Image is a still from “Taniel” directed by Garo Berberian

LONDON — Armenian Film Society London has launched an international open call for films in or about Western Armenian to premiere at the prestigious Institute of Contemporary Arts as part of the Armenian Film Festival London. The initiative, called “A Ribbon of Film,” is the first-ever dedicated Western Armenian film program and will premiere in the Armenian Film Festival London from December 3 to 6. The initiative is set to become a permanent strand of the festival, celebrating Armenian as a creative language through the art of cinema.

Tatevik Ayvazyan, co-director of the festival, says: “Western Armenian is a language of poets and storytellers, songs and jokes, memories and dreams — spoken, used, loved and cherished across the world. Giving it a permanent home at our festival, in a wonderful location like the ICA London, attended by thousands of people, will elevate the language even further. It also gives filmmakers working in and with Western Armenian a stage of their own, and the recognition their work deserves.”

The program will showcase films exploring Western Armenian language and dialects, writing, literature and culture, accompanied by filmmaker Q&As and panel discussions. The initiative will include a publication and podcasts exploring the history and contemporary landscape of Western Armenian cinema, plus a public masterclass on making poetry film in the language.

The project is supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Galust Kyulpenkean Foundation and aims to create a platform for filmmakers working in the language while introducing audiences to contemporary Armenian voices.

By bringing together film exhibition, public discussion, and creative development, the initiative aims to grow the visibility, use, and cultural relevance of Western Armenian, its dialects, and the diverse experiences of its speakers — through cinema.

The organizers invite submissions of films of any genre and length, completed between 2021 and 2026, that are either in Western Armenian or explore Western Armenian language, culture, history or lived experience.

The Festival also accepts submissions from British Armenian filmmakers, continuing the development of a platform for local talent alongside international voices and strengthening the UK’s Armenian creative community.

Submissions are open until 1 September 2026 via FilmFreeway. The official selection will be announced in mid-September 2026.

Kira Adibekov and Tatevik Ayvazyan are co-directors of this exciting new initiative.

Kira Adibekov is an award-winning curator and producer, and a Chevening alumnus with an MA in Film and Screen Cultures from the University of Roehampton. He has served as a CICAE jury member at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale Forum) and was part of the founding team of GES-2, a major mixed-arts centre designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. He has curated / produced programmes at institutions including Whitechapel Gallery, ICA and Pushkin House, and is currently leading a Film Lab at TUMO – Center for Creative Technologies in Armenia.

Tatevik Ayvazyan is a writer and producer at Rebel Republic Films and the former director of the Armenian Institute. She has produced the award-winning poetry film Taniel and the music documentary Married to the Music, and is currently working on several feature-length projects. Tatevik is also the co-editor of the Special Armenian Issue of Wasafiri magazine, and is a board member of the International Armenian Literary Alliance and Azad Archives.

The Institute of Contemporary Arts is London’s leading space for contemporary culture, commissioning, producing and presenting new work in film, music, performance and the visual arts by today’s most progressive artists. From its landmark home on The Mall, the ICA stages a genre-fluid programme of festivals, gigs, exhibitions and talks that challenges the past, questions the present and confronts the future, encouraging different art forms to meet and collide.

—