Film director Hovhannes Galstyan said that much should be done prior to participation in the main competition program of the Cannes Film Festival.

“However, there are four programs, participation in which should become a national holiday,” he told a press conference on May 31.

According to Galstyan, the applicants’ goal is participation in the Festival’s film market, which provides great opportunities for presenting and exchanging films with other countries.

“We participated in the Cannes Festival for the second time, what obliged us to present our country and try to establish new partner relations. And we have succeeded in it,” Director of Armenia’s National Cinema Center Gevorg Gevorgyan said.

He noted that English, Norwegian, Russian, Indian, Czech and French companies displayed interest towards the Armenian cinema.

“In addition, we needed to present our festivals, such as Golden Apricot and Reanimation,” stressed Gevorgyan.

According to him, Hovhannes Galstyan found overall funding for his new film – Gabriel and Mary – in the framework of the film market.

Two Armenian films were screened at the Cannes film market: Suren Babayan’s Do Not Look in the Mirror by and Hovhannes Galstyan’s Interlaced Parallels.