Yerevan International Film Festival
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Location | Yerevan,  Armenia |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Directors | Atom Egoyan (Honorary Chairman) Harutyun Khachatryan (General Director) |
| Producers | "Golden Apricot" Fund for Cinema Development, Armenian Association of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists |
| Festival date | July |
| Language | Armenian, English |
| Website | www |
The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF; Armenian: «Ոսկե Ծիրան» Երևանի միջազգային կինոփառատոն, romanized: "Voske Tsiran" Yerevani mijazgayin kinop'arraton) is an annual film festival held in Yerevan, Armenia.[1] The festival was founded in 2004 with the co-operation of the "Golden Apricot" Fund for Cinema Development, the Armenian Association of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists. The GAIFF is continually supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Ministry of Culture of Armenia and the Benevolent Fund for Cultural Development.The objectives of the festival are "to present new works by the film directors and producers in Armenia and foreign cinematographers of Armenian descent and to promote creativity and originality in the area of cinema and video art".[2]
History[edit]
The "Golden Apricot" Annual Film Festival was established in 2004 in Yerevan, by the "Golden Apricot" Fund for Cinema Development, the Armenian Association of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the Ministry of Culture of Armenia and Benevolent Fund for Cultural Development. Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan was named president of the festival since 2005.[3]
The Festival is dedicated to the theme of Crossroads of Cultures and Civilizations, and features a multitude of films representing various nations and religions, collectively depicting the richness of the human experience.
In 2005, the establishment of a network of filmmakers of the region entitled Directors Across Borders was initiated by the "Golden Apricot" Film Festival.[4]
Since 2005 "Golden Apricot" has been functioning under the aegis of the European Cultural Parliament.[5]
In 2010, the festival was awarded by the FICTS Plate D'honneur.[6]
In 2017, festival organizers cancelled the screening of an off-competition program entitled, "Armenians: Internal And External Views", with no reasons given. LGBT activists took to social media to criticize the cancellation, with some claiming that two LGBTQ+-themed films — Apricot Groves and Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred — were the reason for the cancellation. Atom Egoyan and Arsinée Khanjian, prominent Armenian Canadian figures in cinema, denounced this cancellation.[7] An open letter signed by filmmakers, activists, politicians, and others denouncing the cancellation was published,[8] and LGBTQ+ rights organizations Pink Armenia[9] and GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society strongly criticized the censorship.[10] The EU's Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum called on Armenian authorities to fulfill their international commitments, stating that "The incident... runs contrary to the process of Armenia's joining the Creative Europe programme".[11]
Awards and categories of competition[edit]
The major awards at the GAIFF are the Golden Apricot and Silver Apricot prizes for feature, documentary and Armenian panorama films. Lifetime achievement is recognized by the Parajonov's Thaler Award, named in honour of Sergei Parajanov.[12]
The various categories and prize names are as follows:[13]
- International Feature Competition
1. "Golden Apricot" – Best Feature Film
2. "Silver Apricot" – Special Prize
- International Documentary Competition
1. "Golden Apricot" – Best Documentary Film
2. "Silver Apricot" – Special Prize
- "Apricot Stone" Short Film Competition
1. "Golden Stone" – Best Short Film
2. Special Prize
- "Armenian Panorama" National Competition
1. "Golden Apricot" – Best Fiction Film
2. "Golden Apricot" – Best Documentary Film
3. "Silver Apricot" – Special Prize
Winners of the Grand Prix - Golden Apricot main prize for Best Feature Film[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2004[edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | Ararat | Atom Egoyan |  Canada[14] |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Documentary Film | Tale About Pegasus (Armenian: Հեքիաթ թեվավոր ձիու մասին) | Armen Khachatryan | Armenia[14] |
| Short Film Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Short Film | Je m'appelle | Stéphane Elmadjian |  France[14] |
| Animation and Experimental Film | Golden Apricot for Best Armenian Film | Freedub 1 | ||
| Jury Special Prize | Jury Special Prize for Best Feature Film | A Place in the World | Artour Aristakisian |  Russia[14] |
| Jury Special Prize for Best Animation and Experimental Film | Ligne de Vie | Serge Avedikian | France[14] | |
| Special Mention | Special Mention for Best Documentary Film | I Died in Childhood... | Georgiy Paradzhanov | Russia[14] |
