Sylvia Minassian, the founder of the Hollywood Film Festival, about the festival’s mission, successes, and promotion of Armenian
This year marks the 26th anniversary of the ARPA International Film Festival. The festival will be streamed online for free from October 29 to November 12.
Speaking to “Aravot” about the mission of the ARPA International Film Festival, Sylvia Minassian, the founder of the Hollywood ARPA Festival, said that it is aimed at cultural understanding and global empathy created through cinema.
According to her, local and international films shown within the framework of the festival deal with such vital topics as war, genocide, Diaspora, identity, and multiculturalism. According to her, the festival has a role in making a social impact through films.
ARPA International Film Festival was founded in 1995 as the first Armenian film festival in Hollywood/Los Angeles. According to the founder, it has been showing films by Armenian directors created in different countries on the big screen for years, with a primarily Armenian audience. Later, the borders were expanded, and since 1997, the festival’s program has also included films by non-Armenian directors with Armenian themes. According to her, in this way, the audience also becomes international, and Armenian culture, our country, our present, and our past are presented through the eyes of others.
The ARPA International Film Festival receives films from more than 20 countries, and all filmmakers who participate in ARPA communicate with Armenian movies and learn about Armenia.
According to Mrs. Silvia, Armenian filmmakers have progressed quite a bit, as evidenced by the awards given to short, documentary, feature films, and music videos over the past 25 years. As for ARPA, it is Hollywood’s oldest independent international film festival. We learned from Silvia Minassian that this year the ARPA Film Festival will again be available online, and many people can watch for free through the link provided on the festival’s website, www.arpafilmfestival.com. And expenses will be covered by the ARPA Foundation for Film, Music and the Arts (AFFMA) and their loyal donors and supporters.
During our conversation, reference was made to COVID-19, when cinemas and concert halls were closed. The festival’s founder said they worked at that stage and saw how many people were watching the festival internationally. She added that they also had a question-and-answer opportunity and film forums. They decided to work in the same way even after the COVID. During our conversation, there was a reference to American military journalist Chuck Holton’s film on Artsakh. Silvia Minassian said that such projects inspire them and push them forward. She also reminded that film applications can be submitted until the end of August, and the festival can be contacted at [email protected] and [email protected].
At the end of the conversation, Mrs. Silvia added that it is her wish that the Hollywood ARPA International Film Festival be known in Armenia as well as they learn about “Golden Apricot.” “We go the extra mile to connect filmmakers with the film industry and open doors to other festivals. We want the world to know who Armenians are and to discover Armenian culture and history through films. We need to support our own and promote it in the world. I am proud that the ARPA International Film Festival is loved and respected,” said our interlocutor.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
“Aravot” daily, 25.07.2023
