Arpa International Film Festival

  • 2020 Arpa International Film Festival Goes Online with Lineup of 65 Films

    Omar and Us | Omar Ve Biza directed by Maryna Er Gorbach & Mehmet Bahadir Er
    Omar and Us | Omar Ve Biza directed by Maryna Er Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadir Er

    The 23rd Annual Arpa International Film Festival (Arpa IFF) announced its full lineup of 65 films from 19 countries, for this year which will take place online this year.

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  • Turkish Film LOST BIRDS is Big Winner of 2015 Arpa International Film Festival

    Lost Birds Aren Perdeci and Ela Alyamac The Turkish film LOST BIRDS directed by Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci is the big winner of the 2015 Arpa International Film Festival, taking the awards for Best Feature Film, Best Director for Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci, and Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Awards. MY LIFE IN CHINA directed by Kenneth Eng is the winner of the Best Documentary Award. Lost Birds is set in 1915 in an Armenian village in Anatolia. Bedo and Maryam return from their secret dovecote only to find an empty house and a ghost village. The children embark on a journey to search for their mother, along with their bird ‘Bacik’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URtvPLTQO4c My Life in China is a personal film that takes viewers on a journey to rural China where an emotional revelation takes place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKP9UiWcawU The complete list of winners of 2015 Arpa International Film Festival Best Feature Film Lost Birds (2015) | Turkey | Director: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Writers: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Language: Turkish, Armenian Best Documentary My Life in China (2014) | U.S.A. | Director: Kenneth Eng | Writer: Ehren Parks | Language: Chinese Best Short Film The Loyalist (2015) | South Korea, USA | Director: Minji Kang | Writer: Willem Lee | Language: Korean Best Director Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci, Lost Birds Best Screenplay Zymber Kelmendi, Three Windows and a Hanging (2014) | Kosovo | Language: Albanian Lifetime Achievement Esai Morales Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Lost Birds, Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci (writers-directors-producers) Rising Star David Dastmalchian

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  • World Premiere of Turkish Film LOST BIRDS to Kick Off 18th Arpa International Film Festival

    Lost Birds Aren Perdeci and Ela Alyamac The World Premier of LOST BIRDS, a heartwarming film from Turkey, will open the 18th Arpa International Film Festival taking place November 13 to 15, 2015 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.  This year’s Arpa International Film Festival focuses strongly on humanitarian issues internationally such as genocide, holocaust, human freedom, women’s rights, homelessness and many others. LOST BIRDS, the Opening night’s World Premier Film is from Turkey in Armenian and Turkish language filmed in Capadoccia, Turkey, by Aren Perdeci and Ela Alyamac.  For these two young co-directors, it took a five year journey to realize their passion project.  They shared directing, producing and writing duties.  Perdeci was also the director of photography of this amazingly beautiful film.  This movie presents a historical tragedy that takes place in 1915, from the point of view of two children.  The story is about Bedo, played by (Heros Agopyan) and Maryam, played by (Dila Uluca), whose beautiful, warm, and happy lives in Anatolia comes to an end when their grandfather played by ( Sarkis Acemoglu) is taken away by soldiers.  Out of extreme fear, their mother, played by (Takuhi Bahar), forbid the children to go outside, but being children, they sneak out to their favorite spot to play, only to come back to an empty home and an empty village. Their fear takes over, and with their bird that they had saved, they embark on a journey toward Aleppo to find their mother, and their fellow villagers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URtvPLTQO4c This beautiful film made by an Armenian and a Turkish filmmaker with passion is a cinematographic beauty to watch.  September issue of “American Cinematographer” magazine has written a nine page article on Lost Birds under the title of “Lost and Found” with photo scenes from the film worth reading. Arpa’s 18th International Film festival presents the screenings of seven narrative feature films, 11 documentaries, and 27 short films — a cross-cultural program of films delving into myriad of social and cultural experiences. FEATURE FILM COMPETITION Lost Birds (2015) | Turkey | Director: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Writers: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Language: Turkish, Armenian Three Windows and a Hanging (2014) | Kosovo | Director: Isa Qosja | Writer: Zymber Kelmendi | Language: Albanian Off (2015) | Serbia | Director: Predrag Stojic | Writer: Marko Krstic | Language: Serbian Our Village (2013) | Armenia | Director: Yelena Arshakyan | Writer: Hovhannes Yeranyan | Language: Armenian I Want to Be A King (2014) | Iran | Director: Mehdi Ganji | Writer: Mehdi Ganji | Language: Persian DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Aliyah Dada (2015) | Romania | Director: Oana Giurgiu | Language: English Armenia Sings on in Our Hearts (2015) | Brazil | Director: Isabella Bablumian | Writer: Isabella Bablumian | Language: English Armenopolis, Armenian Soul (2015) | Romania | Director: Florin Kevorkian and Isabella Bostan | Writer: Florin Kevorkian | Language: Rumanian Daylight After a Century (2015) | United Kingdom | Director: Hollie Harrington | Language: English Goodbye Theresienstadt (2015) | Denmark, Czech Republic | Director: Carl Otta Dethlefsen | Language: Danish Lee Scratch Perry’s Vision of Paradise (2015) | Germany | Director: Volker Schaner | Writer: Volker Schaner | Language: English My Life in China (2014) | U.S.A. | Director: Kenneth Eng | Writer: Ehren Parks | Language: Chinese N64Q: Born Free (2015) | U.S.A., Japan | Director: Sasha Gransjean | Writer: Sasha Gransjean | Language: English Paul the Birdman (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Taniel Kilajian | Writer: Taniel Kilajian | Language: English Superjednostka (2014) | Poland | Director: Teresa Czepiec | Writer: Teresa Czepiec | Language: Polish Tell Spring Not to Come This Year (2015) | United Kingdom | Director: Michael McEvoy, Saeed Taji Farouky | Language: Dari SHORT FILM COMPETITION Ablution | USA, Iran, Canada | Director: Parisa Barani | Writer: Amin El Gamal | Language: English Bed Bugs and Company (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Serena Dykman | Writer: Serena Dykman | Language: English Bad Advice | U.S.A. | Director: Kegham Berajekelian | Writer: Aaron Fitzgerald, Scott Javore, Adam Lesar | Language: English Caregivers (2014) | Armenia | Director: Viktorya Aleksanyan | Writer: Beniamin Gevorgyan | Language: Armenian Family Dance | Director: Naré Mkrtchyan | Writer: Chris Commons | Language: Armenian Gear | U.S.A. | Director: Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander | Writer: Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander | Language: English Get Up (2012) | Australia | Director: Dan Balcaban | Writer: Dan Balcaban | Language: English Greenland (2014) | Israel | Director: Oren Gerner | Writer: Oren Gerner | Language: Hebrew Hazel & Louis: Animal Agents (2014) | U.S.A. | Director: Sy Ozcan, Marissa Madsen | Writer: Sy Ozcan, Marissa Madsen | Language: English Hursit (2015) | Turkey | Director: Selcen Yilmazoglu | Writer: Selcen Yilmazoglu | Language: Turkish In The Clouds (En Las Nubes) (2014) | Argentina | Director: Marcelo Mitnik | Writer: Marcelo Mitnik | Language: Spanish The Jungle (2015) | Turkey | Director: Onur Saylak, Dogu Akal | Writer: Onur Saylak, Dogu Akal | Language: Arabic L’Homme de I’lle Sandwich (2015) | France | Director: Levon Minasian | Writer: Levon Minasian, Ester Mann | Language: French The Loss (2015) | Israel | Director: Dekel Nitzan | Writer: Dekel Nitzan | Language: Hebrew The Loyalist (2015) | South Korea, USA | Director: Minji Kang | Writer: Willem Lee | Language: Korean Night of the Slasher (2015) | U.S.A | Director: Shant Hamassian | Writer: Shant Hamassian | Language: English Sabre Dance (2015) / U.S.A | Director: Ilya Rozhkov | Writer: Ilya Rozhkov | Language: English Seagulls (2014) / United Kingdom | Director: Martin Smith | Writer: Martin Smith | Language: English Shattered (2015) | Canada | Director: David Hovan | Writer: David Hovan | Language: English The Story of Snow (2015) | South Korea | Director: Younsik Kim | Writer: Younsik Kim | Language: Korean Straw Dolls (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Jon Milano | Writer: Jon Milano | Language: Armenian Tamara, Echelon (2014) | Romania | Director: Kristina Cepraga Goodwin | Writer: Kristina Cepraga Goodwin | Language: Romanian Test (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Jay Lifton | Writer: Jay Lifton, Catherine Ho | Language: English Up The Valley and Beyond (2013) / U.S.A. | Director: Todd Rosken | Writer: Todd Rosken, Bobby D. Lux | Language: English Welcome (2014) | Ecuador | Director: Javier Fesser | Writer: Javier Fesser | Language: Spanish Welcome (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Serena Dykman | Writer: Serena Dykman | Language: English While They Were Flying to the Moon (2015) | Serbia | Director: Borisa Simovic | Writer: Borisa Simovic | Language: Serbian

