«Golden Apricot» film festival opened in Yerevan

YEREVAN, July 7 The next, 21st international film festival “Golden Apricot” opened on Sunday in Yerevan, the correspondent reports.
The official ceremony took place in the capital's sports and concert complex named after Karen Demirchyan. The opening film was Canadian director Atom Egoyan's «Seven Veils» with Amanda Seyfried. It premiered in September 2023 at the Toronto Film Festival. In 2024, the film was shown at the 74th Berlin Film Festival. Egoyan also headed the jury of the short film competition. The festival will close with the screening of the restored Armenian film by directors Narine Mkrtchyan and Arsen Azatyan “The Boogeyman”, which tells about the last days of the life of the world famous film director Sergei Parajanov. The film includes material from Parajanov’s last unfinished work, “Confession.”
< br />A total of 11 films were included in the international feature film competition. Over the course of a week, over 100 films will be shown as part of the film festival, including premieres from the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice film festivals.

The jury of the feature film competition is headed by the winner of two Oscar awards, American film director, screenwriter and producer Alexander Payne. The chairman of the jury of the Regional Panorama competition is director and music video director Tarsem Singh. This year's guest of honor at the festival was Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey.
The Golden Apricot festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Armenia. The general sponsor is the Yerevan City Hall.
The International Film Festival «Golden Apricot» has been held in Yerevan since 2004 and is considered one of the most prestigious in the region. It is organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia. Over the years, the festival in Yerevan was visited by world famous film figures, including writer and screenwriter Tonino Guerra, actresses Claudia Cardinale, Fanny Ardant, Nastassja Kinski, Ornella Muti, Takeshi Kitano. In 2010, the Yerevan Film Festival was awarded the main prize of the International Union of Cinema, Television and Sports Ficts Plate D'honneur.