February 17–18 & 19–2006
Delancey Street Theater
General Admission – $12.00 per screening
Students & Children under 16 – $10.00
Full Festival Pass – $70
Advance tickets available online
www.armenianfilmfestival.org
Or Call Ticketweb at 866.468.3399
Limited number of tickets will be available at the venue–on the day of the screening.
SAN FRANCISCO–After an unprecedented weekend of sold out screenings in 2004–the Armenian Film Festival returns with twenty-four feature-length and short films from around the globe–by and about Armenia’s. Screenings will take place Friday–Saturday–and Sunday–February 17–18–and 19 at the intimate 150-seat Delancey Street Theater in San Francisco. Each screening is designed as a two-hour program–with some including post-screening conversation with filmmakers or panel discussions.
Building on the success of the 2004 festival–the curatorial team selected films ranging from narrative to experimental–documentary to fiction by filmmakers in Armenia–the Middle East–Europe–and the Americas. The program highlights a diverse line-up of contemporary pieces that reveal a surprising breadth of approaches. Reaching beyond geographical boundaries and conventional definitions of identity–the films tackle universal themes such as displacement–ritual–and recognition.
Among the selected films is [Garden Dwelling]–by award-winning filmmaker Tina Bastajian. This oblique travel diary recounts four Armenia’s’ visit to Eastern Turkey. Don Bernier’s [In a Nutshell: A Portrait of Elizabeth Tashjian]–winner of the Crystal Heart award for best documentary feature at the Heartland Film Festival–highlights the life of Elizabeth Tashjian–the curator of the Nut Museum. The Armenian Film Festival is also presenting Rouben Kochar’s latest feature–[Arahed]–a classic story of immigration set in Armenia and Los Angeles. [Muron] by Nigol Bezjian–awarded Best Director at the Beirut International Film Festival–depicts the forty-day ritual of making the Baptismal Oil. Another noteworthy director featured at the festival is Christine Khalafian–founder of the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival. Her work has been shown at the Sundance Film Festival and the Centre George Pompidou in Paris. Aiming to support and encourage local filmmakers–the Armenian Film Festival is also pleased to present the works of two San Francisco State University graduates: Ara Ebrahimian’s [Pick Me Up] and Hagop Koneboughazian’s animated short–[Ara’s Flight].
Sponsored by Golden Thread Productions–the Armenian Film Festival is co-presented by the Film Arts Foundation–the San Francisco Cinematheque–the Arab Film Festival and the Goethe Institute.
The curatorial team is composed of Anahid Kassabian–Thea Farhadian–and Hrayr Eulmessekian. Anahid Kassabian is a film and music scholar and author of [Hearing Film]. She has curated several Armenian film festivals–taught film for many years–and is now James and Constance Alsop Chair of Music at the University of Liverpool. Thea Farhadian is an interdisciplinary artist and composer. She has performed with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra–Moe Alilech–Charunga Tumbao e Cuerdas–Estrea d’Oro–and the San Fransisco State faculty. Hrayr Eulmessekian–a filmmaker–writer–and interdisciplinary artist–is a graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute’s Graduate Film program.