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  • “37: A Final Promise” by Randall Batinkoff Wins Best Film at 2014 Arpa International Film Festival

    “37: A Final Promise” 17th Annual Arpa International Film Festival Winner“37: A Final Promise” 17th Annual Arpa International Film Festival Winner

    The 17th Annual Arpa International Film Festival wrapped with the annual Awards Ceremony, and “37: A Final Promise” by Randall Batinkoff was the big winner, taking home the Best Feature Film Award, along with the Best Director Award for Randall Batinkoff.  In the film, haunted rock star, Adam Webb, plans to fulfill a vow to kill himself on his 37th birthday to atone for a horrible crime he committed as a child. With only 12 weeks to go before his expiration date (and release of his final album) he meets and falls in love with Jemma Johnstone, who has a dark secret of her own. 

    “When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen RA and The Theremin” by Robert Nazar Arjoyan won the Best Documentary Film Award“When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen RA and The Theremin” by Robert Nazar Arjoyan won the Best Documentary Film Award

    “When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen RA and The Theremin” by Robert Nazar Arjoyan won the Best Documentary Film Award.  Glamorously eccentric and enigmatic Theremin master Armen Ra recounts his dynamic journey in this life-spanning, award winning, documentary that mixes rare concert performances, candid interviews, and archive material with the magical power of music that can alchemize ancient sorrow into timeless beauty.

    Winners

    http://youtu.be/X0B8Ib-x0OU

    Best Feature Film Award: “37: A Final Promise” by Randall Batinkoff (USA).

    Best Director Award: “37: A Final Promise” by Randall Batinkoff (USA).

    Best Documentary Film Award: “When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen RA and The Theremin” by Robert Nazar Arjoyan (USA).

    Best Short Film Award: “Arena” by Martin Rath (Armenia/Poland).

    Best Screenplay Award: “Tevanik” by Jivan Avetisyan (Armenia).

    Best Music Video Award: “Rich Husband” (Shohare Pooldar) by Shervin Youssefian (USA).

    Best Feature Audience Choice Award: “Toastmaster” by Eric Boadella and Martin Yernazian (Spain/USA).

    Best Documentary Audience Choice Award: “Hannah: Buddhism’s Untold Journey” Marta Gyorgy Kessler and Adam Penn (UK).

    Best Short Film Audience Choice Award: “Return of the Tyke” by Garo Berberian (UK).

    via asbarez

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  • Arpa International Film Festival Announces 2014 Film Lineup

    I Believe in UnicornsI Believe in Unicorns

    The 17th annual Arpa International Film Festival will be held November 14-16th, 2014 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.  For the 17th year, the lineup includes award winning films including: As it Used to Be and Sombras de Azul, along with SXSW nominated, I Believe in Unicorns.

    “We’re thrilled about this years festival line-up, which includes both domestic and international films and filmmakers, ready to showcase their work,” said Festival Director, Michael Ashjian. “It’s our goal to stay true to our mission in cultivating awareness of important topics that affect our society through the medium of film. We can’t wait to share these films with everyone!”

    SHORT FILMS

    Arena (2013)
    Country: Poland
    Director: Martin Rath
    Writer: Martin Rath
    Producer: Marcin Malatynski

    As It Used to Be (2013)
    Country: France
    Director: Clément Gonzalez
    Writer: Clément Gonzalez
    Producer: Clément Gonzalez

    Atrophy (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Hovig Kazandjian
    Writer: Hovig Kazandjian
    Producer: Danny Simonzad, Shervin Youssefian

    Cassandra (2014)
    Country: France, USA
    Director: Guy-Roger Duvert
    Writer: Guy-Roger Duvert
    Producer: Guy-Roger Duvert, Rudolph Falaise

    Distance (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Ismael Gomez III
    Writer: Ismael Gomez III
    Producer: Tyler Munyon, Yassel Iglesias

    Eclipse (2013)
    Country: Armenia
    Director: Ara Yernjakyan
    Writer: Ara Yernjakyan
    Producer: None Listed

    The Eulogy of Ivy O’Connor (2013)
    Country: USA
    Director: Shervin Youssefian
    Writer: Sophie Jordan
    Producer: Shervin Youssefian, Danny Simonzad

    Families Are Forever (2013)
    Country: USA
    Director: Vivian Kleiman
    Writer: None Listed
    Producer: Vivian Kleiman
    Duration: 00:20:39

    L’Homme du Passé (2013)
    Country: France
    Director: Matt Beurois
    Writer: Matt Beurois
    Producer: Matt Beurois

    Martin (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Justin Lee
    Writer: Justin Lee
    Producer: Ik-Tong Ryo

    Najes (2014)
    Country: Iran
    Director: Bahram & Bahman Hajaboloo
    Writer: Bahram & Bahman Hajaboloo
    Producer: None Listed

    No Love Lost (2013)
    Country: United Kingdom
    Director: Skekhar Bassi
    Writer: Skekhar Bassi, Shalinder Bassi
    Producer: Gemma Lloyd, Helen Silver, Skekhar Bassi, Shalinder Bassi

    One Step Forward (2011)
    Country: USA
    Director: Joel Marsh, Benjamin Crowell
    Writer: Joel Marsh, Benjamin Crowell
    Producer: Joel Marsh, Benjamin Crowell

    Return of the Tyke (2014)
    Country: United Kingdom
    Director: Garo Berberian
    Writer: Garo Berberian, Ben Hodgson
    Producer: Garo Berberian, Paul Hellard

    We Are Enemies (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Ilya Rozhkov
    Writer: Ilya Rozhkov
    Producer: Egor Povolotskiy, Janek Ambros

