31  13.07.14 - Red carpet and opening of Golden Apricot 11th International Film Festival
11  13.07.14 - Sergey Parajanov's 'The Color of Pomegranats' film screening and the opening of exhibition of Yuri Garmash. 11th Golden Apricot Film Festival

Golden Apricot Film Fest opens in Armenian capital

Golden Apricot Film Fest opens in Armenian capital

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 11th edition of the Golden Apricot international film festival launched in Yerevan on Sunday, July 13. Sergey Parajanov’s “The Color of Pomegranates” opened the event. This year’s Golden Apricot will highlight legacy of Parajanov, a prominent Soviet filmmaker of Armenian origin who would have turned 90 in 2014, ArmeniaNow reported.

The competition part of the festival, to be held through July 20, features 70 films from 95 countries in four traditional categories: feature film, documentary, “Armenian Panorama” and “Stone” (short films).

A traditional blessing of apricots, held as Armenian “national fruit” and considered to be the symbol of the festival, took place at St. Grigor the Illuminator Church in Yerevan also to symbolize the opening of Golden Apricot.

A number of well-known filmmakers are attending the festival hosted by the Armenian capital. Among them are Kim Ki-duk (South Korea), Krzysztof Zanussi (Poland), Amos Gitai (Israel) and others. Their films are also to be shown during the festival.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan attended the opening ceremony of Golden held at Yerevan’s Alexander Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theatre, according to the press office of the government, Aysor.am reported.

In his speech, Abrahamyan hailed Golden Apricot as an important cultural event.

“The prestige and popularity of the film festival is growing year by year. Since the festival’s foundation, over 2,000 cinematographers and art experts from more than 120 countries have visited Armenia, turning the festival into a celebration. The Golden Apricot Film Festival’s slogan – The Crossroads of Civilizations and Cultures reflects the geopolitical position of Armenia and the history of the Armenian people with their problems and challenges. It shows that on its centuries-old development path, Armenia has always been in favor of cultural dialog, religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence of nations, giving priority to human problems and fates,” the prime minister said.

The festival director, filmmaker Harutyun Khachatryan thanked Hovik Abrahamyan and the Armenian government for their assistance in organizing the event.

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