APRICOT TREE IDFF – 2017

Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival (Ethnography and Anthropology) is the initiative of the Filmadaran Film Culture Development NGO. The festival is as much a celebration of documentary films that depict the diverse heartbeats of people, ethnic groups or communities, as much as it is a platform where filmmakers from around the world can meet, share and discuss ideas in a friendly atmosphere and possibly make plans for future collaborations.
The III edition of the festival will take place in Yerevan and Ujan (Armenia) on October 1-5, 2017. The two competition programs – Short and Feature-length – will include 30 films from 25 countries, which were selected out of the approximately 1650 submissions the festival received this year. Screenings will take place both in Yerevan’s Moscow Cinema and the village of Ujan.
The opening ceremony will take place in Yerevan’s Moscow Cinema with a special screening of the 1961 French film Chronicle of a Summer in celebration of the 100th anniversary of renowned French filmmaker Jean Rouch.
The next morning the participants will travel to Ujan, where they will spend the rest of the festival. They will be living among the cordial villagers, sharing bread with them every day. Special houses, where the family’s children speak English, were chosen for their stay, meaning that the children of Ujan will try out the roles of volunteers of an international film festival. Indoor and open air screenings will be held in Ujan, as well as various concerts and receptions. Also in Ujan a conference for film professionals will take place on the subject of developing possible ways of international cooperation.
After the festival, a selection of competition and non-competition films will be screened throughout the year in various cities and villages in Armenia as a part of a separate cultural program.
The festival was held for the first time in October of 2015. And if that year it was limited only to Yerevan, then one year later the II edition expanded, traveling to the city of Gyumri and the village of Ujan. The festival’s program overall included 40 films from 22 countries. While only spending a day in Ujan, the participants got the opportunity of getting acquainted with the daily life of the villagers and their hospitality, while in return a special screening was organized for the village.