Golden Apricot: bright and seamy sides of film festival as seen by artistic director

In an interview with Tert.am, Susanna Harutyunyan, Artistic Director of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, told about some seamy sides of the event.

For example, some world stars ask staggering sums for their presence, but they are denied.

“This year, the festival is hosting Marco Bellocchio, Wim Wenders, Abbas Kiarostami, Claudia Cardinale, Fanny Ardant, Bruno Dumont, Agnieszka Holland, Charles Aznavour, István Szabó, Margarethe von Trotta, Béla Tarr and others. Our festival features film directors rather than actors. ‘Stars’ charge sums. We never pay. Our festival’s funds are limited. Our principle is not paying – many festivals are ready to may 50,000 to 100,000 Euros to a ‘star’ for attending the opening or closing ceremony. Of course, it is natural because it is a business. I conducted such talks when we intended to invite ‘stars’, Adrien Brody, for example.”

With respect to the Armenia-Turkey cinema platform, Ms Harutyunyan said that the task is stories untold in Turkey – complicated political and historical problems, as well as the problem of the Genocide.

“For example, a film premiered in Istanbul, a documentary entitled ‘Diar’. The director Devrim Akkayan, who is a Kurd, tells his Armenian grandfather’s story. This story is most important for him, but it is the third generation that is telling it.”