Golden Apricot Film Festival to be covered by authoritative international mass media

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: The 10th annual Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival is scheduled for July 7 to 14 2013. As reported by Armenpress, at the press conference held on May 24 the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia Hasmik Poghosyan stated that the Golden Apricot Yerevan Festival arises inspiration not only in Armenia, but also outside of its borders.

This year the Festival will be covered not only by the Armenian mass media, but also the internationally known ones, such as Euronews, Culture, The national, Site and sound.

In 2013 the Festival got about 1200 applications from 94 countries of the world. In 2012 the number of the countries was 67, which proves that the international attention towards the Golden Apricot has been gradually increasing.

“We have managed to make the Golden Apricot an international passport. As a corporate social responsible company, we input the idea that it is quite important to make the Armenian identity recognizable in the Earth Planet”, - said the sponsor of the Festival, the General Director of VivaCell MTS Ralph Yirikyan.

The Director of the Festival Harutyun Khachatryan expressed his gratitude to the agencies, which provide for the peaceful and secure process of the Golden Apricot.

In the framework of the Festival a jubilee program will be held as well dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Aram Khachaturyan, 75th anniversary of Nerses Hovhannisyan and 75th anniversary of Artavazd Peleshyan.

Annual International Film FestivalGolden Apricotwas established in 2004 in Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, by the “Golden Apricot” Fund for Cinema Development, the Armenian Association of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Armenia and Benevolent Fund for Cultural Development. The organizers of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival are: Harutyun Khachatryan, Film Director and Festival Director; Mikayel Stamboltsyan, Film Critic and Program Director; and Susanna Harutyunyan, Film Critic and Artistic Director. Internationally acclaimed Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan was named President of the festival since 2005.

The Golden Apricot International Film Festival carries the theme Crossroads of Cultures and Civilizations. The title may well serve as an impassioned mantra for building cultural bridges and fostering dialogue. It also reflects the history of Armenia itself, which for millennia has existed as a flash point for competing geopolitical forces. Armenia's desirable geographic position has made it into a bone of contention for various empires, but has, on the other hand, resulted in a civilization replete with world influences and a dynamic arts heritage. It welcomes films representing diverse ethnic groups, religions, and nations that depict the human experience, the daily lives of people, ordinary and extraordinary, their troubles and their joys, as they try to find meaning in a changing world; as they struggle to redefine themselves in a world that recognizes fewer and fewer boundaries.

Yerevan is an evolving testament to that heritage, and the Golden Apricot International Film Festival has fast become a premier destination for filmmakers of all genres, particularly those advancing universal values of peace, cultural harmony and cross-pollination, and mutual understanding. Accordingly, the Annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival features a multitude of films representing various nations, ethnicities, and religions, collectively depicting the full richness of the human experience.

The Golden Apricot festival is different from other such events in the sense that it is relatively smaller-scale and much cozier, but it continues to garner genuinely international attention and respect. The films are presented in two international competition sections: features and documentaries. One Grand Prize Golden Apricot and one Special Mention are awarded in each category. The festival has a special pan-Armenian competitive section - Armenian Panorama - for short, feature, documentary, and animation films produced by filmmakers of Armenian descent. The opening of the festival is always marked with a traditional blessing of apricots, for which Armenia is famous.