Now for the 6th year VivaCell-MTS is the General Sponsor of “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival May 25, 2011, Yerevan, Armenia – VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of “Mobile TeleSystems” OJSC, is glad to announce that at the RA Ministry of Culture a press conference announcing the launch of the 8th “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival was held. The press conference was presided by the RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosian, Founder Director of the “Golden Apricot” Festival Harutyun Khachatryan and VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian. “As a part of our society and as a corporate responsible citizen our Company is proud to have its contribution in the realization of the Golden Apricot Festival. Any initiative leading to raising our country’s reputation in the world is worth being supported. This is why six years in a row VivaCell-MTS has been standing by this Festival. Another reason why we appreciate this Festival is the important role it plays in creating a cultural exchange and educational environment in our country – bringing the world to Armenia and Armenia to the world”, - noted VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian. This year’s plans of the Festival were presented during the press conference. As every year, this year as well the festival’s contest program includes feature and documentary films, where the best films created during the last two years by Armenian and foreign film makers will be presented. A retrospective of Armenian films contest program will also be held, where films created by Armenians in their motherland and abroad will compete. A new contest program has also been added to the 8th Festival: an international contest named “Koriz” for short feature films. Thus “Golden Apricot” gives a chance to the young professionals to realize their own project, to present their own demands and to form their own criteria of choosing films. Through films presented in “Koriz” the young organizers will try to realize today’s trends in cinematography with its peculiarities. “Cinema School” is another new project of the Festival. This year, in the frames of these projects, films of Andrzej Wajda (Poland) school, Sapir College (Israel), Russian State University of Cinematography students will be presented. Among special programs of the Festival are: hors concours program called “Films of CIS Countries” devoted to the 20th anniversary of the creation of CIS; a series of screenings of Italian classical and contemporary films – devoted to the unification of Italy; a program devoted to the 20th anniversary of the independence of Armenia, where films about Armenia created by foreign cinematographers will be presented. A series of Armenian documentary films shot during the years of independence will also be screened. In the frames of the 8th “Golden Apricot” jubilees of prominent Armenian cinematographers Roman Balayan, Edmond Kyosayan, Dmitri Kesayants will be celebrated.

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