their sons me constantly. Dozens of publications about the castings for him were published daily (most of them here on the site!) And led to a variety of reactions that flooded the network and swept away all the children of Israel. Two of the castings took place mainly thanks to you – Peruvian surfers, namely Tuval Shafir and Daniel Moreshet, the best friends from “Gallis” who returned in a big way to the celebration. The discerning in the audience, must have noticed the mention of heritage in the big show, when he shared that only thanks to you he is here.
This year, more than ever, the show made us feel how influential we are, from the choice we were given at the various doors to the ability to influence the casting to it and even – we got another version of the song “Children of the Future”, which also created its own storm on the net. By the way, the stage version of the stars of “Siggy” was also captivating and warming the heart alongside the children of the crumbling Festigal.
The show was definitely the highlight of all this and exactly suited every Festigal child, present and past. It started with an opening number that made me want an entire Festigal musical, which included some inner jokes and self-humor (horse and excessive dragon, a sting on the censored “Flower Song” and of course – the infamous selfie song), and went on to a movie and show The competition between Tal Musari and Eliana Tidhar, and Lee Byrne’s great concern – the return of “Tubliana” to consciousness.
By the way, the scenes between Tuval and Lee felt like a requested closing of a circle, a kind of ceremony to transfer the official baton between “Tubliana” and “Libiana” – something he felt had to happen on screen. All this along with an excellent bad ensemble (and a simply crazy number for good), the requested and excellent combination of Hanoch Rosen throughout the plot, Tzipi Shavit one big life, a last performance sweeping and heartwarming and a ending scene that sent us crazy shivers and also closed another circle perfectly (and not worth it) Made you a spoiler).
I do not think it would have been possible to celebrate the 40th Festigal differently and the concept of the year, although forced on the producers of the show, was perfect and did him only favors. Think that following the change he would definitely have grouped all the wonderful cast (over 50 stars), which could not have technically happened in a regular show. But still, who will give and next year we will return to the physical show full of excitement from the face-to-face meeting.
So true, the year 2020 did take a lot of things from us and completely changed the face of the world – and maybe forever. Still “it’s not that simple to be a child here”, certainly not in the Corona period. But, and this is a big but, the Festigal can not be stopped. It is impossible to stop 40 years of doing, conquering the stages, accumulating a huge audience that renews over the years and countless performances all over the country. I sum up this experience as forty days of unforgettable experience, forty days in which I remembered why the Festigal is so loved and one understanding – that everything is possible and open, and we all change.
The show even announced the best show of all time, according to a poll conducted on the Festigal website for key buyers. The big winner is the “Freestyle Festigal” from 2017 in which stars such as Omer Hazan, Niv Sultan, Noa Kirl, Margie, Eden Meiri, Rif Ne’eman, Idan Raichel, Eliana Tidhar and more participated. Remember, last year, in a similar poll in Perugia conducted last year – the surfers actually chose the Fantasy Festigal (Heroes of the Lost Kingdom, 2006) as the best festival.