Armenian Film Society Announces Program for 2024 Armenian Film Festival Featuring Cannes Premieres and Oscar Winners
The Armenian Film Society has announced the program for the 2024 Armenian Film Festival, which will be held in Glendale from September 4-8 at LOOK Cinemas.
This year’s festival will host the premieres of a number of films, many of which will be screened in the United States or Los Angeles for the first time, giving audiences a rare opportunity to see some of the most critically acclaimed Armenian films of the year.
The opening night film is the US premiere of Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, starring Academy Award-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried. Atom Egoyan is one of the most celebrated contemporary filmmakers on the international scene. Atom Egoyan is an Academy-Award nominated filmmaker, and has won numerous prizes at international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival.
The closing night film is Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers’ The Last Repair Shop, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2024. The film tells the story of four unassuming heroes who ensure no student is deprived of the joy of music. The center of the film is the shop’s supervisor– Steve Bagmanyan– who shares his story about facing ethnic persecution in Azerbaijan in the 1980s. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Steve Bagmanyan, and will kick off the closing night celebration of the festival.
The 2024 Armenian Film Festival will also include a slew of other highlights, including Jean-Bernard Marlin’s Salem, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the premiere of Gor Kirakosian’s restored and remastered 2006 classic comedy Big Story in a Small City, as well as three documentaries that shine a spotlight on Artsakh. These films include Alexis Pazoumian’s The Black Garden, Emily Mkrtchian’s There Was, There Was Not, as well as Shoghakat Vardanyan’s 1489, which centers on the disappearance of the director’s younger brother who went missing in the early days of the 2020 Artsakh War. 1489 won Best Film and the FIPRESCI Award at the prestigious International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Producer Anahid Nazarian will also be in conversation with Emmy-winning actor and director Michael Goorjian. Anahid Nazarian holds the unique distinction of having worked alongside filmmaking legend Francis Ford Coppola for over 40 years, and her credits include The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Godfather Part III, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the forthcoming Megalopolis. Michael Goorjian’s Amerikatsi, which was the opening night film of the 2023 Armenian Film Festival, went on to become the first-ever Armenian film to be shortlisted at the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
This year’s festival features films curated from major international film festivals including Cannes and Toronto. The festival will also showcase over 20 short films, including an “Around the World” program that features films made by Armenains from different countries, including Switzerland, France, Brazil, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. 13 of the 34 directors in this year’s program are women filmmakers, and 16 of the 31 films are Armenian producers.
“We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the Armenian Film Festival, which will serve as a destination for audiences to see the very best in Armenian cinema. We’re very grateful to be able to present some of these films for the first time ever, and we look forward to having new audiences discover Armenian stories,” said Founders Armen and Mary Karaoghlanian.
The Armenian Report is a proud sponsor of the 2024 Armenian Film Festival.
Full program and tickets can be found on Armenian Film Society’s website.
About Armenian Film Society and Armenian Film Festival
Founded in 2015 by Armen and Mary Karaoghlanian, Armenian Film Society champions Armenian films and champions Armenian filmmakers. Armenian Film Society has held partnerships with organizations such as Vidiots, American Cinematheque, and the Academy Museum, and has welcomed notable guests such as Atom Egoyan, Howard Kazanjian, Joe Manganiello, Mardik Martin, and Sev Ohanian.
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