    Zugzwang (2013)
    Country: Spain, USA
    Director: Yolanda Centeno
    Writer: Yolanda Centeno
    Producer: Yolanda Centeno, Lavinia Barsotti

    Snail
    Country: USA
    Director: Deborah Attoinese
    Writer: Deborah Attoinese
    Producer: Deborah Attoinese, Clara Ronk

    Fly
    Country: USA
    Director: Joel Marsh
    Writer: Joel Marsh, Gray Cusack
    Producer: Joel Marsh, Gray Cusack

    Just Be Yourself
    Country: USA
    Director: Stuart Davis
    Writer: Stuart Davis
    Producer: Sebastian Segal

    FEATURE FILMS

    I Believe in Unicorns (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Leah Meyerhoff
    Writer: Leah Meyerhoff
    Producer: Heather Rae

    Sombras de Azul (2013)
    Country: Cuba, Mexico, USA
    Director: Kelly Daniela Norris
    Writer: Kelly Daniela Norris
    Producer: Kelly Daniela Norris, Travis Pittman

    Toastmaster (2013)
    Country: Spain, USA
    Director: Eric Boadella
    Writer: Eric Boadella
    Producer: Eric Boadella, Hermes Marco, Martin Yernazian,

    37: A Final Compromise
    Country: USA
    Director: Randall Batinkoff
    Writer: Randall Batinkoff, Jesse Stratton
    Producer: Randall Batinkoff, Guy Blews, Leila Djansi

    Odd Brodsky
    Country: USA
    Director: Cindy Baer
    Writer: Matthew Irving and Cindy Baer
    Producer: Cindy Baer and Thomat Hatsios

    Neutral Zone
    Country: Armenia
    Director: Artak Zilfimyan
    Writer: Artak Zilfimyan
    Producer: Tiran Hayrapetyan
    Duration: 01:3:00
    Language: English

    DOCUMENTARIES

    The Amazing Mr. Ash (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Brian Gersten
    Writer: None Listed
    Producer: Brian Gersten

    Born in Adana (2014)
    Country: Canada
    Director: David Hovan
    Writer: David Hovan
    Producer: David Hovan

    Hannah: Buddhism’s Untold Journey (2014)
    Country: United Kingdom
    Director: Adam Penny
    Writer: Adam Penny, Marta György-Kessler
    Producer: None Listed

    Music is a Universal Language (2014)
    Country: Serbia and Montenegro
    Director: Milos Drobnjakovic
    Writer: Milos Drobnjakovic
    Producer: Milos Drobnjakovic, Natasa Pajovic

    Music to Madness – the Story of Komitas (2014)
    Country: Canada, USA
    Director: David Deranian
    Writer: David Deranian
    Producer: David Deranian

    The No Name Painting Association (2013)
    Country: China, USA
    Director: Joe Griffin
    Writer: Rene Balcer
    Producer: Rene Balcer

    Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue (2013)
    Country: Egypt, USA
    Director: Tim Wilkerson
    Writer: Tim Wilkerson
    Producer: Tim Wilkerson

    Party Line (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Alan Magee
    Writer: Alan Magee
    Producer: Alan Magee

    You Have His Eyes (2014)
    Country: USA
    Director: Christopher Wilson
    Writer: Not Listed
    Producer: Christopher Wilson

    Still in Memory of the Quake
    Country: Armenia
    Director: Anzhela Frangyan
    Writer: Anzhela Frangyan
    Producer: Arax Tadevosyan, Gohar Mkitaryan

    Apricot, Blessed Tree of Armenia
    Country: Armenia
    Director: Shirak Khojayan
    Writer: Shirak Khojayan
    Producer: Shirak Khojayan
    When My Sorrow Died

    Country: USA
    Director: Robert Nazar Arjoyan
    Producer: Matt Huffman
    Duration: 01:25:00
    Language: English

    MUSIC VIDEOS

    Dasha Hara (2013)
    Country: Australia, Canada
    Director: Bryn Oh

    Pis’ma vojny (2014)
    Country: Russian Federation
    Director: Vera Tomilova
    Writer: Vadim Gassanov
    Producer: Alexander Zhukov

    Too Soon (2013)
    Country: United Kingdom
    Director: Jeremy Harvey
    Writer: Jeremy Harvey
    Producer: None Listed

    Shohare Pooldar
    Country: USA
    Director: Shervin Youssefian
    Writer: Shervin Youssefian
    Producer: Erwin Khatchikian
    Duration: 00:03:30
    Language: Farsi w/ English Subtitles

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  • French Film Azad Wins 15th Arpa International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3067" align="alignnone" width="550"]BEST DOCUMENTARY Feature Award for THE SUFFERING GRASSES WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS THE GRASS THAT SUFFERS[/caption]

    The 15th Arpa International Film Festival (AFFMA.org) ran from Thursday, November 29 to Sunday, December 2, 2012, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, and showcased over 60 films from around the globe.

    The festival culminated with a Gala event and awards ceremony at which filmmakers, sponsors, and honored guests were celebrated. 

    BEST PICTURE was awarded to Nicolas Tackian for his French drama AZAD

    BEST DIRECTOR kudos was delivered to Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay for the Turkish film ZENNE DANCER.

    BEST SCREENPLAY Award was given to Arshaluys Harutyunyan for the Armenian drama WANDERING

    The BEST DOCUMENTARY Feature Award for THE SUFFERING GRASSES: WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS THE GRASS THAT SUFFERS was presented to Yara Lee.

    Eddie Deleon Melikyan accepted the award for BEST SHORT FILM for directing JUST LIKE HER.

     Also present at the ceremony were the 2012 special award honorees. Presenters such as filmmaker Haik Gazarian and actress Valentina Rendon presented Hrach Titizian with the Breakthrough Actor of the Year Award; actress Heather McComb presented Michael Poghosian the Artist of the Year Award; actor/filmmaker Sebastian Siegel awarded Frances Fisher the Career Achievement Award; AFFMA Founder Sylvia Minassian presented Lusine Sahakyan, director of “Hamshen at Crossroads of Past and Present” (Armenia,Turkey) with the prestigious Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award; Actress Anoush NeVart presented the Arpa Foundation Award to recipient USC Shoah Foundation, The Institute For Visual History And Education. The award was accepted by Dr. Stephen D. Smith, MBE, PhD who spoke about the merits of supporting independent cinema and archiving efforts such as those by the Shoah Foundation. And Achievement in International Cinema Award was accepted by “Lost & Found in Armenia” (Armenia, USA) director, Gor Kirakosian.

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  • 2012 Arpa International Film Festival Showcasing Armenian Films Opens in LA November 29 with Comedian Jamie Kennedy’s LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA

     [caption id="attachment_2933" align="alignnone" width="1020"]LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA[/caption]

    The 15th annual Arpa International Film Festival opens on Thursday November 29 and runs through December 2, 2012 at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California showcasing over 60 feature films, documentaries and short films  from  17 countries.   

    This year’s N. American bows include Tobias Tobbell’s  (The Drummond Will) British thriller CONFINE starring Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and supermodel Daisy Lowe in her feature debut .  Also showing for the first time in N.America is Aram Sukiasyan’s  rock opera WANDERING. ‘Wandering’ is the first such film made in Armenia.

    West Coast feature premieres include Nicolas Tackian’s French drama AZAD and  Ajay Singh’s endearing family film UPSIDE DOWN (Khalti Doka Varti Paay).  The latter film from India was an official selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s World Cinema section.

