Golden Apricot festival signals start of a new stage in Armenian cinema enabling young filmmakers’ talents promotion, festival manager, filmmaker Harutyun Khachatryan stated.

According to him, 3 projects formed within Golden Apricot festival framework, festival film school, Filmmakers without Borders and Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform, allowed for creation of 12 movies to be featured at 2011 Golden Apricot.

Within Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform framework, 5 young Armenian filmmakers, Diana Kardumyan, Mariam Ohanyan, Gor Baghdasaryan, Artur Sukiasyan and Artsvi Bakhchinyan participated in Istanbul International Film Festival held April 8-10.

2 of the films featured, Diana Kardumyan’s Galata and Gor Baghdasaryan’s Neighbors received full financing; Artur Sukiasyan’s film was provided partial financing, Golden Apricot Art Director Susanna Hautyunyan stated.

15 Armenian and 40 Turkish filmmakers applied for Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform participation, which suggests both countries’ interest in the project.

Turkey presented 2 movies, with full and partial financing provided for Don’t Loose Your Children and Regards from Hakob to Sukru movies respectively.

“Regards from Hakob to Sukru, portraying lives of 2 railroaders, living across the border from each other, may serve as a signal for a new era in both our countries,” project coordinator Artsvi Bakhchinyan emphasized.

“Soldiers wage wars, politicians establish relations, and artists open the borders. Trying to highlight the most burning issues of today in their movies, they believe it’s possible to resolve problems through the medium of art,” Harutyun Khachatryan emphasized.