‘Ararat’ Wins at Armenian Film Festival

.c The Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie “Ararat”
won the top prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by
ethnic Armenian directors, officials said Monday.

The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries. Egoyan
is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.

The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Turkey
left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide. The title
refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their national symbol
but which now lies in Turkey.

07/05/04 12:37 EDT