WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.940 Welcome back to the deep dive. Today, we are 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:06.480 spinning the globe and landing in a spot that 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.599 I think often gets overlooked. Oh, yeah, absolutely. 00:00:08.740 --> 00:00:11.060 But it is actually sitting right at one of the 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:13.240 most critical intersections of human history. 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:17.480 We are heading to the Southern Caucasus, specifically 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:22.519 to Yerevan in Armenia. It is such a fascinating 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.239 place to explore. It really is. And we are looking 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:27.640 at a cultural institution there with a name that 00:00:28.510 --> 00:00:30.309 Well, I have to be honest, this sounds absolutely 00:00:30.309 --> 00:00:32.469 delicious. It does sound tasty. Right. We are 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:34.710 talking about the Golden Apricot. Or if you want 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.890 to be authentic, Vosket Siron. Vosket Siron, 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:40.149 yes. If you did not know better, you might think 00:00:40.149 --> 00:00:42.409 we were about to discuss a very lovely summer 00:00:42.409 --> 00:00:44.729 harvest celebration. You know, maybe a deep dive 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:46.789 into the history of jam making. Which, to be 00:00:46.789 --> 00:00:48.609 fair, would be a delightful deep dive in its 00:00:48.609 --> 00:00:50.570 own right. I mean, Armenia has incredible fruit. 00:00:50.729 --> 00:00:53.670 True, true. But we are not here for the produce 00:00:53.670 --> 00:00:56.939 today. We're here for the pictures. because the 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:00.020 Golden Apricot is actually a heavyweight international 00:01:00.020 --> 00:01:02.280 film festival. It really is a heavyweight. And 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.299 when I say heavyweight, I do not mean it's a 00:01:04.299 --> 00:01:06.540 nice local get -together where neighbors watch 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:09.280 each other's home movies. We are talking about 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.969 an event that attracts absolute titans of cinema. 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:15.230 We really are. We are talking about figures like 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:18.409 Wim Lenders or Abbas Kyrostami, people who have 00:01:18.409 --> 00:01:21.129 literally defined the art form of cinema for 00:01:21.129 --> 00:01:24.129 the last 40 years. And that distinction is really 00:01:24.129 --> 00:01:26.609 where we need to start. Because while the name 00:01:26.609 --> 00:01:30.109 Golden Apricot evokes that local flavor, I mean, 00:01:30.329 --> 00:01:32.930 the apricot is the national fruit of Armenia 00:01:32.930 --> 00:01:36.370 after all the mission of this festival is aggressively 00:01:36.370 --> 00:01:38.950 international. Very much so. Their motto is not 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:42.379 Come see Armenia. It is crossroads of cultures 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:45.140 and civilizations. That is a massive title to 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:47.500 live up to. Crossroads of cultures and civilizations. 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:49.079 It sounds like something you would see on a plaque 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:51.739 at the UN. It does. But if you look at the geography 00:01:51.739 --> 00:01:53.780 and the history, it makes perfect sense for them. 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.540 Think about where Yerevan is. Right. It is landlocked. 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:59.060 Landlocked. And it's post -Soviet. It is bordering 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.680 the Middle East and Europe. The festival, which 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.840 is known as G -A -I -I -F, was designed to be 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.500 exactly that, a meeting point. It was not just 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.300 about watching movies. No, not at all. It is 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:12.759 about representing the richness of the human 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:15.520 experience across different nations and religions. 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:19.159 It is about using cinema to bridge gaps in a 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:21.360 region that has seen its fair share of division. 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:23.659 So let's untack this for you listening because 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:25.599 you do not just wake up one morning and decide 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.919 to become the crossroads of civilization. We 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:32.080 have this festival in Yerevan founded back in 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.639 2004 who actually decided to plant this tree. 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.360 It was a fascinating collaborative effort. You 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:42.039 had the Golden Apricot Fund for Cinema Development 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:44.539 teaming up with the Armenian Association of Film 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:47.159 Critics and Cinema Journalists. Critics and developers 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.479 working together. That sounds like a recipe for 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.340 an argument. Not a film festival? Usually, yes. 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:54.800 But they had serious institutional backing right 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:56.939 from the start. