HOLLYWOOD — The 29th Arpa International Film Festival (Arpa IFF) will open on Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. with a red carpet at TCL Chinese Theater, with “Other Side of Fame,” screening at 7:30 p.m., starring Italian star Sveva Alviti and German-Armenian actor Saro Emirze, and directed by Erik Bernard. The four-day festival will end on Sunday, September 27.
“My Armenian Phantoms” by Tamara Stepanyan will screen at noon on the first day. Stepanyan traveled to Armenia several times and conducted extensive research, digging into old footage to create this film. It’s a tribute to her late father’s acting career and her own path into filmmaking.
Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art (AFFMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 to provide a platform for filmmakers, musicians, and artists. In 1997, Sylvia Minassian launched Arpa IFF. In addition to films, the festival always includes music videos and animation.
“Arpa International Film Festival returns this September for its 29th year. As its founder, I’m proud to champion independent filmmakers worldwide and celebrate our role as Los Angeles’ oldest independent international film festival. We look forward to marking our 30th anniversary next year,” said Minassian.
The festival will screen several films made in Armenia or by Armenians living in the diaspora, such as “I Remember Your Voice” by Arayik Sargsyan and Nikolay Melikyan, “Beneath the Ashes, the Past Reimagined” by Hrag Yedalian, “Going Dark” by Tigran Tovmasian of Australia, “Heevand” by Adeh Baghdasarian and Zholi Minasyan, and “In the Land of Arto” by Tamara Stepanyan. The latter is Armenia’s official submission to the 99th Academy Awards.
The international festival will screen movies from many countries, including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Ukraine, the United States and many more. The result is a lineup that feels less like a single trend and more like a living map of cinematic imagination, each film a distinct language, each voice adding texture to the same shared medium.
