CINEMATOGRAPHY IS A WONDERFUL MEAN TO START DIALOGUE AMONG PEOPLES OF CONFLICTING COUNTRIES, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF “GOLDEN APRICOT” SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 07 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The “Directors Across
Borders” two-day working seminar will be held on July 12-13, during
the days of the “Golden Apricot” (Voske Tsiran) 3rd international
film festival. World famous film directors, film makers, film
critics, representatives of international funds from the region,
CIS and European countries will participate in the seminar. Susanna
Haroutiunian, the Artistic Director of the festival stated about it
at the June 7 press-conference.

According to her, during the seminar days, participants of the
“Directors Across Borders” program will present their observations
and programs on regional cooperation, including implementation of
joint film production and programs on cinematography. The foudation
meeting of the “Directors Across Borders” international organization
will take place during the days of the festival, the staff of the
Board of Trustees of the organization will be affirmed.

Besides, a special program of “Directors Across Borders” films will be
shown during the “Golden Apricot-2006” festival days. 20 films from
20 countries are involved in the program, among them Azeri director
Ayas Salayev’s “Near Distant Village” as well as a film dedicated to
bordering villages shot by Armenian and Azeri two directors.

According to S.Haroutiunian, this program is of global meaning
as ethnic conflicts exist not only in this region but in Israel,
Palestine, Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, etc. Cinematography is a wonderful
mean to start a dialogue between peoples of conflicting sides, that’s
why, as S.Haroutiunian emphasized, the program was warmly received
and sponsored by the European Cultural Parliament.

The “Directors Across Borders” program was started during the days
of the “Golden Apricot” 2nd international film festival. The primary
task of the program is to reveal general problems characteristical
for the region and particularly for South Caucasian countries of
transit period, to support development of dialogue in the region
with the help of cinema. As a result of activity of the year a net
of cinematographers of the region was formed in which more than 50
members of 12 countries are involved.