The ''Golden Apricot'' Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in

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

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. 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 (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...

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 A list of notable LGBTQ rights activists who have worked to advance LGBTQ rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Albania * Xheni Karaj, founder of Aleanca LGBT organization and recipien ...

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 and

GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society The Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS) was an art exhibition at the Woman's Building (a feminist art center) in Los Angeles, California with associated events in other locations. It ran from 3–31 May 1980. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Com ...

strongly criticized 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 Iosifovich Parajanov (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Parajanov was born to ...

. 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

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

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GAIFF at IMDBGolden 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 in Armenia