The ''Golden Apricot'' Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) ( hy, «Ոսկե Ծիրան» Երևանի միջազգային կինոփառատոն) is an annual film festival held in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. 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

, the Ministry of Culture of

and the Benevolent Fund for Cultural Development.The objectives of the festival are "to present new works by the film directors and producers in

and foreign cinematographers of Armenian descent and to promote creativity and originality in the area of cinema and video art".

History

The "Golden Apricot" Annual Film Festival was established in 2004 in

, 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 Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

was named president of the festival since 2005. 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. Since 2005 "Golden Apricot" has been functioning under the aegis of the European Cultural Parliament. In 2010, the festival was awarded by the FICTS Plate D'honneur. In 2017, festival organizers cancelled the screening of an off-competition program entitled, "Armenians: Internal And External Views", with no reasons given.

LGBT activists ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

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.

and Arsinée Khanjian, prominent Armenian Canadian figures in cinema, denounced this cancellation. An open letter signed by filmmakers, activists, politicians, and others denouncing the cancellation was published, and LGBTQ+ rights organizations

Pink Armenia Pink Armenia ( hy, Փինք Հայաստան, translit=P’ink’ Hayastan) is the first LGBTQIA+ rights non-governmental organization in Armenia. Pink Armenia was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Yerevan. Its mission is to serve and suppor ...

and

GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society (formerly Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society) is one of the first LGBTQIA+ rights non-governmental organizations founded by Armenian Americans. GALAS was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in West Hollywood, Californ ...

strongly critized the censorship. 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 Creative Europe is a European Union programme for the cultural and creative sectors. In its first phase, going from 2014 to 2020, it had a budget of € 1.47 billion, which were expanded to € 2.44 billion in its second phase (2021-2027). His ...

programme".

Awards and categories of competition

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 Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

. The various categories and prize names are as follows: ;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

Awards GAIFF 2004

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Awards GAIFF 2005

Awards GAIFF 2006

Awards GAIFF 2007

Awards GAIFF 2008

Awards GAIFF 2009

Awards GAIFF 2010

Awards GAIFF 2011

Awards GAIFF 2012

Awards GAIFF 2013

Awards GAIFF 2014

Awards GAIFF 2015

Awards GAIFF 2016

References

External links

*
GAIFF at IMDB

Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival
at Film Freeway
Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival
at FestAgent {{Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival , state=expanded Film festivals in Armenia Annual events in Armenia 2004 establishments in Armenia Recurring events established in 2004 Summer events in Armenia