Awards GAIFF 2005[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2006[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2007[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2008[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2009[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2010[edit]
Awards GAIFF 2011[edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | A Separation | Asghar Farhadi |  Iran |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | The Journals of Musan | Park Jung-bum |  South Korea | |
| Jury Special Prize | The Prize | Paula Markovitch |  Mexico, France, Poland, Germany | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Documentary Film | The World According to Ion B. | Alexander Nanau | Russia |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Documentary Film | Summer Pasture | Lynn True, Nelson Walker III, |  United States,  China | |
| Jury Special Mention | Magnificent Nothing | Ahmad Seyedkeshmiri | Iran | |
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Armenian Film | Loading My Life | Haroutyun Shatyan | Armenia |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Armenian Film | The Spaceship | Emil Mkrttchian |  Sweden | |
| Jury Special Mention | The Last Hippie of the Pink City | Anastasia Popova | Russia | |
| Apricot Stone | Golden Apricot | Glasgow | Piotr Subbotko | Poland |
| Jury Special Mention | Bicycle | Serhat Karaaslan |  Turkey | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – Lifetime Achievement Award | Béla Tarr |  Hungary | ||
| Fanny Ardant | France | |||
| Roman Balayan |  Ukraine | |||
| Special Prize "Master" | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey | ||
| Wojciech Marczewski | Poland | |||
| Alexei Uchitel | Russia | |||
| FIPRESCI Award | Mandoo | Ebrahim Saeedi |  Iraq | |
| Ecumenical Jury Award | Europolis | Cornel Gheorghita |  Romania, France | |
| Jury Commendation | Steel Gates | Armen Khachatryan | Armenia | |
| Armenian National Film Academy Award | The Prize | Paula Markovitch | Mexico, France, Poland, Germany | |
| Armenian Filmmakers Union Award | Loading My Life | Haroutyun Shatyan | Armenia | |
| British Council Award | Loading My Life | Haroutyun Shatyan | Armenia | |
| Hrant Matevosyan Award | The Spaceship | Emil Mkrttchian | Sweden | |
Awards GAIFF 2012[27][edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | In the Fog | Sergei Loznitsa |  Belarus, Russia, Germany,  Netherlands,  Latvia |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | It Looks Pretty From a Distance | Anka Sasnal, Wilhelm Sasnal | Poland | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Documentary Film | 5 Broken Cameras | Emad Burnat |  Palestine |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Documentary Film | The Tundra Book. A Tale of Vukvukai, the Little Rock, | Aleksei Vakhrushev | Russia | |
| Jury Special Mention | Bakhmaro | Salome Jash |  Georgia, Germany | |
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Best Armenian Fiction Film - Golden Apricot | If Only Everyone | Natalya Belyauskene | Armenia |
| Best Armenian Documentary - Golden Apricot | Armenian Rhapsody | Cassiana Der Haroutiounian Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian |  Brazil | |
| Silver Apricot for Armenian Panorama | Nana | Valerie Massadian | France | |
| Apricot Stone | Golden Apricot | When We Die At Night | Eduardo Morotó | Brazil |
| Jury Special Mention | Insignificant Details of the Accidental Episode | Mikhail Mestetsky | Russia | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – Lifetime Achievement Award" | Víctor Erice |  Spain | ||
| Agnieszka Holland | Poland | |||
| Eldar Shengelaia | Georgia | |||
| Award of the Apostolic Church of Armenia – "Let There Be Light" | Alexander Sokurov | Russia | ||
| FIPRESCI Award | The First Rains of Spring | Yerlan Nurmukhambetov |  Japan, Kazakhstan | |
| Ecumenical Jury Award | If Only Everyone | Natalya Belyauskene | Armenia | |
| Jury Commendation | Future Lasts Forever | Özcan Alper | Turkey | |
| Armenian National Film Academy Award | Grandma's Tattoos | Suzanne Khardalian | Sweden | |
| British Council Award | Armenian Rhapsody | Cassiana Der Haroutiounian Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian | Brazil | |
| Armenian Filmmakers Union Award | With Fidel Whatever Happens | Goran Radovanovic |  Serbia | |
| Hrant Matevosyan Award | Bad Father | Tigrane Avedikian | France | |
Awards GAIFF 2013[28][edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | Circles | Srdan Golubović | Germany, Serbia,France,  Croatia,  Slovenia |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | Parviz | Majid Barzegar | Iran | |
| Jury Special Mention | Araf – Somewhere In-Between | Yeşim Ustaoğlu | Germany,Franc, Turkey | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Documentary Film | The Last Black Sea Pirates | Svetoslav Stoyanov |  Bulgaria |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Documentary Film | A World Not Ours | Mahdi Fleifel |  United Kingdom | |
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Best Armenian Fiction Film - Golden Apricot | I Am Going To Change My Name | Maria Sahakyan | Armenia, Russia,  Denmark |
