July 14, 2005 - 10:36 AMT
GOLDEN APRICOT IS OPPORTUNITY TO RESTORE ARMENIAN CINEMA TRADITION
Armenian President Robert Kocharian today met with a delegation of cinema figures, who arrived in Armenia to participate in Golden Apricot - 2005 International Festival, reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. In the course of the meeting the President thanked the guests for active participation and noted that owing to the festival participants being well-known, it has been widely recognized and will make its contribution to development of the cinema. R. Kocharian said he wished for the Yerevan festival to become annual. «Organization of festivals like this is very important to Armenia,» the President remarked, adding «it provides an opportunity to restore the good traditions of the Armenian cinema, as well as understand what happens in the cinema world and get involved in it.» According to the President this will also allow reviving the tradition of visiting cinema theaters. In his opinion, as in any field, one has to have a competitive, actual program to succeed in the cinematography. In his turn festival President Harutyun Khachatryan noted that prominent cinema figures have arrived in Armenia. In his words, this year the geographic boundaries of the festival were much wider, and the number of famous works of film directors increased as well. The parties discussed matters of further fate of the festival, conveying cinema experience of their countries for development of cinema production in Armenia.