From left: Valerie McCaffrey, Romanian director Toma Enache, Diane Baker, and Mary Apick (Karine Armen photo)

Women Filmmakers Empowered and Thriving at Arpa International Film Festival

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LOS ANGELES — The 27th Arpa International Film Festival (Arpa IFF) started its three-day event on October 25 with a panel discussion featuring women filmmakers Mary Apick, Diane Baker and Valerie McCaffrey, moderated by director and author Sebastian Siegel.

The panel, which took place at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood, discussed the challenges and triumphs of being a female filmmaker. The discussion included how each member was inspired to work in the movie industry, their challenges and achievements, and their thoughts on the importance of music in films.

Mary Apick is an actress, screenwriter and producer. Her impressive portfolio includes acting in Iranian movies and plays. She was the first Iranian actress to win the Best Actress Award at the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance in “Dead End,” a feature film written and directed by legendary Iranian actor and director Parviz Sayyad, a frequent collaborator.

Arpa IFF previously had honored Apick for her humanitarian efforts. Her acclaimed play, “Beneath the Veil,” has been performed at Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington and Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Mary Apick got an award for the Best Feature Length Documentary (Karine Armen photo)

Apick’s mother, Apick Youssefian, was a theater and film actress in Iran who had a significant influence on Mary. “My mom was my role model. I learned acting from her,” Mary Apick said. She added, “I grew up with music. I always played music in the car for my children.”

Diane Baker is an actress, producer, and educator with a notable career in Hollywood. She has starred in movies by Alfred Hitchcock and Mark Robson and appeared in several TV shows, including “The Fugitive” and “Here We Go Again.” She also had a significant role in “ Beneath the Veil.”

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Valerie McCaffrey, an Armenian-American talent manager, casting director and producer from Fresno, produced “Here’s Yianni!,” which was screened on the opening night of the film festival. The film is about a Greek restaurant owner diagnosed with dementia who imagines himself as a late-night talk show host.

McCaffrey said, “My parents empowered me to follow my dream.”

McCaffrey’s mother was born in Lowell, Mass., grew up in New York, attended many Broadway shows, and sang in a choir. She met Valerie’s father in Fresno. McCaffrey said, “My Armenian father encouraged my sister and me to pursue our dreams. I always dreamed of being in the motion picture industry.”

On Sunday evening at the awards ceremony, her movie received awards for Best Director and Best Feature Film.

Valerie McCaffrey with the actor of “Here’s Yianni!” Joe Cortese (Karine Armen photo)

After the thought-provoking panel discussion, they screened “Women in Armenian Cinema,” a short documentary written and directed by Mariam Ohanyan. This documentary covered female filmmakers in Armenia since 1930 who studied in Moscow and created films. More recent directors address once-taboo subjects such as domestic violence, men’s preference for having boys, abortion and the journey to becoming independent women.

A new documentary by Apick, “Jewel of the Desert,” was screened on Sunday, October 27. The film focuses on a group of  retired individuals who have created a brass band. She followed the band members for two years and included some of their stories. Some of them are not professional musicians, yet they follow their passion for playing music. Apick proudly presented her mother, who attended the event. During the Q&A, she said, “I have always wanted to do something with music.” She continued, “This film was an excellent opportunity to capture these musicians; they all have hearts of gold. When they play their instruments, they come alive.”

Apick received the Best Feature Length Documentary award that evening.

Another illuminating documentary was titled “Missak and Melinee Manouchian,”  by Katia Guiragossian from France. It received the Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award. The couple were leaders in the French Resistance during World War II.

Another feature-length documentary produced by Aviva Barkhourdarian and Norik Keshishian from  Germany is titled “Vigen, Berlin and the Cold War.” The Berlin-based Barkhourdarian is the director, writer, and animator of the film, which is about her father’s life during the 1960s. Vigen was able to travel back and forth between East and West Berlin. Her film was nominated for Best Documentary at the festival and received a Mayor’s Commendation from the City of Glendale.

Women play important roles in organizing the annual festival in Hollywood. Sylvia Minassian, the founder of AFFMA, promotes independent filmmakers. Sonia Keshishian is the festival’s jury liaison, and Maral Kazazian is the festival director.

The festival closed on October 27.

 

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