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs 00:02:56.939 --> 00:02:58.840 and the Ministry of Culture were involved. Oh, 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.680 wow. Yeah, they knew this had to be a showcase 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.180 for the country. But the name that really put 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:05.659 them on the map globally, the secret weapon, 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.520 if you will, is Adam Egoyan. Right, the Canadian 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.469 -Armenian director. Exactly. He has been the 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:13.789 president of the festival since 2005. Now, for 00:03:13.789 --> 00:03:15.909 you listening who might know the name, but not 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:19.490 the resume, Egoian is a major figure. He is huge. 00:03:19.729 --> 00:03:22.430 He is an Academy Award nominee and a darling 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:25.629 of Khan. He navigates both the glitz of Hollywood 00:03:25.629 --> 00:03:28.849 and the intense intellectual world of arthouse 00:03:28.849 --> 00:03:31.629 cinema. So he is the bridge. He is the living 00:03:31.629 --> 00:03:34.189 embodiment of that crossroads concept. He is 00:03:34.189 --> 00:03:36.810 diaspora and he is local. Having a figure of 00:03:36.810 --> 00:03:38.900 his stature meant that when invitations went 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:41.219 out to people like Wim Wenders. They did not 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:44.039 just see a new unknown festival in the caucuses. 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:46.680 Right, they saw a peer asking them to come. Exactly. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:49.280 It gave the event immediate legitimacy. And what 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.520 exactly is the goal here? Is it just to show 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.020 Armenian movies to the world or is it to show 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:56.900 world movies to Armenia? It is a two -way street. 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:59.240 They have a dual objective. One is definitely 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:01.520 to present new works by filmmakers in Armenia 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.479 and the Armenian diaspora to give them a screen. 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:06.139 Makes sense. But the second part is arguably 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:08.539 just as important. To promote creativity and 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:10.780 originality in world cinema within the region, 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:13.439 they want to bring the world to Yerevan and Yerevan 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:15.740 to the world. It seems like they really leaned 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:17.860 into that regional connector role pretty quickly, 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:21.420 too. They did. In 2005, just a year after launching, 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:24.399 they initiated something called Directors Across 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.379 Borders. That sounds like doctors without borders, 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:29.740 but with cameras. The philosophy is somewhat 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.319 similar, actually. It is a network of filmmakers 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:34.779 from the region designed to foster collaboration. 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:37.540 And when you think about the geopolitics of that 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.180 specific part of the world, the tensions between 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:42.319 neighbors and closed borders... Right. It is 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:45.379 complicated. Very. Getting directors to talk 00:04:45.379 --> 00:04:48.000 across those lines is no small feat. That is 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.129 fascinating. It is like... Film diplomacy. Precisely. 00:04:51.290 --> 00:04:54.509 It is soft power in action. And since 2005, the 00:04:54.509 --> 00:04:56.870 festival has functioned under the aegis of the 00:04:56.870 --> 00:04:59.350 European Cultural Parliament. So they are plugged 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:01.689 into the wider European cultural conversation. 00:05:01.870 --> 00:05:04.089 Exactly. They are not just operating as an isolated 00:05:04.089 --> 00:05:06.329 outpost. OK, let's get into the nuts and bolts, 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:08.970 or I guess considering the name, the pits and 00:05:08.970 --> 00:05:12.610 skins of the festival, the awards. Because I 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:14.990 love that they committed to the fruit theme all 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:17.089 the way down the line. They did not switch to 00:05:17.089 --> 00:05:19.459 Golden Lions or Golden Bears. They really stuck 00:05:19.459 --> 00:05:21.500 to their roots. So the top prizes are the Golden 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:24.860 Apricot and the Silver Apricot. Those go to the 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:27.879 best feature films, documentaries, and the Armenian 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:30.040 Panorama entries. But then for the short films, 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:31.959 they have the Apricot Stone. Which is a great 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:35.209 name. It implies the seed. the beginning of something. 00:05:35.410 --> 00:05:37.470 A pit that could grow into a tree. Exactly. It 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:41.170 is a very poetic way to frame emerging talent. 00:05:41.329 --> 00:05:44.730 It suggests potential. I love that. But then 00:05:44.730 --> 00:05:48.230 there is one award that breaks the fruit -cattern. 