These days Yerevan-capital of the Republic of Armenia hosts many famous film producers and directors, to participate in the 9th Golden Apricot International Film Festival. Golden Apricot was established in 2004, since 2005 the president of the festival is internationally acclaimed Canadian-armenian film director Atom Egoyan.
The Annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival features a multitude of films representing various nations, ethnicities and religions, collectively depicting the full richness of the human experience. Since it’s establishment the festival has attracted attention from all over the world, submitting 148 films from 20 countries during the first year, while this year there have been 1250 submissions from 70 countries, 90 films of which were chosen for the 4 main competition categories: Feature, Documentary, “Apricot Stone” (short film category), Armenian Panorama. International actor and director Gerald Papasian is among the guests of honor of the 9th Golden Apricot International Film Festival, invited to host, in three languages, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Festival in Yerevan, July 8-15th.
On July 7 many representatives of the cinema world, who have arrived in Yerevan for the festival, attended the most spectacular part of the opening ceremony – the blessing of apricots at St. Zoravor Church.
(Apricot is held as a national fruit in Armenia, hence the name of the festival that takes place every year around mid-summer the time when apricots are ripe and in abundance). The red-carpet ceremony for the official opening of Golden Apricot later that day took place in Yerevan’s Charles Aznavour Square near the Moscow Movie House – the main festival venue.
This year, the Golden Apricot International film Festival Guest of Honor list includes such world known names as Isabelle Huppert, Agnieszka Holland, whose latest film “In Darkness” will be screened, the Belgian film maker brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Italian brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Yann Raymond of UniFrance Films International, Yuri Mechitov Photographer and close friend of Parajanov, Christa Meindersma director of the Prince Claus Foundation (Holland) and so on.
During their stay in Yerevan, the guests have great opportunities to spend their time not only in the frames of the film festival, but also taste Armenian traditional dishes, especially Dolma, for July 11th is announced as the day of dolma festival. 
All the guests are invited to take part in this great event and spend a good time.
Every year the festival reaches a higher level, because the cinema is is a worthy celebration for the city and the Armenian people.
To hail the “UNESCO’s Yerevan world capital of books -2012″ the Golden Apricot festival’s slogan this year is “Book and cinema”.
During the festival a tribute will be paid to some devotees of the global film world who died this year. Michelangelo Antonioni, Toninio Guerra and Theodoros Angelopoulos are among them. Their wives, the film directors, scenario writers are invited to take part in the memorial ceremony.
It’s been announced that the Cannes 2011 and 2012 FIPRESCI award-winning films “In the fog” by Sergei Loznitsa and “The Minister” by Pierre Scholler are included in Golden Apricot main competition program. Also the Palmes d’Or winner “Love” (“Amour”) is chosen as the Festival’s closing film.
