HOLLYWOOD — The 29th Arpa International Film Festival opened on September 24, at the TCL Chinese Theater, with “The Other Side of Fame”, starring Sveva Alviti, the Italian star/model, and Newton Mayenge. Written, directed, and produced by Erik Bernard, the film also stars German-Armenian actor Saro Emirze and Armenian filmmaker and actress Diana Madison.
The four-day festival ended on Sunday, September 27, with an awards ceremony. This year’s festival included 51 films from 23 countries, including shorts, documentaries, features, music videos and animation. The films were from Armenia, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, the US, Ukraine, Mexico, Korea, Spain, Canada, and many more.
One highlight of the festival was Carol Connors story of “Elvis and Me.”
The festival was sponsored by the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music, and Art (AFFMA), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization founded in 1995 by Sylvia Minassian.
The festival has focused on giving voice to filmmakers from different parts of the world who tell stories about justice, war, diaspora, cultural identity, and more.
Five women in film and music received special honors: the legendary Carol Connors received the Lifetime Achievement Award; actress Sveva Alviti from Italy received the Career Achievement Award; Diana Madison received a Breakthrough Artist Award, and Sofia Milos got the International Screen Achievement Award. Paris- and Armenia-based Tamara Stepanyan received the Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Award and earned the most awards.
