HULIQ (press release), NC
June 3 2008
Golden Apricot President Was Awarded in Cannes
Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival President Atom
Egoyan was awarded the 34th Ecumenical Jury Prize for the humanistic
values they discovered in Adoration, a film that explores cultural
intolerance and misinformation.
"I am so overwhelmed by this prize because it places this film in
another context," Egoyan said of his award. Egoyan won the same prize
11 years ago for his masterwork, The Sweet Hereafter.
`Adoration is an intimate film. It’s very much rooted in this culture
and I’m so proud to represent the country at this level," Egoyan said.
Annual International Film Festival GOLDEN APRICOT was 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
our 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. We welcome 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.
The First GOLDEN APRICOT Festival took place on June 30 to July 4,
2004. Festival attracted attention from all over the world including
148 films representing over 70 filmmakers from 20 countries. The
Festival international jury was consisted of eminent world cinema and
film criticism figures. Vahe Fattal did the Festival poster, logo and
other design works. Grand Prizes of the first GOLDEN APRICOT festival
went to Atom Egoyan (Feature Film Competition), Stephane Elmadjian
(Short Film and Experimental), Armen Khachatryan (Documentary).
At the Second GOLDEN APRICOT Festival (12-17 July, 2005), entries were
submitted from 45 countries- from Russia to Argentina, the Netherlands
to Afghanistan, Malaysia to Chile, Turkey to Finland, India to Israel,
Iran to Canada. Following the selection, 144 films from 37 countries
were included into competition and non-competition programs. Among the
guests and participants there were some of the most highly acclaimed
figures of world cinema such as Abbas Kiarostami, Krzysztof Zanussi,
and Nikita Mikhalkov who were given Lifetime Achievement Awards. The
main prizewinners of the Second GOLDEN APRICOT Festival were Alexander
Sokurov, Russia, with his film `Sun’ (Feature Film Competition), Pirjo
Honkasalo, Finland, with `Three Rooms of Melancholia’ (Documentary
Competition), and Arman Yeritsyan, Armenia, with `Under the Open Sky’
(Armenian Panorama Competition). The festival was covered by a number
of Armenian and foreign media. Articles in such important cinema
journals as CAHIER DU CINEMA (by Jean-Pier Rehm) and VARIETY (by
Deborah Young) were published. Well-known directors and honored guests
of the festival held master classes during the festival.
In 2005 GOLDEN APRICOT IFF initiated the establishment of a network of
filmmakers of the region entitled Directors Across Borders (DAB). The
founders of DAB share the common belief that film is one of those
unique tools that can transform human relations without recognizing
political, ideological, racial or religious borders. Taking into
account the regional importance of the Program, the European Cultural
Parliament decided to take the patronage of the Program.
The Third GOLDEN APRICOT Festival presented about 120 films from 43
countries. Participants included some of the most highly acclaimed
figures of world cinema – such as Marco Bellocchio, Tonino Guerra,
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Godfrey Reggio, and Artavazd Peleshyan, who were
honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards. More than 110 foreign guests
attended the festival, which included filmmakers, actors, producers
and distributors. The festival was covered by a numbers of
international media, including EURONEWS, ARTE, KULTURA (Russia) TV
channels. The international juries, headed by Moritz de Hadeln
(Feature Competition), Godfrey Reggio (Documentary Competition) and
Arsinee Khanjian (Armenian Panorama), awarded the following prizes:
Golden Apricot 2006 for the Best Feature Film to Hou Hsiao-hsien for
his film Three Times, Taiwan/China/ France; Golden Apricot 2006 for
the Best Documentary Film to Working Man’s Death by Michael Glawogger,
Austria; and Golden Apricot 2006 for the Best Film in `Armenian
Panorama’ to The Dwellers of Forgotten Islands by Hrant Hakobyan,
Armenia.
The Forth GOLDEN APRICOT International Film Festival will be held from
July 9 until July 14, 2007. The festival will showcase both mainstream
and independent films from around the world, and will be attended by
many of the most extraordinary talents working in cinema today.
Source: By Golden Apricot Film Festival Release
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