The Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan has been welcoming world-renowned filmmakers and Cannes, Berlin and Venice Film Festival nominated and Oscar-winning films for more than twenty years.
The 21st Golden Apricot festival, which will span from July 7 to 14, has kicked off in the Karen Demirchyan Complex in Yerevan.
The festival’s traditional red carpet has been replaced with carpets made by local artists inspired by the works of Davit Khachunts.
The opening of the festival was entrusted to Canadian-Armenian director Atom Egoyan with his new film “Seven Veils,” which had already premiered during the Toronto 2023 Film Festival. The film is a reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s opera “Salome,” in which Amanda Seyfried takes on the role of a theater director trying to bring to life her vision of the Biblical story.
Prior to the film’s screening, Mayor Tigran Avinyan highlighted that in the past years, Yerevan has hosted many cultural events, which have helped breathe new life into the city.
“Among these events, the ‘Golden Apricot’ has been a staple and we are united once again for the 21st time. I am thankful for all the people thanks to whom this festival is possible,” Avinyan said.
Avinyan emphasized the importance of guests actively participating in the event and greeted the two-time Oscar winning director Alexander Payne, renowned directors Tarsem Singh and Egoyan and actor Kevin Spacey.
Avinyan announced last year that the municipality will take on a more active role in the film industry. He added that thanks to their efforts, five short films about Yerevan have been produced, and will be shown at the festival.
According to Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, the Golden Apricot festival has become an integral part of Yerevan’s summer.
“Conversations regarding the festival start early and continue even after the festival concludes, which demonstrates how important it has become for the film industry. We are proud to be supporting the festival and are more than certain that the film industry will further develop in our country, as the constitutional changes in the past years have opened room for new opportunities. I specifically want to highlight the possibilities for joint film production which are a wonderful opportunity that will be fully supported by governmental aid,” stated Andreasyan.
Andreasyan promised that the festival will provide attendees with opportunities to meet its acclaimed guests. She also highlighted that we live in difficult times, which result in difficult conversations that may be possible to have through the medium of art, particularly films as they help discuss issues that are impossible to discuss otherwise.
“The festival is part of something grander: it’s part of eternity, time and future history,” stated the artistic director of Golden Apricot Karen Avetisyan.
The festival has an established tradition of handing out “Parajanov’s Thaler” to those who have contributed significantly to the film industry. Avetisyan gave his award to Kevin Spacey, who went on stage after a montage of highlights of his career.
Spacey said that it is a great honor to be part of the festival. He thanked the organizers, who had chosen the day of the opening to be July 7, which coincides with the Armenian Vardavar festival. Spacey admitted to having been splashed with water. He noted that as he was watching the montage, he would start to remember all the directors, scriptwriters, and other people who had made his career possible.
“By honoring me, you are honoring all the people who have contributed to making these films a reality, who have changed my life,” Spacey stressed.
The director of the Yerevan cognac factory, Sergey Khachatryan, gifted Egoyan with cognac dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Charles Aznavour, who was featured in Egoyan’s film, “Ararat.”
“When I was a child, I would listen to Aznavour’s songs, as my parents loved him very much. I was very tense and nervous when I had to meet him for the first time and ask that he play in my film. I remember that Aznavour said that he appreciated our history being told in an unconventional way, as our history in itself is unconventional. I will never forget our moments spent together at the Cannes Film Festival,” said Egoyan, who was then handed “Parajanov’s Thaler” by festival founder and director Harutyun Khachatryan.
“Me and co-founders of the festival Mikayel Stamboltsyan and Susanna Harutyunyan had decided to establish it. We were told that there was no need for a festival as there were no films, no theatres. But we founded it, and the very first award went to our beloved director Atom Egoyan,” said Khachatryan.
Scenes from Egoyan’s films were then shown, featuring his wife Arsinée Khanjian. Egoyan admitted that each of his works is one he shares with her, and that receiving the award is akin to a dream.
Following the speeches and the handing out of “Parajanov’s Thaler,” co-founders Harutyun Khachatryan, Mikayel Stamboltsyan and Susanna Harutyunyan went up the stage and announced the start of the 21st Golden Apricot festival.
The festival will present to its audience films from different countries, as well as films from the renowned festivals of Cannes, Berlin and others. The films will be shown at the Cinema House, Malyan Theater and Moscow Cinema. The festival will pay special attention to the 100th anniversaries of legends Charles Aznavour and Sergei Parajanov.
Egoyan emphasized that his film, “Seven Veils,” symbolizes desire, longing, and strength.
Egoyan directed the opera “Salome” in 1990, and the film “Seven Veils,” which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023, is based on the opera “Salome.” The film offers a gripping and vivid reimagining of Richard Strauss’ opera “Salome,” with actress Amanda Seyfried shining as a theater director striving to bring her own interpretation of the biblical story of Salome to life.
During a meeting with movie fans on July 8 as part of the Golden Apricot festival, the director stated that the production chain, which began in 1996, had a highly provocative aspect and had a significant impact on societies, being influenced by society as well.
“While shooting the film I wanted to go in a completely different direction. I wanted the main character to be a woman and created a whole story around that. I didn’t want it to be just my personal story. The main heroine is actually a fictional character, but I was able to feel her, to see that the character is a woman striving for peace. I created a new interpretation. What was on the stage was different,” said Egoyan.
From the ages of 20 to 25, Egoyan was primarily involved in theatre, but when he began directing films, he gradually moved away from the theatre. He admits that he couldn’t live solely through theatre art.
“The dilemma often leads an artist in another direction, where inspiring elements can be found, where you can create a world governed by definite laws. This becomes your theme,” he said.
According to him, the main character in the film “Seven Veils” has her own ideas; she aspires to direct opera, wants to recall her traumatic past, but when she reflects on the past, this trauma intensifies.
“From the very beginning, we didn’t expect the film to take this path. The return to the past is perhaps connected to my Armenian roots. Sometimes life leads us in strange ways. The present is awful, tragic, and we want to make our present better and see what happened a few years ago, and we get disappointed. What do we need? We want to communicate. This is what interests me and what I wanted to show,” emphasized Egoyan.
He believes that sometimes the film market can be disappointing, but one should make what they want, rather than follow market trends.
“If you want to talk about trauma, do it; if you want to talk about loneliness, you should do it,” said the director.
Returning to the movie “Seven Veils,” Egoyan stressed that everyone asked why the main character doesn’t do anything terrible at the end of the movie.
“People wanted it. Perhaps I could have allowed the heroine to take a terrible step, and it would have turned into a horror film, but I will never do such a thing,” he said.
Earlier, at a briefing with journalists, the director spoke about the Golden Apricot and noted that it is an exceptional festival for the country. Even in difficult times, it is able to gather prominent figures of culture and preserve cultural heritage.
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