On July 10-17, the 19th Golden Apricot International Film Festival, which closely cooperates with embassies and international organizations, will be held in Yerevan. “It is very exciting because there are a few days left before the festival. We are all preparing. We have support from state institutions and international partners. This is already the 19th festival. We have quite a rich history. We also remember when we conducted the Days of German Films in 1997… By the way, cooperation with various embassies began before the festival, but was confirmed and strengthened during the festival,” said Susanna Harutyunyan, founder of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival.
“It is very important for the French Embassy to support this festival, which we have been with for a long time. Golden Apricot is an important festival not only for the Republic of Armenia. We will be next to the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in the future,” said Guillaume Narjolet, head of the cultural cooperation department of the French Embassy, thanking the Golden Apricot” organizers.
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In cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of France in Armenia, the Armenian audience will enjoy the real fireworks of French cinema. “The new French film program will feature Claire Denis’s “Midday Stars”, Jean-Pierre Dardin/Luc Dardin’s “Tori and Lokita”, and the Armenian-French co-production Arno Khayajanyan’s “Lonely Night” will be in the short film competition. A tribute will be paid to the classic French cinema Alain René, his films “Hiroshima, my love”, “The war is over”, “Last year in Marienbad” will be shown. The “Homage” program will show live classic Costa-Gavras films of world cinema. The ACid Cannes Speciale program will also be presented.
Dutch Deputy Ambassador George Monsanto noted that they are happy to provide modest support to the 19th Golden Apricot. “We will finance the festival from the funds of Public Diplomacy. We started supporting the festival after the opening of the embassy in Yerevan, and this is the second year we have been financing it,” said the deputy ambassador. According to him, cinema is an easy way to reach people’s hearts and show something new. “All the missions that are present at the basis of the festival – intercultural communication, building of cultural relations, etc., will lead to a dialogue of cultures.”
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Armenia supports the publication of the festival daily, which is one of the visiting cards of the festival. Jennifer McAndrew, director of the public relations department of the US Embassy, was also present at the press conference. She also presented the film program of the Sundance Film Festival to be shown in the framework of Golden Apricot in cooperation with the US Embassy, which will open with Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love.”
Simon Lereng Vilmont’s “The House from the Debris” is in the competition program, and Carlotta Pereda’s “Pig” will also be shown. She happily noted that the creative potential of different countries will unite during the festival. “Films have a special power to bring people together. Cinema is a unique window that can bring people closer and inform them about issues. It has the potential to change the world and provide positive changes,” said Jennifer McAndrew.
Head of Goethe Center in Yerevan, cultural expert Natia Micheladze-Bakhsoliani said that they have been cooperating with Golden Apricot for 18 years, and like every year, this year too Goethe Center contributed to the “Made in Germany” film programs. Thus, in cooperation with the Goethe Center, a number of films produced in Germany will be presented, such as Florian Hoffmann’s “Shoreshops of War”, Andreas Dresen’s Rabier Kournaz vs. George Bush, Ulrich Seidl’s Rimini, Shaukat Amin Kork’s “The Examination”, Diana El Giroud’s “Republic of Silence.” AGBU cultural programs and media head Vardan Tsulikyan, Creative Armenia program director Anush Ter-Khachatryan, and GAIFF Pro program manager Sona Karapoghosyan also took part in the press conference. Within the framework of the festival, active cooperation is also carried out with the Armenian General Benevolent Union, where traditional meetings with famous filmmakers will be held. The GAIFF Pro production platform will be held with the support of AGBU and Creative Armenia. Twelve projects and 4 films in the working stage will be presented at the GAIFF Pro Co-Production Market in 2022. During the active week of the festival, project representatives will meet and work with different film professionals who have arrived in Armenia from different countries of the world. The projects included in the market are: “The Woman named Seyada”, dir. Anas Salahedi (Egypt, Germany), “Aisha Can’t Fly Anymore”, dir. Morad Mostafa (Egypt), “Flying Cows”, dir. Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan (Armenia), “Let me sincerely cry with you”, dir. Harut Makyan (Armenia), “Milk and Honey”, dir. Tornike Gogrichiani (Georgia), “Displaced”, dir. Mohamed Al-Majdalavi (Palestine, Sweden), “The Taste of Life”, dir. Angela Frangyan (Armenia, France), “The Stone”, dir. Mariam Khatchvani (Georgia), “To Allen”, dir. Evelina Barseghyan (Armenia), “Tmrastan”, dir. Said Zagha (Jordan), “With love and misery”, dir. Sogol Rezvani (Iran), “Zako”, dir. Tigran Arakelyan (Armenia, France). There will be workshops of Armenian projects and film critics.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
