The 22nd edition of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival has officially opened. The annual celebration of cinema is taking place from July 13 to 20 this year.
The opening film of this year’s festival is A Simple Accident, the latest work by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and won the top prize—the Palme d’Or.
As in previous years, the international festival will showcase a wide range of competition films from around the world, along with acclaimed titles from some of the most prestigious film festivals.
The president of the International Competition jury for this year’s Golden Apricot is Abderrahmane Sissako, the renowned Mauritanian filmmaker and recipient of the Cannes and César awards.
Other jury members include:
- Eric Nazarian, Armenian-American screenwriter and director, a previous Golden Apricot awardee and participant in San Sebastián and Turin film festivals;
- Athina Rachel Tsangari, co-founder of the Greek New Wave and co-creator of Yorgos Lanthimos’ early work, as well as the director of the acclaimed Attenberg and creative director of the Athens Olympic Games ceremonies;
- Adilkhan Yerzhanov, a leading voice in contemporary Central Asian cinema;
- Ada Solomon, a prominent Romanian producer whose films have won the Berlinale’s Golden Bear and received Oscar nominations.
Among this year’s special guests are:
- Amir Naderi, a living legend of Iranian cinema;
- Marco Müller, former director of the Venice, Locarno, and Rotterdam film festivals;
- Athina Rachel Tsangari, prominent Greek filmmaker;
- Phedon Papamichael, two-time Oscar and BAFTA nominee cinematographer.
The festival will also welcome world-renowned photographer Antoine d’Agata and the stars of Anora, Karen Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan, as special guests.