| Best Armenian Documentary - Golden Apricot | Saroyanland | Lusin Dink | Armenia,France,Turkey | |
| Apricot Stone | Golden Apricot | Welcome and… Our Condolences | Leonid Prudovsky |  Israel |
| Jury Special Mention | The Mother | Łukasz Ostalski | Poland | |
| The Swing of the Coffin Maker | Elmár Imánov | Germany | ||
| Jury Diploma | Rhino Full Throttle | Erik Schmitt | Germany | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – Lifetime Achievement Award" | Charles Aznavour | France, Armenia | ||
| István Szabó | Hungary | |||
| Margarethe von Trotta | Germany | |||
| Jos Stelling | Netherlands | |||
| Nerses Hovhannisyan | Armenia | |||
| Special Prize Master | Ulrich Seidl |  Austria | ||
| Award of the Apostolic Church of Armenia – "Let There Be Light" | Artavazd Peleshyan | Armenia | ||
| British Council Award for the Armenian Panorama Competition | Embers | Tamara Stepanyan | Armenia,  Lebanon,  Qatar | |
| Armenian Filmmakers Union Award | A Mere Life | Sanghun Park | South Korea | |
| Hrant Matevosyan Award for the best script in the Armenian Panorama Competition | Broken Childhood | Jivan Avetisyan | Armenia | |
Awards GAIFF 2014[edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | The Tribe | Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi | Ukraine |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | Blind Dates | Levan Koguashvili | Georgia, Ukraine | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Documentary Film | The Stone River | Giovanni Donfrancesco |  Italy, France |
| [Domino Effect | Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosołowski | Poland, Germany | ||
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Golden Apricot | Milky Brother | Vahram Mkhitaryan | Armenia Poland |
| Golden Apricot | Tevanik | Jivan Avetisyan | Armenia,  Lithuania | |
| Silver Apricot | Romaticists | Shoghik Tedevosyan, Areg Azatyan | Armenia | |
| Jury Diploma | Please Be Normal | Haik Kocharian | United States | |
| Apricot Stone | Golden Apricot | Though I Know the River Is Dry | Omar Robert Hamilton | Palestine,  Egypt, Qatar, United Kingdom |
| Jury Special Prize | Red Hulk | Assimina Proedrou |  Greece | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – For outstanding artistic contribution into world cinema | Jia Zhangke | China | ||
| Kim Ki-duk | South Korea | |||
| Amos Gitai | Israel | |||
| Otar Iosseliani | Georgia, | |||
| Parajanov's Thaler – For outstanding contribution into world festival movement | Marco Müller | Italy | ||
| Special Prize Master | Christian Berger | Austria | ||
| Award of the Apostolic Church of Armenia – "Let There Be Light" | Krzysztof Zanussi | Poland | ||
| FIPRESCI Jury Award | The Tribe | Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi | Ukraine | |
| EcumenicalL Jury Award | The Abode | Lusine Sargsyan | Armenia | |
| Special Commendation | Blind Dates | Levan Koguashvili | Georgia, | |
| Armenian Filmmakers Union Award | Andin: Armenian Journey Chronicles | Ruben Giney | Armenia, China, Russia,  India | |
| Please Be Normal | Haik Kocharian | United States | ||
| Hrant Matevosyan Award for the best script in the Armenian Panorama Competition | Milky Brother | Vahram Mkhitaryan | Armenia Poland | |
| Armen Mazmanian Special Award | Resurrection | Alain Manoukyan | Armenia | |
Awards GAIFF 2015[edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | Embrace of the Serpent | Ciro Guerra |  Colombia,  Argentina,  Venezuela |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | End of Winter | Kim Dae-hwan | South Korea | |
| Jury Special Mention | Ixcanul | Jayro Bustamant |  Guatemala, France | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot | The Creation of Meaning | Simone Rapisarda Casanova | Canada, Italy |
| Silver Apricot | A German Youth | Jean-Gabriel Périot | France, Germany,  Switzerland | |
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Golden Apricot | The Doctor | Anna Goroyan | Russia |
| One, Two, Three… | Arman Yeritsyan | Armenia, Germany,  Norway | ||
| Jury Special Mention | Back To Gürün | Adrineh Gregorian | Armenia | |
| Apricot Stone | Golden Apricot | Everything Will Be Okay | Patrick Vollrath | Austria,Germany |
| Jury Special Prize | Chelleh | Davood Khayyam | Iran | |
| Jury Special Mention | Family For Sale | Sébastien Petretti |  Belgium | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – For outstanding artistic contribution into world cinema | Ornella Muti | Italy | ||
| Nastassja Kinski | Germany | |||
| Special Prize Master | Patrick Chesnais | France | ||
| Award of the Apostolic Church of Armenia – "Let There Be Light" | Robert Guédiguian | France | ||
| FIPRESCI Jury Award | Moskvich, my love | Aram Shahbazyan | Armenia, Russia, France | |
| Ecumenical Jury Award | Moskvich, my love | Aram Shahbazyan | Armenia, Russia, France | |
| Special Commendation | Sivas | Kaan Müjdeci | Germany, Turkey | |
| Hrant Matevosyan Award for the best script in the Armenian Panorama Competition | The Road | Gagik Madoyan | Armenia | |