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:50.490 And looking at the criteria, it might be the 00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:53.689 most prestigious one. The Parajanov's Thaler. 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:56.149 Yes. This is their lifetime achievement award. 00:05:56.250 --> 00:05:58.350 And for anyone who loves cinema, that name Sergey 00:05:58.350 --> 00:06:00.769 Parajanov is sacred. for you listening who might 00:06:00.769 --> 00:06:03.209 only know the big box office names, who was Parajanov. 00:06:03.910 --> 00:06:06.930 Why name the big award after him? Parajanov was 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:09.350 basically uncategorizable. He was an Armenian 00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:11.730 filmmaker who worked in the Soviet Union, but 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:14.069 his films like The Color of Pomegranates are 00:06:14.069 --> 00:06:16.370 not traditional movies. They do not have linear 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:18.410 plots in the way we are used to. They are moving 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:21.569 paintings, visual poetry. He created a language 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:23.910 of cinema that was totally unique. And he had 00:06:23.910 --> 00:06:26.949 a hard time for it. Immensely hard. He was persecuted 00:06:26.949 --> 00:06:29.110 by the Soviet authorities. He was imprisoned 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:32.009 and censored. His art was considered dangerous 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:34.949 because it was so free. Wow. So by naming the 00:06:34.949 --> 00:06:37.449 Lifetime Achievement Award after him, the Golden 00:06:37.449 --> 00:06:40.089 Apricot is planting a flag. They are saying, 00:06:40.490 --> 00:06:43.209 we value pure artistic vision over commercial 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:46.529 success. We value the rebels. And the list of 00:06:46.529 --> 00:06:49.050 people who have received this award or the master 00:06:49.050 --> 00:06:52.310 prizes is just wild. We were talking about legends. 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:55.250 You mentioned Wim Wenders earlier. Yes, the German 00:06:55.250 --> 00:06:57.589 director behind Wings of Desire. He received 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.089 the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, but look 00:07:00.089 --> 00:07:02.649 at the others. Abbas Kiarostami, the Iranian 00:07:02.649 --> 00:07:05.430 master, was honored in 2005. Kiarostami is huge. 00:07:05.550 --> 00:07:08.050 He is a titan. Then you have Claudia Cardenal 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:11.430 from Italy in 2010, Fanny Ardent from France 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:14.230 in 2011. And looking at my notes here, they also 00:07:14.230 --> 00:07:17.180 honored Nikita Mikalkov and Tanin Ogera. And 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:19.220 Charles Aznavour. Of course, the legendary singer 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:21.060 and actor. He received the Lifetime Achievement 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:23.579 Award in 2013. It really shows the gravitational 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:25.720 pull this festival has. These are not people 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:27.920 who just show up anywhere for a paycheck. Right. 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:30.139 They came to Yerevan because they recognized 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:33.439 a serious cinematic culture there. They recognized 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.879 that this festival was speaking their language. 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:38.379 It is also interesting to note the Ecumenical 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:41.480 Jury Award. Yeah. I feel specific. It is, and 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:43.319 it connects back to that Crossroads mission. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.819 It is rare for a secular film festival to have 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:49.620 such a prominent ecumenical component. What does 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:52.680 that actually look for in a film? Well, it is 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:55.620 not just about aesthetics. It is about spiritual 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:58.819 and human values. The festival often features 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:01.160 films representing various religions trying to 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.839 show the richness of the human experience. It 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.500 is about looking at the soul of the film, not 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:08.660 just the technique. I want to take a minute to 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:10.420 actually walk through some of the winners over 00:08:10.420 --> 00:08:13.959 the years because it is easy to say We're international, 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:16.420 but if only local films win, it's a bit of a 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:18.779 farce. But when you look at the Golden Apricot 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:21.939 winners for Best Feature, you really see that 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:24.220 international spread. Absolutely. It is a global 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:26.500 tour. Let's look at the very first one in 2004. 