The 14th annual Arpa International Film Festival, presented by AT&T YP.com, (September 22-24 at the Egyptian Theatre located in the heart of Hollywood, CA) announced this year’s festival program and events, Asbarez reported.

The 3-day fest offers 30 films including 6 feature films, 11 short films, 9 documentaries, 3 music videos, 1 animated film and World, North American, and West Coast premieres.

The roster includes works from internationally celebrated award-winning filmmakers including Braden King, Mahsun Kirmizigul, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Marc Fusco, Michael Garrity, Levon Minasian, Eric Nazarian, Vahik Pirhamzei, Bryan Single, Steve Skrovan, Fred Stoller and Hrag Yedalian.

The Festival is dedicated to independent filmmakers that cultivate cultural understanding and global empathy. “We will present a worldwide line-up of dynamic films highlighting issues of Diaspora, human rights, and war as well as some good old-fashioned entertainment,” states Armen Toumajan, Arpa’s Director of Programming. “We are exceedingly impressed by the quality of this year’s program and applaud our filmmakers for their singular vision and dedication to their craft.”

Countries represented include Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Uganda and U.S.

Fest opening night film on Thursday, September 22 marks the Los Angeles premiere of the romantic road movie HERE, directed by Braden King (Dutch Harbor: Where the Sea Breaks Its Back), followed by a Q&A with King and the film’s co-writer Dani Valent.

This year’s Centerpiece Film and making its N. American premiere on Friday, September 23 is the hilarious comedy MY UNCLE RAFAEL directed by Marc Fusco, a protégé and former assistant to Steven Spielberg.

The Festival’s closing night film heralds the N. American premiere of Mahsun Kirmizigul’s (SAW THE SUN) action/drama Five Minarets in New York starring Haluk Bilginer, Mustafa Sandal, and Mahsun Kirmizigul.