The GAIFF Pro platform has announced this year's award winners.
17-07-2026 10:53 Armenia Culture
"The Golden Apricot" International Film Festival of Yerevan's GAIFF Pro Industry platform, dedicated to co-production, financing, and education, concluded with an awards ceremony on July 16 at Aratashen Winery, during which the best film projects from Western Asia were honored.
The development process that began in 2025 continued in 2026 with GAIFF Pro significantly expanding the scope and formats of the program. This year, the platform was held in four directions: the Co-production Market in collaboration with DOCA Georgia, exclusive casting masterclasses in collaboration with Filmmakers Europe, the AI Filmmaking Workshop in collaboration with Lumiverse and Magnific, as well as DoPing Cinematography Workshops in partnership with the Guild of Cinematographers of Armenia.
This year, GAIFF Pro expanded its activities by creating separate programs for actors, cinematographers, and filmmakers working with artificial intelligence, in addition to traditional director-screenwriter-producer collaborations.
The Co-production Market featured 17 full-length projects, including 12 in the development phase and 5 in post-production. The projects represented more than 14 countries, including Armenia, Iran, Georgia, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with co-production partners from France, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the USA.
The international jury for the full-length film market included Ove Rishoy Jensen, a consultant for documentary programs at Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Nadia Tenstedt, head of the DOK Industry platform at DOK Leipzig, and Mongolian filmmaker Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, a double laureate of the Orizzonti competition at the Venice Film Festival.
The main Grand Prix of 1.5 million drams was awarded to the AMANA (TRUST) project (Iraq, Egypt, United Kingdom, Yemen, directed by Maythem Ridha, produced by Maythem Ridha and Mostafa Nagy). The jury noted that the project fully expresses the idea of overcoming the festival's boundaries, both through its cinematic language and production geography. The film combines the urgent theme of the climate crisis with a sensitive and powerful visual approach, telling a story about our shared responsibility for the planet.
The jury's special prize of 1 million drams was awarded to the "NEGIN DEAD END" project (Iran, USA, directed by Mehrnoush Aliya, produced by Mohammad Aghabati). The jury highly appreciated this personal story dedicated to the themes of displacement, memory, and the rethinking of the concept of "home," which simultaneously addresses broader political and social realities that shape people's lives.
The project "CONCRETE GRASSLAND" (Georgia, France, directed by Shorena Tevzadze, produced by Elene Margvelashvili and Adriana Ferrarese) received a special mention in the post-production phase, while the project "TOMATO" (Georgia, directed and produced by Giorgi Parkosadze) was recognized in the development phase. Both projects, along with other works that received special mentions, will receive individual mentoring support from GAIFF Pro.
The jury for documentary projects included Victor Eden, CEO and producer of Cinephage, award-winning documentarian Salome Jashi, and Iranian-Armenian filmmaker Anahit Abad.
The GAIFF Pro award of 4500 euros for the best Armenian documentary project was awarded to the film "LIFE ON MARS" (Armenia, directed by Meri Aghakhanian, produced by Karine Simonian). The jury emphasized that the project is a bold and visually ambitious work that addresses Armenia's urgent environmental issues through poetic imagery and metaphorical language.
The 4500 euro award for the best Georgian documentary project went to the film SEAWOMEN (Georgia, directed by Sopho Chkheidze, produced by Inna Margvelashvili). The jury noted that the project has great potential to become a multi-layered documentary film and creates an important opportunity to highlight the stories of women who often remain out of the public eye.
The fourth edition of the Short Cuts Nest short film market, held within the framework of GAIFF Pro Industry, featured six projects by Armenian and diaspora authors competing for a technical prize worth 5 million drams in technical equipment from "Kinoket." The jury, which included director and producer Inna Sahakyan and producer Olivier Berlemont, awarded the best short film project prize to "HIP-HOP FOR LIFE!" (Armenia, directed by Menua Hovhannisyan, produced by Baghdasar Ajemyan), highlighting that it addresses the theme of addiction with unique youthful energy, music, and sincere emotions.
The jury's special mention and mentoring award went to the project WASTELAND (Armenia, directed by Arthur Nazaretian, produced by Diana Avetisyan). The jury highly appreciated the project's deep cinematic vision and its unique dystopian world built around the themes of love and loss.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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