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.220 Appropriately enough, it was Adam Egoyan himself 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:31.889 who won for his film Airwrap. Which, fair enough, 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:34.090 it is the inaugural year he is about to become 00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:37.990 president, and Air Rat is a very powerful, very 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:40.629 difficult film about the historical memory of 00:08:40.629 --> 00:08:43.210 the Armenian Genocide. Right. So starting there 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:46.169 sets a very specific tone of introspection and 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:49.029 history. It was the festival stating its identity. 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:53.008 But then fast forward to 2011. The winner was... 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.980 A Separation by Asghar Farhadi. And that is a 00:08:55.980 --> 00:08:58.559 massive deal. A Separation is an Iranian film 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:00.799 that went on to win the Oscar for best foreign 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.120 language film. It is widely considered one of 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:05.639 the best films of the 21st century. It is a masterpiece. 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.759 It is a masterpiece of social drama. For it to 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:10.940 win the Golden Apricot shows that the juries 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.740 here are identifying world -class cinema in real 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:15.899 time, often before the rest of the world fully 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:18.240 catches on. They're spotting greatness. Exactly, 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:20.480 they're not just following trends. Then in 2012 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:24.399 you have In the Fog, by Sergey Loznitsa, taking 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:26.580 the top prize. Brilliant filmmaker. That was 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:29.379 a co -production involving Belarus, Russia, Germany, 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:31.940 Netherlands, and Latvia. Again, very heavy, serious, 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:34.259 historical cinema. It deals with World War II 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:37.440 and morality in impossible situations. And 2014 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.299 was a big year, too. The Tribe by Miroslav Sloboshpitsky 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:43.659 won. along with the Stone River for documentary. 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:46.700 Yes. The Tribe is a Ukrainian film. And talk 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:49.399 about daring. It is entirely in sign language 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.039 with no subtitles. It forces the audience to 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:53.940 engage in a completely different way. Moving 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:57.500 to 2015, we go to South America. Embrace of the 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:00.460 Serpent by Ciro Guerra took the Golden Apricot. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.000 That is a Colombian film about the Amazon. Exactly. 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:06.220 A black and white psychedelic journey into the 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:08.259 jungle. So if you look at that trajectory from 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:11.320 Canada to Iran to Ukraine to Colombia. Wait, 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:13.740 South Korea too, right? Yes. Back in 2011, the 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:15.899 silver apricot went to the journals of Musan 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:19.419 from South Korea. So the point is, this is not 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:21.419 a festival that is just looking inward. It is 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:23.299 fulfilling that promise of being a crossroads. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:25.679 It is bringing the Amazon rainforest, the streets 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.100 of Tehran, the silence of a Ukrainian boarding 00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:30.519 school, and the history of Eastern Europe all 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.629 onto the same screen in Yerevan. However, And 00:10:33.629 --> 00:10:35.889 here is where we have to be real about this crossroads 00:10:35.889 --> 00:10:38.250 concept. When you position yourself as a crossroads 00:10:38.250 --> 00:10:40.789 of civilization, sometimes traffic gets jammed. 00:10:40.909 --> 00:10:43.330 Or worse, there is a collision. That is an inevitable 00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:45.970 part of creating a platform for diverse voices. 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:48.269 If everyone agrees it is not a crossroads, it 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:50.629 is a rotary club meeting. And that brings us 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:53.669 to 2017. This was a moment where the festival's 00:10:53.669 --> 00:10:56.220 values were really tested. This is a crucial 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:58.240 part of the festival's history to understand. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.139 You cannot talk about GAF without talking about 00:11:01.139 --> 00:11:04.519 2017. The organizers canceled a specific off 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:06.740 -competition program. Right. And the program 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:09.980 had a very telling title. Armenians, internal 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:12.779 and external views. Internal and external views. 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:14.419 That sounds like exactly what the festival is 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:16.899 supposed to do. Exactly. But they canceled it. 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.220 And initially they did not give a reason, right? 