    These films join the North American premiers of the opening night film Gor Kirakosian’s comedy LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA (USA), Centerpiece Program Sebastian Siegel’s documentary AWAKENING WORLD (USA),  the taboo breaking  ZENNE DANCER (TURKEY) and Closing Night Film Armenia’s Official Submission to the Foreign Language Category at the 85th Academy Awards® Natalya Belyauskene’s powerful drama IF ONLY EVERYONE (Armenia) . The Festival will also host acclaimed filmmaker Tsvetana Paskaleva’s revival screening of WOUNDS OF KARABAKH (1994) and Hrach Keshishyan’s special sneak peak of his forthcoming 2013 historical epic feature film, NJDEH. Both filmmakers will be in attendance at Arpa International Film Festival.

    15th Annual Arpa International Film Festival Program

     

    OPENING NIGHT GALA Thursday, November 29, 7:30 PM

    LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA (2012)

    Country: Armenia, USA

    Director: Gor Kirakosian

    Writer: Narek Ghaplanyan, Gor Kirakosian, Krist Manaryan

    Producer: Maral Djerejian, Valerie McCaffrey

    Duration 1:40:00

    Language: English

    US PREMIERE/Opening Night Film

    Lost & Found in Armenia is the story of Bill (Jamie Kennedy), an American tourist who travels to Turkey to get his mind off a bad break up. In a comedic and dangerous turn of events, Bill unknowingly ends up in a small village in Armenia, where he is accused of being a Turkish spy. It is in that small village that he meets a beautiful Armenian girl (Angela Sarafyan), who helps him escape from misfortune.

     

    CENTERPIECE PROGRAM – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 7:30 PM

     

    AWAKENING WORLD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sebastian Siegel

    Writer: Sebastian Siegel

    Producer: Sebastian Siegel

    Duration: 0:40:00

    Language: English

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE/Centerpiece Program

    What fuels an AWAKENING WORLD?  That’s what filmmaker Sebastian Siegel sets out to uncover through interviews with renowned authors, and globally recognized artists and leaders.  This 1st installment of the 7 year documentary project, LOVE SEX GOD, explores fundamental questions at the core of human fulfillment, such as “what is love?” and “what is the purpose of life?”.  Influences on the filmmaker from growing up in Hawaii to immersion in the arts and Indian mythology drive the exploration.  Scored discussions are woven into a dialogue culminating in the advocation of a specific methodology as an essential means necessary to perpetuate widespread human joy… . and in the payoff the film drives compassion, and inspires.

     

    ZENNE DANCER (2011)

    Country: Turkey

    Director: Caner Alper

    Writer: Caner Alper, Mehmet Binay

    Producer: Caner Alper, Mehmet Binay

    Duration: 1:33:00

    Language: Turkish with English subtitles

    LOS ANGELES PREMIERE/Centerpiece Program

    Zenne is the contemporary story of three unlikely friends: Ahmet, a masculine gay man, Can, a male belly dancer (Zenne), and Daniel, a German photo-journalist, who are confronted by a systemic, institutionalized and culturally embedded homophobia that leads to tragedy.

     

    CLOSING NIGHT GALA Saturday, December 1, 2012

     

    IF ONLY EVERYONE (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Natalya Belyauskene

    Writer: Theresa Varzhapetyan, Michael Poghosian

    Producer: Theresa Varzhapetyan

    Duration: 1:35:00

    Language: Armenian, Russian with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE/Closing Night Film

    Armenia’s Official Submission to the Foreign Language Category at the 85th Academy Awards®

    This story perhaps touches on the most sensitive string for our nation today, Artsakh. Why did people die, what was the war about, what motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers, others are still searching. But these questions eclipse real lives of real people, whom we often think about the least, unfortunately. Whereas they are living right next to us and maybe are asking the same questions…Our protagonist Gurgen is a common guy, an electronics wiz in a body shop, ostensibly enjoying everybody’s respect and, perhaps, awe. His gloomy appearance may be the reason, or is it his combat merit in the battle for Artsakh? A young Russian girl calls on him, the daughter of his fallen brother in arms…

     

    FEATURE FILMS

     

    AS A BEGINNING (2006)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Art Sevada

    Writer: Art Sevada

    Producer: Art Sevada

    Duration: 0:51:45

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Just behind the slick surface textures of the new Yerevan, beyond its refashioned vistas, mind boutiques, and cooler than thou cafes and restaurants, there is the beating heart of a dreamscape. This is the city’s mythic backdrop, an ongoing essay contest where memory and prospect meet or don’t. Art was at home here. The juxtaposition was inescapable. There was, in the foreground, the stage of the here and now: an Armenian social struggle for stability, an East-meets-West brand of politics and governance, the frazzle-dazzle of an entrepreneurial spirit that was busy expanding the gulf between the haves and have-nots, plus the potential of eye-popping creativity…

     

    AZAD (2009)

    Country: France, Armenia

    Director: Nicolas Tackian

    Writer: Nicolas Tackian

    Producer: David Kodsi 

    Duration: 1:10:00

    Language: French with English subtitles

    WEST COAST PREMIERE

    The word ‘Azad’ means freedom in both Armenian and Kurdish—the core theme in this dramatic feature. An Armenian artist, Mayak is determined to tell his grandfather’s story of survival from the Armenian Genocide through the medium of a graphic novel. Mayak is forced to confront his beliefs and deeply-rooted anger when he meets Mina, a young Kurdish woman who moves into the house he shares with friends. Through their turbulent relationship, both individuals discover profound revelations about their worldviews.  A gripping film about one’s identity and self-perseverance. 

     

    CONFINE (2012)

    Country: United Kingdom

    Director: Tobias Tobbell

    Writer: Tobias Tobbell

    Producer: Emily Corcoran

    Duration: 1:30:45

    Language: English, Spanish, and French with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    She hid from the world for years. All she wants now is to escape.

     

    CROSSROAD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Shervin Youssefian

    Writer: Shervin Youssefian

    Producer: Shervin Youssefian, Danny Simonzad, David Dginguerian, Amy Weber

    Duration: 1:35:00

    Language: English

    Fueled by revenge, Michael sets up a meeting with Clef Robie, the man who murdered his wife and child six years ago.  His plans of killing him come to a standstill when unexpected events turn everything he has known upside down.  Follow Michael as he slowly discovers that everything in life happens for a reason.

     

    DISAPPEARING BAKERSFIELD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sophiah Koikas

    Writer: Sophiah Koikas

    Producer: Sophiah Koikas

    Duration: 2:30:00

    Language: English

    WORLD PREMIERE

    Darris Blue decides to move back home to love and live with her dad but ends up in Disappearing Bakersfield. Disappearing is a vortex and once inside, she’s unable to get out. The call of a ghost and a mystery hostage in the attic of the only hotel in town, The Lonesome Road Hotel, Darris just might be able to help the ghost find her peace which opens Darris’ own heart of her own genocide to her own trapped emotions of her past.

     

    UPSIDE DOWN (2012)

    Country: India

    Director: Ajay Singh

    Writer: Ajay Singh

    Producer: Junaid Memon

    Duration:1:19:30

    Language: Marathi with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    Upside Down is the film which will make you forget Majid Majidi’s award winning “Children Of Heaven.” 

