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The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival has borough world-renown names of the global cinematography for 14 years, turning into a symbol of Armenia to become a premier destination for regional filmmakers.

Co-founder of the festival Harutyun Khachatryan who also acted as Director of the Golden Apricot stepped down days ago upon his own request., Panorama.am turned to film-maker and producer Edgar Baghdasaryan to comment on whether Khachatryan’s resignation will damage the festival image, given his great input into the festival recognition.

“There are respective concerns since the festival was closely tied to Khachatryan’s name, and all of us were accustomed to seeing him there. However, Susanna Harutyunyan, who was appointed to the post of the festival director, has also been standing at the origins of the festival since the first day. I think the anticipated negative impact will not be that much,” Baghdasaryan noted.
 
The film-maker, nonetheless, expressed concerns over the state cultural policy or as he put “the state attitude toward culture.” “There is the growing tendency to leave culture to the whim of market regulations that would ultimately draw the final line to herald the sphere end,” Baghdasaryan said, adding: “The festival has gone against the cultural policy. The festival and the state cultural policy have been working toward different directions. And the matter is not only about the state actions, but also the hideous mask of the market we have today. To follow the ongoing rules [of the market] will lead to total destruction. We need to educate in an environment of all-around ignorance. And Golden Apricot appears to have been the single healthy link in the sphere of cinematography.”

Asked whether the festival programs and format should be changed, Baghdasaryan replied: “The festival program is even better than that of the Cannes. The latter goes after big names, while those names not always produce good films. The Golden Apricot is free of that policy, it brings the best that were shown in Berlin, Cannes, and elsewhere. Some work is needed perhaps in the direction of marketing, PR campaign, and awareness raising,” the film-maker explained.

To note, next year Golden Apricot film festival will mark its jubilee 15th edition as the event will complement the cultural life of the capital of Armenia from 8th to 15th of July 2018.