Sacred Stones of Armenia (Pietre sacre d'Armenia) Paolo Chiodarelli’s documentary has been released. The film, drawing on Armenia’s Christian architecture, was inspired by Italian director’s 2009 visit to Armenia. 25 000 copies of the documentary were ordered on the initiative of Armenian Embassy in Italy and RA Ministry of Culture. Movie CDs were attached to May-June edition of Archeologia Viva Italian periodical, also featuring an article on Armenia’s architectural heritage and historical monuments.

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Edgar Baghdasaryan’s From Ararat to Zion documentary won Swansea Film Festival award on May 17. The joint production of Armenia, Egypt, Israel and Turkey was named the best Documentary-Europe of the Festival, whose patron is Catherine Zeta Jones.

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An unusual exhibition opening at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, My Dear Brother: Armenians in Turkey 100 Years Ago, provided fascinating insights into the life of the Armenians living in the borders of modern Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century through a large collection of postcards of daily life and scenery from across the region. The exhibition of both enlarged images and original postcards was conceived and put together by Osman Koker, based on his book by the same name (Istanbul: Birzamanlar, 2005). From scenes of urban Constantinople to small villages in the east, the images show how widespread and integrated Armenian communities were across the Ottoman territory and demonstrate their roles in society. The exhibition also serves the purpose of showing ways in which Armenians, Turks and other peoples of the Ottoman Empire lived and worked together. Added to the London showing of the exhibition will be maps, texts and an oral history-based community exhibit, displaying objects from the same era still found today in Armenians' London homes. The postcards are from the collection of Orlando Carlo Calumeno and have been exhibited in Istanbul, Yerevan, Geneva, Paris, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt. The Armenian Institute, London, has organized the exhibition and accompanying events programme which are both sponsored by the St Sarkis Charity Trust and Diana and Panos Katsouris.

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President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan took part in the unveiling of the monument to musician Gennady Barkhudarov, the founder of Karabakh’s first jazz band, reported the Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President.

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Armenian Culture Minister Hasmik Sargsyan dwelled on the opportunities to be offered by the seventh annual Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, which will be held in Yerevan from July 11 to 18, 2010. With 500 applications from 75 countries, including Jordan, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Costa Rica and others, the program includes two main competition sections: International Competition (Feature and Documentary) and Armenian Panorama National Competition. The Festival will start with the screening of Henri Verneuil’s Mayrik (Mother). Prominent Armenian actors Mher Mkrtchyan, Khoren Abrahamyan, film director Henrikh Malyan and cameraman Albert Yavryan will be commemorated with special events.

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The monuments to Hovhannes Tumanyan and Alexander Spendiaryan were re-inaugurated in Liberty Square. The monuments were removed last year for the period of construction of an underground parking. Official unveiling of will take place on May 24.