FOURTH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL "GOLDEN APRICOT" TO OPEN WITH DEMONSTRATION OF "THE LARK FARM"

Noyan Tapan
Jun 12 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, NOYAN TAPAN. This year the fourth international film
festival "Golden Apricot 2007" will open with the demonstration of
"The Lark Farm" of world-famous Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. On this
occasion Italian Armenian script writer Antonia Arslan, actor Tcheky
Karyo and actress Arsine Khanjian will come to Yerevan.

This was announced by the festival director Harutyun Khachatrian at
the June 8 press conference. According to him, prior to the opening
ceremony of the film festival, a traditional apricot blessing ceremony
will be held in Charles Aznavour Square.

This year the festival will have two contest programs – the contest of
fiction and documentary films and "Armenian Panorama" program. This
time the right to select films for "Armenian Panorama" program was
given to the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia, and they have
chosen 22 out of 62 films. In this contest program, a jury headed by
Vigen Chaldranian will judge the films.

An out-of-contest program "New Armenian Cinema" will also be held
at the festival. During a week, foreign film producers will have the
opportunity to watch such films under this program as "The Priestess"
by Vigen Chaldranian, "As a Beginning" by Artak Sevada, "Don’t Be
Afraid" by Aram Shahbazian, etc.

It was mentioned that the same amount as last year – 50 million drams
has been allocated for the film festival from the state budget. In
the words of H. Khachatrian, "ten times this sum will make the average
budget of an average foreign festival."