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.539 Correct. No official reason was given at first. 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:24.669 Just silence. But in the age of social media, 00:11:24.889 --> 00:11:27.090 silence is loud. It is. The cancellation sparked 00:11:27.090 --> 00:11:29.649 an immediate backlash. Right. I see here from 00:11:29.649 --> 00:11:32.110 our sources that LGBT activists took to social 00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:34.539 media. They claimed that the cancellation was 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.279 censorship, plain and simple. Yes. Specifically, 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:39.799 they alleged that the entire program was scrapped 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:43.659 because it included two LGBT -themed films, Apricot 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:46.379 Groves and Listen to Me, Untold Stories Beyond 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:50.019 Hatred. Apricot Groves. The irony of a film with 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:52.399 that name being the center of controversy at 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:55.779 the Golden Apricot Festival is pretty... palpable. 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:59.080 It is. And the fallout was significant. This 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:00.740 was not something that just quietly went away. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:02.899 This went to the very top. Because to be clear, 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:05.120 we are just reporting the events here to give 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:07.100 you listening the full picture of what happened. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.100 You had the festival's own president, Adam Magoyan, 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:13.299 along with Arsené Kanjian, both prominent Canadian, 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:16.379 Armenian figures, publicly denouncing the cancellation. 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:18.529 That is a big deal. You have the president of 00:12:18.529 --> 00:12:20.809 the festival speaking out against a decision 00:12:20.809 --> 00:12:23.649 made by the organizers. That shows a real fracture. 00:12:23.929 --> 00:12:26.409 It does. It shows a deep internal conflict between 00:12:26.409 --> 00:12:28.509 the international face of the festival, which 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:31.590 champions total artistic freedom, and perhaps 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:34.049 the local realities or pressures. And it was 00:12:34.049 --> 00:12:36.190 not just them, either. There was an open letter 00:12:36.190 --> 00:12:39.029 signed by filmmakers, politicians, and activists, 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:41.610 rights organizations like Pink Armenia and the 00:12:41.610 --> 00:12:46.490 Gela's LGBTQ plus Armenian society. were very 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:48.889 vocal calling it out as censorship. And it went 00:12:48.889 --> 00:12:51.009 international too, did it not? It was not just 00:12:51.009 --> 00:12:55.509 a local dispute. It did. The EU's Eastern Partnership 00:12:55.509 --> 00:12:58.909 Civil Society Forum weighed in. They issued a 00:12:58.909 --> 00:13:01.700 statement. saying the incident ran contrary to 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:03.820 Armenia's commitments to the Creative Europe 00:13:03.820 --> 00:13:07.840 program. Wow. So suddenly a film festival programming 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:10.799 decision becomes a matter of international diplomatic 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:14.059 compliance. Right. That is the danger of being 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:16.539 a crossroads. You want the prestige of being 00:13:16.539 --> 00:13:19.100 a European cultural partner, but that comes with 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:21.539 expectations regarding freedom of expression. 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:24.679 If local sensitivities or political pressure 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:27.519 force you to censor you, risk burning the bridge 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.480 you built. It really highlights that tension 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:31.919 we mentioned. You have a festival dedicated to 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.360 the crossroads of cultures. But when one of those 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.759 cultural inputs clashes with local sensitivities, 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:39.399 things get complicated fast. Precisely. It is 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:41.659 easy to be a crossroads for things everyone agrees 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:43.960 on. It is much harder to be a crossroads for 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.320 controversial or marginalized voices. But to 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:48.720 the festival's credit, it survived that controversy. 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:51.320 It absorbed the blow. Yes. The conversation happened 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:53.559 painful as it was, and they continued to operate. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.480 Which brings us up to the present day. Or, well, 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:59.700 very recently. The 22nd edition of the festival 00:13:59.700 --> 00:14:02.399 just wrapped up. It's the 2025 edition. It was 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.580 held from July 13th to July 20th. And looking 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:08.440 at the programming for this recent edition, do 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:10.840 we see them shying away, or are they leaning 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:13.840 back into the bold choices? I think the bookends 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.860 of the festival, the opening and closing films, 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:20.059 tell a story in themselves. Well, the opening 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:23.740 film was... It was just an accident by Jafar 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.899 Panahi. Panahi is a major name. You do not get 00:14:26.899 --> 00:14:29.299 much more political statement than Jafar Panahi. 