The 14 edition of the Golden Apricot (Vosge Dziran) International Film Festival GAIFF is off and running in Yerevan, the serenely beautiful capital of Armenia.
The Majestic old Moskva Cinema on Charles Aznavour, Plaza is the heart of the Golden Apricot Film Festival
The opening night film On July 7 was a tribute to early Armenian cinema, an unsual 1927 silent directed by Armenian Hamo Beknazar who was active as an actor and director in the USSR and Georgia and is regarded as the the founder of the Armenian film industry.
As for the content of the film: At the end of 19th century the Shah of Persia endows England with a monopoly over the tobacco trade. Russia responds to that by blocking the wheat exports to Persia. Famine comes upon the land, and Khas-Push, the poorest peasants and craftsmen start a rebellion. Oddly rele vant to the ongoing situation in this part of the world, even today.
Twelve films will be screened in competitin, to wit.
Film Alter Ego
Director, Vigen Chaldranyan
Country, Armenia
Year of the production 2016 Running time, 125 min.
Arábia,
Directors, Affonso Uchôa, João Dumans
Country, Brazil
Year of the production 2017, Running time, 96 min.
Ember, Director, Zeki Demirkubuz
Country, Turkey/Germany
Year of the production 2016
Running time 115 min.
Khibula, Director
George Ovashvili, Country(-ies)
Georgia/Germany/France
Year of the production, 2017
Running time, 99 min.
A Man of Integrity, Director(s)
Mohammad Rasoulof, Country, Iran
Year of the production 2017
Running time,117 min.
The Nest of the Turtledove
Director, Taras Tkachenko
Country, Ukraine
Year of the production 2016
Running time, 103 min.
A Prominent Patient,
Director Julius Ševčík
Country, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Germany
Year of the production2016
Running time,114 min.
Requiem for Mrs. J.
Director, Bojan Vuletić
Countries,
Serbia/Bulgaria/Republic of Macedonia/Russia/France
Year of the production, 2017
Running time, 94 min.
Sarajevo Songs of Woe
Director, Fred Kelemen
Countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Germany
Year of the production2016
Running time 140 min.
Sexy Durga, Director
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
Country, India
Year of the production2017
Running time, 85 min.
Still Night, Still Light
Director, Sophie Goyette
Country, Canada
Year of the production, 2016
Running time 98 min.
Western
Director, Film
Western
Director, Valeska Grisebach
Countries, Germany/Bulgaria/Austria
Year of the production2017
Running time
A certain emphasis, as to be expected, on films of the general region including Georgia, Iran, Ukraine and Southeast Europe, but a few entries from further afield; India, Brazil, and Canada.
A set of thirteen non-competition Yerevan premieres consists largely of films that garnered attention at Cannes and Berlin earlier in the year.
Included in this section:
The Hungarian love story in a slaughterhouse "On Body and Soul" (Test és lélekről) which won the Best Picture golden bear at Berlin. Director Ildiko Enikő is sitting on the feature competition jury here.
The Finnish immigration crisis drama "The other side of hope" for which minimalist master Aki Kaurismäki was named best director at Berlin, and
"In the Fade" By Turco-German helmer Fatih Akin, for which German actress Diane Kruger walked off with the best actress award at Cannes.
This one I missed at Cannes and am looking forward to catching up with it here.
In the retrospectives section,
Jean-Pierre Melville's awesome 1970 caper epic, "Le Cercle Rouge" (The red circle) a unique French "polar" teaming up two French megastars, Alain Delon and Yves Montand. Saw this years ago and can't wait to see it again.
"Afterimages", Polish master Andrzej Wajda's final film, which has been making the rounds of the festival circuit and is worth multiple viewings.
Master classes, workshops, and midnight open discussion sessions with a daily guest of the fest -- one of the most intriguing festival sidelights, round out the kind of week to whet the celluloid appetite of any film buff worthy of the name.
The Closing Film will be a new documentary on the Armenian Genocide, "Intent to Destroy" (2017), made by veteran American documentary filmaker Joe Berlinger who o
meets with historians and scholars to discuss the Armenian Genocide and the continuing denial by the Turkish government. Clearly made to order for this festival.