     

    WANDERING (2011)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Arshaluys Harutyunyan

    Writer: Aram Sukiasyan

    Producer: Aram Sukiasyan

    Duration: 1:21:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    ‘Wandering’ depicts the curious tragedy of a historical injustice victim, a man living in Diaspora. Christianity, immortality of soul, human sins and trespasses, historical injustices, love and purification – these topics are the ideological basis of the film. ‘Wandering’ belongs to the farcical and tragicomic genre and is exceptional in its style. ‘Wandering’ has a structure typical of classical opera: an overture, duets, trios, arias and choral performances with clear development and ideology. ‘Wandering’ is the first such film made in the region’

     

    DOCUMENTARIES

    AMERICAN IMAM (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Donya Ravasani

    Producer: Donya Ravasani

    Duration: 0:19:50

    Language: English

    Imam Siraj Wahhaj is one of the most prominent and controversial Islamic clerics of the United States.  He leads a Muslim community in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His daughter Hujrah Wahhaj works along side him, reaching out to the Facebook generation in search of its soul. The Imam’s longtime companion Ali Abdul Karim has helped him lead the Islamic community where they settled in the 1980s when the neighborhood was Brooklyn’s roughest ghetto. This is a look behind the scenes of the  African-American Muslim community in the United States today.

     

    ARAGIL, THE WHITE STORK (2010)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Shirak Khojayan

    Writer: Shirak Khojayan

    Producer: Shirak Khojayan

    Duration: 0:28:26

    Language: English

    Aragil, The White Stork is a documentary about the life of the white stork and its relationship with the people of Armenia.

     

    ARMENIAN ACTIVISTS NOW! BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT (2012)

    Country: USA, Armenia

    Director: Robert Davidian

    Producer: Robert Davidian

    Duration: 0:41:00

    Language: English

    This documentary shows the birth of activism and the social issues it aims to change in Armenia, as told by the activists themselves.

     

    ARMENIAN ECHOES (2012)

    Country: Canada, Armenia

    Director: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Producer: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Duration: 1:48:18

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Armenian Echoes, timeless rhythms. So much of a peoples’ identity stems from the songs they sing, the music they play and the spirit of their dance. Music is the very essence of the cultural identity of a people. In this film Hagop Goudsouzian continues his 7-month journey through Armenia in pursuit of his dream, the soul of Armenian Music.

     

    ARMENIAN MINSTRELS (2011)

    Country: Canada, Armenia

    Director: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Producer: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Duration: 0:55:23

    Language: Armenian with English Subtitles

    Today’s Armenian Minstrels perform traditional yet contemporary Armenian love songs. With a 700 year history Armenian Minstrels still echo the soul of Armenian Culture. Featuring Professor Tovmas Poghosyan, the Sayat-Nova Minstrel Song Ensemble and impromptu interviews and performances with well known Armenian Minstrels: Minstrel Andranik Ujanci, Minstrel Astghanush, Minstrel Kochar, and Minstrel Makhmour.

     

    ARMENIAN RHAPSODY (2012)

    Country: Brazil

    Director: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Writer: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Producer: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Duration: 1:02:28

    Language: English, Armenian, and Spanish with English subtitles

    Armenian Rhapsody is a road movie, made of a polyphony of characters where the faces and the music are the real protagonists.  As in a rhapsody, the film is made of a juxtaposition of musical and narrative fragments with variations in theme, intensity and tone.

     

    BORN IN GOMA (2012)

    Country: USA, Congo

    Director: Chris Carpenter

    Producer: Chris Carpenter

    Duration: 0:47:45

    Language: English and Swahili with English subtitles

    Dr. Chris Carpenter travels to Goma, a war-ravaged city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to work at the HEAL Africa hospital. Each day, he cares for the sickest and most desperate children in the region. During his journey, he meets three special patients, each trying to survive in the midst of extreme poverty and violence. Born in Goma follows Isaac, Gisele and Dieume as they work against remarkable odds to regain their health and build brighter futures.

     

    DONKEYMENTARY (2012)

    Country: Kenya, Armenia

    Director: Arman Yeritsyan, Vardan Hovhannisyan

    Producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan

    Duration: 0:52:00

    Language: English and Swahili with English subtitles

    This is a Donkeymentary – a documentary about a small island, just off the coast of Kenya, with 24,000 people, 6,000 donkeys, just 2 cars and a 14-year-old donkey race champion, Shee Famao, whose fondest dream in life is nothing more than having a donkey of his own.

     

    FATHER’S LAND (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Anzhela Frangyan & Marianna Abrahamyan

    Writer: Anzhela Frangyan & David Sargsyan

    Producer: Tiran Hayrapetyan

    Duration: 0:18:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Father’s Land tells the story of the grand 9th century Monastery of Tatev.   

     

    GENOCIDE MEMOIR (2012)

    Country: Australia

    Director: Shahane Bekarian

    Producer: Shahane Bekarian

    Duration: 0:13:58

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Boghos Tavrayan was about 4 years old, he didn’t know who his parents were, he didn’t know the year of his birth, he didn’t know why they were abhorred, the only thing he knew was his first name. This Genocide Memoir is a short documentary about a survivor of the Armenian Genocide during WWI. Using an interview filmed in 1986 this film is a contemporary view which attempts to convey the ongoing suffering and struggle for justice within Armenians today.

     

    HAMSHEN AT CROSSROADS OF PAST AND PRESENT (2012)

    Country: Armenia, Turkey

    Director: Lusine Sahakyan

    Producer: Lusine Sahakyan

    Duration: 1:00:00

    Language: Armenian, Hamshen, and Turkish with English subtitles

    Lusineh Sahakyan’s documentary Hamshen at Crossroads of Past and Present is dedicated to the current state of the descendants of the Armenians of Hamshen (Hamshentsis); a people who were forcibly Islamicized (”Turkified”) by the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. Today, they live primarily in the provinces of Rizeh and Artvin, as well as in Istanbul and other cities of Turkey.  The film presents unique episodes from the history and culture of the once powerful Armenian Principality of Hamshen, and the practice of Islamization, a form of ethnic cleansing. Based on material shot on location, the present-day culture of the Hamshentsis is chronicled: their songs and dances, customs, linguistic situation, as well as their everyday life and occupations, conceptions of their own identity, and the demographic picture.

     

    HUMBLE THE POET (2011)

    Country: USA, Canada

    Director: Brendan Nahmias

    Producer: Brendan Nahmias

    Duration: 0:12:28     

    Language: English

    With tattoos and a turban, Humble the Poet is a Sikh hip-hop artist from Toronto, Canada whose message is expressed with a twist. He harnesses the power of the spoken word with music, re-defining the immigrant experience in a bold fashion. Take a ride inside the mind of Humble as he navigates the line between two cultures, aiming to define himself as a hip-hop artist, while reconciling his identity as a modern Sikh.

     

    MEMORIES WITHOUT BORDERS (2012)

    Country: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey

    Director: Mehmet Binay, Levon Kalantar, Ayaz Salayev

    Producer: M. Caner Alper, Harutyun Mansuryan, Nailia Babayeva

    Duration: 0:54:22

    Language: Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish with English subtitles

    In 2010, a UK-based peacebuilding organization, Conciliation Resources, brought a team of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Turkish directors together to make a film exploring parallels and differences in how Turks, Armenians and Azerbaijanis remember the past and see their future. The result is a subtly provocative meditation on collective memory, personal discovery and borders in the mind, across a region as divided by historical narratives as it is by closed borders and frontlines.

