By Marieta Makaryan
YEREVAN — The 22nd edition of The Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan closed last week in the presence of many international guests, including Marco Mueller, festival director and film curator, Jury President and filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, Palme d’Or winner Jafar Panahi, Regional Jury President award-winning filmmaker Amir Naderi, and other distinguished guests such as Rachel Tsangari, Tamara Stapanyan, Eric Nazarian and Karren Karagulian to name a few.
Nora Armani and Gerald Papasian were among the festival guests for the closing film “Last Station,” directed by Harutyun Khatchatryan and starring Armani, Papasian and Armen Djigarkhanian. The film was screened in a restored, digital version in celebration of Festival President Harutyun Khatchatryan’s 70th birthday.
Filmed during Armenia’s difficult post-independence years, “Last Station” is a docu-drama depicting elements from Armani and Papasian’s international tours with their award-winning production “Sojourn at Ararat.” It is the only fiction film made by documentarist Khatchatryan. The film was completed in 1994 and premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and screened in various film festivals and retrospectives internationally at the time of its release.
During the festival’s closing ceremonies, Armani and Papasian were honored with special awards by the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia for their lead roles as actors in the film.
Further screenings of the film are planned in international retrospectives in France and elsewhere as well as in Armenia.