| Audience Award | Sanctuary | Marc Brummund | Germany, | |
Awards GAIFF 2016[edit]
| Category | Award | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Feature Competition | Golden Apricot for Best Feature Film | Ungiven | Branko Schmidt | Croatia |
| Silver Apricot Special Prize for Feature Film | Immortal | Seyed Hadi Mohaghegh | Iran | |
| Jury Special Mention | The Prosecutor, The Defender, The Father And His Son | Iglika Triffonova | Bulgaria, Sweden, Netherlands | |
| International Documentary Competition | Golden Apricot | Across the Don | Evgeny Grigoriev | Russia |
| Silver Apricot | Don Juan | Jerzy Sladkowski | Sweden,  Finland | |
| Jury Special Mention | Curumim | Marcos Prado | Brazil | |
| Armenian Panorama Competition | Golden Apricot | Leopard's Silence | France | |
| Good Morning | Anna Arevshatyan | Armenia | ||
| Stony Paths | Arnaud Khayadjanian | France | ||
| Jury Special Mention | 28:94 Local Time | David Safarian | Armenia, Germany, Netherlands | |
| Parajanov's Thaler – For outstanding artistic contribution into world cinema | Jacqueline Bisset | United States | ||
| Želimir Žilnik | Serbia | |||
| Ruben Gevorgyants | Armenia | |||
| Special Prize Master | Fred Kelemen | Germany | ||
| Vitaly Mansky | Russia | |||
| Award of the Apostolic Church of Armenia – "Let There Be Light" | Roman Balayan | Armenia, Ukraine | ||
| FIPRESCI Jury Award | Ungiven | Branko Schmidt | Croatia | |
| Ecumenical Jury Award | Immortal | Seyed Hadi Mohaghegh | Iran | |
| Hrant Matevosyan Award for the best script in the Armenian Panorama Competition | 28:94 Local Time | David Safarian | Armenia, Germany, Netherlands | |
| Festival's president Award | About Love | Anna Melikian | Russia | |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival/GAIFF". Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
- ^ "GAIFF at IMDB". Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "History of the GAIFF". Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ^ "GAIFF History". Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ "Golden Apricot Film Festival Partners With Council Of Europe". Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ "Golden Apricot International Film Festival opens in Yerevan". Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ "Two LGBT-Themed Films at the Center of Controversy at Yerevan's Golden Apricot Festival". The Armenian Weekly. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Yerevan's Golden Apricot Film Festival Gives Green Light to Censorship: Filmmakers and Activists Issue Protest". Hetq. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Censorship in Armenian Cinematography: "Golden Apricot" has Removed the "Armenians: Internal and External Views" Program From the Festival". 7 July 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "The Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society Applauds Screenings of LGBT-Themed Films at ARPA". Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Armenian National Platform Condemns Censorship and Discrimination at the Golden Apricot Film Festival". Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Awards". Yerevan International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
- ^ "Regulations of the GAIFF". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Golden Apricot Winners 2004". gaiff.am. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "IMDB 2nd Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2005". Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "GAIFF Official Website 2nd Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2005 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "IMDB 3rd Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2006". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "GAIFF Official Website 3rd Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2006 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "IMDB 4th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2007". Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "GAIFF Official Website 4th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2007 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "IMDB 5th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2008". Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "GAIFF Official Website 5th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2008 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "IMDB 6th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2009". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "GAIFF Official Website 6th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2009 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ "IMDB 7th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2010". Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "GAIFF Official Website 7th Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2010 Winners". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Winners". www.gaiff.am. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Winners". www.gaiff.am. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2016.