     

    MY MOTHER’S VOICE (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Mark Friedman

    Writer: Kay Mouradian

    Producer: Mark Friedman, Kay Mouradian

    Duration: 0:25:04

    Language: English

    My Mother’s Voice is the compelling story of fourteen-year-old Flora Munushian, her survival from the 1915 Armenian Genocide and how she finds her way to America to marry a man she knows only from a paragraph.  Her voice is the voice of all the victims of the 1915 genocide, a story that must not be forgotten.

     

    RETURN TO ASBURY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: David Norian

    Writer: David Norian

    Producer: Dot Gain Films

    Duration: 0:10:00

    Language: English

    Return to Asbury tells the story of how Armenian-Americans once gathered every summer in the New Jersey beach town of Asbury Park, and what happens when they return to that same place 40 years later.

     

    SO FAR FROM HOME (2009)

    Country: Canada

    Director: Lorne Shirinian

    Writer: Lorne Shirinian

    Producer: Lorne Shirinian

    Duration: 0:5:43

    Language: English

    A narrative documentary of the journey from Turkey to Canada of a 5-year old orphan survivor of the Armenian Genocide.

     

    THE SUFFERING GRASSES: WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS THE GRASS THAT

    SUFFERS (2012)

    Country: USA, Syria, Arab Republic, Turkey

    Director: Iara Lee

    Producer: Iara Lee

    Duration: 0:51:45

    Language: English and Arabic with English subtitles

    With thousands dead and counting, the ongoing conflict in Syria has become a microcosm for the complicated politics of the region, and an unsavory reflection of the world at large. Against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and the complicated politics of the region, this film explores the Syrian conflict through the humanity of the civilians who have been killed, abused, and displaced. In all such conflicts, it is civilians, women and children, families and whole communities, who suffer at the leisure of those in power. When elephants go to war, it is the grass that suffers.

     

    TONI AND ROSI (2012)

    Country: USA, UK, Austria

    Director: Todd Murray, Will Wyatt

    Producer: Todd Murray, Will Wyatt

    Duration: 0:58:00

    Language: English

    Toni and Rosi Grunschlag were Viennese piano prodigies destined for triumph on the concert stages of Europe until the Nazi occupation of Austria shattered their world and irrevocably changed their destiny.  Left to fend for themselves in a hostile Austria, they were forced to flee their native land and begin new lives far away from all that they loved.  ‘Toni and Rosi’ turned to what they could trust: their music and each other.

     

    TUMOR, IT’S IN THE SYSTEM (2012)

    Country: USA, Australia, Canada

    Director: Cindy Pruitt, Valerie McCaffrey

    Producer: Valerie McCaffrey, Cindy Pruitt

    Duration: 1:07:00

    Language: English

    This documentary reveals how alternative cures for cancer have been suppressed since the 1930’s and how the bureaucratic regulatory system has maintained chemotherapy and radiation as the only choice of treatment for over 100 years.  Citing testimonials to the horrors of chemo and radiation adjacent to those who have secretly cured their cancer with alternative means, this film is a call to action for the freedom to publicize alternative cures, and a call to people to demand the freedom to make better choices.

     

    VIOLINS IN WARTIME (2011)

    Country: Israel

    Director: Yael Katzir

    Writer: Yael Katzir

    Producer: Yael Katzir, Dan Katzir

    Duration: 0:46:04

    Language: English and Hebrew with English subtitles

    Israel 2006.  An intimate chronicle of the violinmaker Amnon Weinstein whose son is at the front during the Second Lebanon War.  Amnon takes part in master classes for young violinists taught by famed musicians Ida Haendel and Shlomo Mintz.  A moving story about the power of music and the violins in wartime.  

     

    VOYAGE TO AMASIA (2011) 

    Country: USA, Armenia, Turkey

    Director: Randy Bell

    Producer: Randy Bell, Eric Hachikian

    Duration: 1:24:15

    Language: English, Armenian, and Turkish with English subtitles

    Voyage To Amasia’ is a feature documentary inspired by Eric Hachikian’s piano trio of the same name.  Amasya, Turkey is the city from which Eric’s grandmother fled during the Armenian Genocide.  The filmmakers made a real voyage to Amasia, tracing a path through the past, telling Eric’s family’s story and the story of the current people of Turkey and Armenia.

     

    WOMEN AT WAR: FORGOTTEN VETERANS OF DESERT STORM (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Christie Davis

    Writer: Christie Davis

    Producer: Christie Davis, Dennis Davis

    Duration: 1:16:16

    Language: English

    The feature documentary ‘Women At War: Forgotten Veterans of Desert Storm’ takes an intimate look at women soldiers’ wartime experiences on the toxic battlefields of 1991’s Operation Desert Storm and their heartbreaking battles with Gulf War Illnesses since they’re returned home.  Carol Williams and three other female veterans fight the government for proper treatment and benefits in their search for answers to their mysterious Gulf War illnesses.  They wonder why they’ve been abandoned by the government they risked their lives to serve.  Twenty years later, their war isn’t over.

     

    SHORT FILMS

     

    140 DRAMS (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Oksana Mirzoyan

    Writer: Oksana Mirzoyan

    Producer: Emily Mkrtichian, Anahid Yahjian

    Duration: 0:18:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    140 Drams tells the story of a young boy who must go to the store by himself for the first time. Things get complicated when the 140 Drams his mother gave him for milk are not enough, and he has to make a difficult choice. The experience of this young boy becomes a kaleidoscope through which the landscape of a modern Armenia emerges. Through bits and pieces, fragments of conversation and glimpses of the insides of a single bedroom apartment, this film tries to put together a picture of this country, right now.

     

    4 MINUTES (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Stephen Sepher

    Writer: Stephen Sepher

    Producer: Stephen Sepher

    Duration: 0:15:30

    Language: English

    Four ex special ops are en route to transport a well-known heart surgeon when they find themselves targeted by an unknown enemy in the mountainous terrains of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

     

    AFTER WATER THERE IS SAND (2012)

    Country: USA, Armenia

    Director: Saro Varjabedian

    Writer: Saro Varjabedian

    Producer: Mira El Koussa

    Duration: 0:17:45

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Tamar, an 80-year-old widow, visits her Armenian homeland to fulfill her recently-deceased husband’s last wish: to take a family photo in front of Mount Ararat. However, her daughters, Armine and Lori, are less than interested in going to mount Ararat, and hope that the trip will allow Tamar to let go of her grief and find joy in her life. The three women are accompanied by Hripsime, a loud-mouthed, sprightly taxi driver as their guide. With the Armenian countryside as their backdrop, the women struggle to find new meaning in their lives and broaden their relationships. Once they arrive at Ararat, they are surprised to learn that the picture Tamar wants to take won’t come as easily to them as they had hoped…

     

    299: BARBARIANS INSIDE THE GATES (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Frederikos

    Writer: Nick Mann

    Producer: Nick Mann

    Duration: 0:15:00

    Language: English

    In a world, where ancient mythology collides with present day discord, a rogue warrior who would be king, finds himself in the throes of an existential crisis.  But it is not until he summons the spirit of 299 Spartans to help charge a hapless band of Greeks into a battle of economic proportions to reclaim the country’s sovereignty, does our anti-hero realize he is but a mere pawn in a larger, divine plan. Cast includes Arkidies Vasileas, Phillip Berg, Vasilia Niles, and introducing Pheenix. Art by Jamese

     

    THE EPIPHANY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Ella Hatamian

    Writer: Ella Hatamian

    Duration: 0:17:42

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    It’s January 5th, Armenian Christmas Eve, and the Hatamian family only has 15-minutes to complete their preparations for the annual holiday feast. Chaos ensues.