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:32.620 He is a giant of Iranian cinema, but he is also 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:35.039 a director who has faced immense persecution, 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:37.539 house arrest, and imprisonment in his home country 00:14:37.539 --> 00:14:39.940 for his work. Right. So opening the festival 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:42.879 with a Panahi film is a statement. It is a signal. 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.620 It is. It reasserts the festival's commitment 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:48.000 to artistic freedom and regional storytelling 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.639 regardless of political pressure. It says we 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.220 support the difficult voices. And then the closing 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:56.019 film. They went with a classic. Last station, 00:14:56.299 --> 00:15:00.200 a 1994 film by Harutiun Kachatrian and Nora Armani. 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:02.600 So grounding it back in our median cinema history 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.659 to close it out. Exactly. It is that balance 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.360 we keep seeing. Opening with a bold international 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:10.879 statement from a neighbor, closing with the celebration 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.659 of their own cinematic heritage. They are trying 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:16.320 to hold both truths at once. So what does this 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.100 all mean for you listening? We have gone from 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:21.240 a startup festival in 2004 to a major regional 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:25.870 hub that hosts everyone from Wim Wenders to We 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:28.649 have seen them navigate the complexities of crossroads 00:15:28.649 --> 00:15:32.230 in a very literal sense with the 2017 controversy. 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:34.850 I think the Golden Apricot serves as a really 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:37.669 fascinating case study. We often think of film 00:15:37.669 --> 00:15:40.210 festivals as red carpets, flashing lights, and 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:42.590 Oscar buzz. Glitz and glamour. Right. But in 00:15:42.590 --> 00:15:44.470 regions like the South Caucasus, a film festival 00:15:44.470 --> 00:15:47.250 is a diplomatic zone. A diplomatic zone, I like 00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:50.059 that. It really is. It is a place where Crossroads 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:52.820 is not just a marketing slogan. It is a difficult, 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:56.139 necessary practice. It is about bringing different 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:59.120 worldviews into one cinema hall. Sometimes those 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:02.000 worldviews clash, as we saw in 2017. Sometimes 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.220 they harmonize, like with the Directors Across 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:06.740 Borders program. It seems like the value is in 00:16:06.740 --> 00:16:09.980 the attempt. Even if it gets messy. The fact 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:11.820 that they are trying to hold that space open 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:14.799 is what matters. Exactly. In a world that is 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.379 increasingly fragmented institutions like the 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:20.120 Golden Apricot that insist on looking at the 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:23.799 internal and external views to borrow the title 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:27.659 of that cancelled program are vital. They force 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:30.299 a conversation. They force people to sit in the 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:32.860 dark and look at the world through someone else's 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:35.700 eyes for two hours. And that leads us to our 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:38.389 final thought for today. Yes. The question I 00:16:38.389 --> 00:16:41.509 would leave you with is this. In an era of increasing 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:43.750 polarization where lines are being drawn harder 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:46.250 and faster than ever, can film festivals like 00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:48.870 the Golden Apricot remain true crossroads? That 00:16:48.870 --> 00:16:51.110 is a great question. Or are they inevitably going 00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:53.970 to be forced to pick a path? Is true neutrality 00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:56.370 and total inclusivity even possible when art 00:16:56.370 --> 00:16:59.149 meets politics in such a volatile region? Something 00:16:59.149 --> 00:17:01.129 to mull over the next time you sit down to watch 00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:02.690 a movie from a part of the world you have never 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:06.079 visited. That is it for this deep dive into the 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.700 Golden Apricot. Thanks for listening. Thank you.