Golden Opportunity

Golden Opportunity

Armenia’s Golden Apricot International Film Festival harvests global awareness, respect, and good will

By Lusine Minasyan

Since 2004, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival (GAIFF) has attracted the international film community for a one-week immersive cinematic feast in Armenia—a small, landlocked country with a historically strong film industry that fell into decline after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, it has grown in leaps and bounds to become one of the must-see events in the film festival circuit.

Golden Apricot is the brainchild of three visionaries–film director Harutyun Khachatryan and film critics Mikayel Stamboltsyan and Susanna Harutyunyan, who in the early 2000s were deeply concerned about the diminishing state of the Armenian film industry, which had struggled to recover from the devastating effects of the 1988 Spitak earthquake, shortly followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the first Artsakh War of the 1990s.

For a small, landlocked country often overshadowed by regional conflicts and economic challenges, GAIFF has been a game-changer in shaping Armenia’s global image.

Yet, what truly ignited its creation was a drunken promise to Dutch journalist Peter Van Buren in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Van Buren mocked Khachatryan’s award-winning film, asking why anyone would bother making a film in a country that didn’t even have a film festival. An angry Khachatryan, on the spot, invited him to a festival for the following year in Armenia.

Consequently, the founders worked hard to avoid embarrassing themselves in Van Buren’s eyes. Swiftly engaging sponsors and film enthusiasts, they launched the Golden Apricot in 2004, showcasing 148 films from 20 countries. Interestingly, Van Buren appreciated the festival so much that he later became its godfather, supporting it in numerous ways.

Atom Egoyan (second from left) receives a 2024 Parajonov’s Thaler award from GAIFF founders Mikayel Stamboltsyan, Susanna Harutyunyan, and Harutyun Khachatryan.

The apricot, known as Prunus armeniaca in Latin, was chosen as the festival’s symbol due to its strong connection to Armenia’s cultural heritage. With the theme Cross-roads of Cultures and Civilizations, in the past two decades, GAIFF has sought to build bridges and promote dialogue between cultures by showcasing films that highlight the human experience and portray the daily lives of both ordinary and extraordinary people. Legends like Sergei Parajanov, Atom Egoyan, and Artavazd Peleshyan—who have greatly influenced Armenian and world cinema—are regularly featured, linking the rich history of Armenian storytelling to its present.

One of the festival’s key highlights is its focus on films from neighboring countries and regions that are often in conflict, promoting understanding and cooperation. The Regional Panorama section has brought films from Turkey, Iran, and Georgia to Armenian audiences, showing how art can go beyond political barriers.

The theme itself has attracted numerous celebrities to Yerevan, such as Terry George (Director: The Promise, Hotel Rwanda); Paul Schrader (Screenwriter: Raging Bull, Taxi Driver); Sean Baker (Director: Anora, The Florida Project); Alexander Payne (Director: The Holdovers, Sideways); Darren Aronofsky (Director: The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan); Claudia Cardinale (Actress: The Leopard, Mayrig); Jacqueline Bisset (Actress: The Deep; Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?); among others.

Additionally, since 2019, GAIFF Pro has run parallel to the festival, offering a comprehensive industry platform with pitching sessions, personalized one-on-one meetings with decision-makers, and year-round master classes led by award-winning professionals.

Every July, the festival opens with the blessing of the apricot and concludes with the awarding of the “Golden Apricot” and “Silver Apricot” in three categories: International Best Film, Best Short Film, and Regional Best Film. The juries, composed of popular directors and celebrities, lend further prestige to the event.

In 2024, the 21st edition was particularly iconic as it celebrated the centennials of two renowned Armenian figures in cinematography—Charles Aznavour and Sergei Parajanov. A big fan of Parajanov, Tarsem Singh, the director behind Lady Gaga’s 911, featuring motifs inspired by Parajanov, led the Regional Competition. Singh shared how his love for Parajanov began after discovering his films following his graduation from film school. “His perspective was so incredibly unique. He did exactly what you’re told not to do when filming—like taking three-dimensional spaces and making them flat, or putting things that don’t belong, like a black shape in a landscape. It’s the kind of thing you might see when painting icons. What I loved was how he would take that approach and put it into film language—not in something pop like a music video, but in a way that still told the story,” Singh explained.

An assortment of iconic GAIFF posters.

Parajanov remains a central figure at GAIFF, honored annually with the Parajanov’s Thaler award, given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to world cinema. This award is named after the aluminum thalers Parajanov carved onto milk bottle lids during his imprisonment in 1976. Today, the award is a silver replica of one of these coins, preserved at the S. Parajanov Museum in Yerevan. Recipients have included figures like Wim Wenders (Germany), Charles Aznavour (France), Dariush Mehrjui (Iran), Claudia Cardinale (Italy), and Atom Egoyan (Canada), who also served as GAIFF’s president for 10 years.

For a small, landlocked country often overshadowed by regional conflicts and economic challenges, GAIFF has been a game-changer in shaping Armenia’s global image. The festival has positioned the country as a cultural destination, attracting tourists, journalists, and filmmakers who discover its rich heritage and creative potential. It has become such an inseparable part of Yerevan’s cultural discourse that conversations about it continue long after its week-long celebration ends.