     

    HIGH CARD TRUMPS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Geoffrey Quan

    Writer: Stacey Parshall Jensen

    Producer: Frances Chang

    Duration: 0:05:56

    Language: English

    Lois, a headstrong woman and soon-to-be champion grandmother, is anxious to share her good news with the volunteers of her monthly Support-Our-Troops bake sale.  But when an Arab mother joins them, Lois’s pride and her definition of patriotism are challenged.

     

    HOLLYWOOD & HAMMER (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Ryan Green

    Writer: Ryan Green, Nathaniel Eyde (story)

    Producer: Nathaniel Eyde

    Duration: 0:11:55

    Language: English

    A man dressed as THOR wanders Hollywood Blvd, looking for tips. He becomes the subject of scorn and ridicule when he claims to be the actual Norse God of Thunder. The problem is, it might just be true. 

     

    HYEPOWER (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: James Jay Ellis

    Duration: 0:08:15

    Language: English and German with English subtitles

    Based on the original music video HiiiPower by Kendrick Lamar, Nazo Bravo leads the audience through personal perspectives of his own cultural heritage – and that of millions of first and second generation Armenians now living in America – with his vibrantly personal debut music video HyePower.’Hye’ is Armenian for its own rich identity. And the word ‘Power’ is a hopeful reference to the dreams of many of Nazo’s own friends and others throughout the world for a better life ahead.  Rooted in the tragedy of what is commonly called The Armenian Genocide and the recent murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey, the video also traces resonant social luminaries such as John Lennon and Muhammad Ali.

     

    JOLLY B. FIERCE (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Allison  Arachea

    Writer: Allison  Arachea

    Producer: Angelica Robinson

    Duration: 0:22:00

    Language: English and Tagalog with English subtitles

    Filipino drag queen, Jolly B. Fierce, leaves the glitter, lights and wigs to travel to America; where he will be faced with the decision to reconcile with his estranged family, for the sake of his dying mother.

     

    JUST LIKE HER (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Eddie  Melikyan

    Writer: Eddie  Melikyan

    Producer: Avi Quijada

    Duration: 0:18:18

    Language: English

    Just Like Her embarks us on the emotional journey of Ashley Marston as she prepares a Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Unable to suppress the urge to speak about the taboo, it quickly becomes violent when she blames her father for her mother’s suicide.

     

    LATER THAN USUAL (2012)

    Country: Canada

    Director: David Hovan

    Writer: David Hovan

    Producer: David Hovan

    Duration 0:06:15

    A day in the life of an elderly couple. The non verbal interactions between the two make for sometimes funny and at other times poignant moments throughout the film. This couple has lived so long together that they have nothing left to say to each other. Living in an isolated state in their old house, they go about their daily routines, until…

     

    MACHINEHEAD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Micah Gallagher

    Writer: Micah Gallagher

    Producer: Micah Gallagher

    Duration: 0:12:00

    Machinehead is a stop-motion short film that follows a puppet as he travels through four unique rooms representing different stages of intellectual and spiritual development. It’s an abstract representation of someone trying to find meaning and purpose. The short features puppet animation and pays homage to revolutionary stop-motion artists such as Jan Svankmajer and the Quay Brothers in style and content.

     

    MAKE IT A GREAT DAY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Joshua Jones

    Writer: Daniel Klein

    Producer: Joshua Jones, Daniel Klein

    Duration: 0:06:40

    Language: English

    Mother Nature’s peculiar sense of irony creates a convoluted path of survival for a newborn chick with unfortunate timing.

     

    METZARENTS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Hayk Hambartsum

    Writer: Hayk Hambartsum

    Producer: Shahe Barsoumian

    Duration: 0:35:00

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Metzarents is the story of Vahag, a struggling actor in Los Angeles who reconnects with his long dormant Armenian roots when he is offered to play the role of the poet Misak Metzarents in a play.

     

    MIDNIGHT FISTFIGHT (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Robert Nazar Arjoyan

    Writer: Robert Nazar Arjoyan, David Lafian

    Producer: Robert Nazar Arjoyan

    Duration: 0:23:34

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Rage-filled Gev, a first generation American, must learn to get along with his sister’s straightlaced boyfriend Alec, whom he accompanies to a ‘zhamo,’ a ritualistic and centuries-old Armenian tradition, where men meet to settle grievances of honor but rarely leave unscathed.

     

    MOSSADEGH (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Roozbeh Dadvand

    Writer: Roozbeh Dadvand, Nathaniel C. Leonard

    Producer: Amber Beard, Marina Davis, Grace K. Lee

    Duration: 0:23:33

    Language: English and Farsi with English subtitles

    Iran. 1959. It is six years after the CIA orchestrated coup that overthrew democratic Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh from power. Now living under house arrest and suffering from a life-threatening condition, Mossadegh must decide whether or not to trust a brilliant American physician that is sent to treat him.

     

    MOVING STORIES (2012)

    Country: France, USA

    Director: Nora Armani

    Writer: Nora Armani

    Producer: Nora Armani

    Duration: 0:18:16

    Language: English

    The story of two women linked by an apartment from which one is moving out the other in. For the first one this is a definitive move and the closing of a chapter, while for the second it is just a stage, and the start of a new life.

     

    PARALLAX (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Paul DeNigris

    Writer: Paul DeNigris

    Producer: Paul DeNigris, Steve Briscoe, Laura DeNigris

    Duration: 0:22:00

    Language: English and Arabic with English subtitles

    Daniels, a U.S. Army infantryman with a hatred for all Arabs, is injured in a convoy ambush and rescued by Iraqi civilian Hassan and his son Jabir. As the three of them hide from the insurgents, Daniels learns that his prejudices and his hatred have been misplaced and comes to respect Hassan and Jabir as human beings. Making a sacrifice himself in order to save his new friends from the insurgents, Daniels emerges from the experience with a renewed perspective.

     

    PAYING FOR IT (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Lauren Lillie

    Writer: Lauren Lillie

    Producer: Narineh Hacopian

    Duration: 0:21:43

    Language: English

    While on a weekend getaway with her boyfriend, 18-year-old Deidre discovers a call girl passed out in their hotel hallway. She decides to help her. During their ensuing hours together, Deidre opens up to this woman in a way that she isn’t capable of confiding in anyone else. What is it that these two women learn they have in common?

     

    PRIVATE SUN (2011)

    Country: Palestinian Territories

    Director: Rami Alayan

    Writer: Rami Alayan

    Producer: Rami Alayan, Muayad Alayan

    Duration: 0:25:00

    Language: Arabic with English subtitles

    Mariam is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that is causing her a bone illness. But with nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, private moments under the sun are precious and rare.

     

    QUITTER (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Garen Mirzaian

    Writer: Garen Mirzaian

    Producer: Tomohisa Imagawa

    Duration: 0:16:26

    Language: English

    A young man is inspired to make a healthy change in his life only to realize the source of his inspiration is slowly turning into his nemesis.

