“Golden Apricot” International Festival was launched on July 7 with the screening of the new film “Seven Veils” by the Canadian director of Armenian origin Atom Egoyan.
This amazing project of the film industry, implemented with the support of the RA ESCS Ministry, has brought together international film personalities in Yerevan for the 21st time, presenting the already traditional film festival to the art-loving public, which will run until July 14 and feature both competitive and non-competitive film screenings.

The opening ceremony of the “Golden Apricot” International Festival was held at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex, which was attended by RA ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan, Deputy Ministers Daniel Danielyan, Alfred Kocharyan, film delegates, celebrities from the film industry, film lovers who arrived in Armenia to participate in the festival.

ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan greeted the attendees and extended congratulations on the occasion of the “Golden Apricot” festival, which is being held for the 21st time. ““Golden Apricot” is an essential part of our cultural life and Yerevan summers, such an event without which we cannot imagine life. This is not a one-day event that starts and ends on these days: discussions regarding the film festival typically start far earlier and persist even after its conclusion, highlighting the festival's significance for the film industry, cinematic culture, and culture in general. The ESCS Ministry is honoured to be part of the festival, which is an ongoing endeavour, and I am confident that we will witness further expansion and development of the festival's agendas in the coming years,” said the Minister.

According to her, cinema in Armenia has new avenues for development, including the impact of legislative changes in recent years, which have created new opportunities. The Minister especially emphasized the possibility of joint film production created by the adoption of the law “On Cinematography” and the opportunity of a cash rebate in the amount of 10-40%. “This is an excellent precondition for the most interesting and anticipated co-produced film projects, which will also receive governmental assistance, to once again receive a boost in our country,” said the Minister and added, “In that sense, Armenia is one of the best places with its nature, terrain and landscape, which this festival serves as an effective platform to showcase.”
Zhanna Andreasyan observed that nowadays, the audience has a variety of programs and premieres to choose from, deciding which genre of film to watch, where to go, and which celebrity guest to listen to. “We are currently facing challenging times, primarily characterized by tough conversations: art serves as the most effective medium to address the most complex issues. Additionally, movies these days can help us communicate about a number of topics that we haven't yet found an alternative way to express,” said the Minister, wishing the audience a good watching, and a successful course to the festival.

Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, Founder of the “Golden Apricot” Film Festival Harutyun Khachatryan and Artistic Director of the film festival Karen Avetisyan also delivered speeches. Yerevan Municipality is the general sponsor of the “Golden Apricot” Festival.

Atom Egoyan's film “Seven Veils”, which marked the opening of the festival, premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival and has already been highly praised, is an imaginative reinterpretation of Richard Strauss's opera “Salome”. In the film, Amanda Seyfried plays a theatre director seeking to bring to life her interpretation of the biblical story of “Salome”. The film will also premiere in Yerevan during the festival. This year, the “Point of Reference” series of carpets created by local carpet weavers based on artist David Kochunts' design, substituted the red carpet at the opening of the “Golden Apricot” Film Festival.

The “Golden Apricot” also particularly highlighted the 100th anniversary of two cinema legends - Charles Aznavour and Sergei Parajanov. In honour of Sergey Parajanov, an award named after him was established at the “Golden Apricot” festival, which was awarded to the guest of honor of the festival, two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, and Armenian director Atom Egoyan, for outstanding contribution to the world cinema.

Photos by Armenpress