     

    SECRET OF LIGHT (2012)

    Country:  USA

    Director: Vahram Hakobyan

    Writer: Vahram Hakobyan

    Producer: Vahram Hakobyan, Autumn Fawn

    Duration: 0:13:13

    Language: English

    Princess of Light returns to her father’s kingdom to face Dark Devil and restore light in Valley of Hope.

     

    THREE COLORS IN BLACK AND WHITE (2008)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Art Sevada

    Writer: Harutyun Kbeyan

    Producer: Armen Hambardzumyan

    Duration: 0:14:03

    Language: Russian and Armenian with English subtitles

    A mentally ill young man sees everything that is happening in Yerevan with a bit of an exaggerated eye.

     

    TOUJOURS (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sona Tatoyan

    Writer: Sona Tatoyan

    Producer: Ted Feldman, Andrei Bowden-Schwartz, Sona Tatoyan

    Duration: 0:8:28

    Language: English and French with English subtitles

    A woman reignites an old unconsummated love affair with fatal consequences.

     

    VAI, KIKOS, VAI… (2009)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Writer: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Producer: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Duration: 0:07:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    The story of Kikos’ death, inspired by the classic Hovhannes Tumanyan story.

     

    VENA AMORIS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Armando Hermosilla

    Writer: Armando Hermosilla

    Producer: Sergio Arroyo, Akbar Farooq

    Duration: 0:15:38

    Language: English

    Vena Amoris is about celebrating life with hope in our hearts and an eye toward the future. This film depicts how easy it is to live a happy life when we’re surrounded by friends and family who love us and how easy it is to stray when left alone.  James (Christopher Newell) is a successful and attractive businessman who will be married tomorrow, but before he is married he has to goose step his way past a beautiful temptress and endure painful torture at the hands of his fiancé’s father (Allan Charof). Will James’ love be strong enough to get him through the gauntlet to his wedding day, or will he be swayed by the promise of pleasure and impending pain that threaten to crush his dream of being a good and faithful husband?

     

    VENUS VS. MARS (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Talin Malekian

    Writer: Talin Malekian

    Producer: Talin Malekian, Nansia Movidi, Jeffrey DeChausse

    Duration: 0:15:22

    Language: English

    In a world bound by deception, how will a young impressionable artist overcome society’s lure of grandeur in order to unite with her inner voice and become highly valued?

     

    VUCCIRIA (2011)

    Country: Italy

    Director: Michele Di Salle

    Writer: Michele Di Salle

    Producer: Massimo Sigillo Massara

    Duration: 0:07:20

    Language: Italian with English subtitles

    Under a cloudy sky a young lady walks around the streets of the town. Outside a shop she sees herself in a mirror. Her reflection is much colorful. Curiosity draws Elisa closer to the mirror and with one touch she is in a new world. The lady is now in a new world, a market full of strange characters…

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  • 14th Arpa International Film Festival Award Winners

    [caption id="attachment_1652" align="alignnone" width="550"]Best Picture -Three Veils [/caption]

    The 14th Arpa International Film Festival wrapped on Saturday with a screening of FIVE MINARETS IN NEW YORK followed by a the awards ceremony. Taking top honors were THREE VEILS, MY UNCLE RAFAEL, THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER IN ARMENIA and BOLIS.

    The Best Picture honor this year went to Rolla Selbak’s drama, THREE VEILS. BEST DIRECTOR and BEST SCREENPLAY kudos went to director Marc Fusco and writers Scott Yagemann and Vahik Pirhamzei for their comedy MY UNCLE RAFAEL.

    Pirhamzei also received the festival’s 2011 Breakthrough Performance Award for his starring role in the film. Arman Yeritsyan and Inna Sahakyan’s THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER IN ARMENIA was given the award for Best Documentary with Eric Nazarian’s BOLIS winning BEST SHORT FILM.

    List Of Winners:
    Best Picture:
    Three Veils (L.A. premiere)
    USA
    Director: Rolla Selbak
    Producer: Ahmad Zahra
    Writer: Rolla Selbek

    Three Veils is a film about three young Middle-Eastern women living in the U.S., each with her own personal story. Leila is engaged to be married, however as the wedding night approaches, she becomes less and less sure of how her life is playing out. Amira is a very devout Muslim, but is dealing with her deep repressions about her intimate
    feelings toward women. Nikki is acting out her promiscuity as she battles her own demons after a tragic death in the family. As the film progresses, all three stories unfold and blend into each other as connections are revealed between the three women.

    Best Screenplay/Best Director:
    My Uncle Rafael (North American premiere)
    USA
    Director: Marc Fusco
    Producers: Michael Garrity, Vahik Pirhamzei
    Writers: Scott Yagemann, Vahik Pirhamzei

    A desperate TV producer convinces an old Armenian Uncle to star in a new reality show. Cultures collide when Uncle Rafael is thrown into the Schumacher family household where he has one week to save a broken and dysfunctional American family from falling apart. The only rule – everyone must follow his rules. Starring Vahik Pirhamzei, John
    Michael Higgins, Missi Pyle, Anthony Clark, Rachel Blanchard, Joe Lo Truglio, Anahid Avanesian, Carly Chaikin, Sage Ryan, Ursula Taherian,
    and Lupe Ontiveros.

    Best Documentary:
    The Last Tightrope Dancer In Armenia
    Armenia
    Directors: Arman Yeritsyan, Inna Sahakyan
    Producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan
    Writers: Arman Yeritsyan, Inna Sahakyan

    Zhora and Knyaz were once the most celebrated masters of tightrope dancing in Armenia. Today, they are the only surviving performers who can keep this ancient art alive against the current of contemporary society, but all their students grow up and find other interests in life. Why is their art not important anymore?

    Best Short Film
    Bolis (World Premiere)
    USA, Turkey
    Director: Eric Nazarian
    Writer: Eric Nazarian
    Producers: Huseyin Karabey, Sevil Demirci.

    Armenak is a successful oud player who is in Istanbul for the first time for an important musical event. His feelings toward the city, which his Armenian grandfather fled at the tip of the sword in 1915, are very complex. Armenak arrives full of prejudice, expecting to hate the place, but instead finds it very familiar. The decision comes naturally to him to search for his grandfather’s old musical instrument shop with only an old photo and a street name. Is it destiny or coincidence that leads him to his destination?

    Special Awards
    2011 Breakthrough Performance Award
    Vahik Pirhamzei for My Uncle Rafael (USA)

    AT&T Award for Environmental Conservation and Stewardship Marion Stoddart:

    The Work of 1000 (WEST COAST PREMIERE)

    Director: Susan Edwards – 2011 AT&T Award for Environmental Conservation and Stewardship Recipient
    Producer: Dorie Clark
    Writer: Susan Edwards

    Marion Stoddart lived next to one of America’s most polluted rivers and transformed herself from a 1960s housewife to a citizen leader and environmental hero honored by the United Nations. The Work of 1000 is the documentary film chronicling her life, achievements, setbacks, and unwavering belief that one person can make a difference in the world.

    Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award

    Children of War (USA, Uganda)
    Director: Bryan Single – 2011 Armin T. Wegner Award Recipient
    Producers: Bryan Single, Farzad Karimi, Timothy Beckett
    Associate Producers: Anahid Aramouni Keshishian, Shannon McBrien, Grant Inglett

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