Arpa International Film Festival 2023: A Showcase of 86 Films from 25 Countries Celebrating Diversity
Lights, camera, action! It is with great excitement and anticipation that we unveil the curtain on our upcoming film festival. We are proud to announce the selection of 86 films from 25 countries, each one a unique window into the diverse tapestry of human experiences.
Stories come alive with boundless creativity, capturing the essence of life’s profound moments. This year, our film festival proudly presents a rich collection of films that delve into the intricate facets of human existence. These films touch upon the universal themes that bind us all together – life, death, family, coming of age, survival, working-class struggles, hope, and unwavering determination. They represent a global chorus of voices, transcending borders and languages to tell stories that resonate with the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.
Join us in celebrating the power of film to illuminate the human experience, to make us laugh, cry, and reflect on our own journeys.
Our virtual online festival begins Sunday, October 29 and ends Sunday, November 17, 2023. Details on how to stream the selected films will be announced soon.
OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE 2023 ARPA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FEATURE NARRATIVE FILMS
NOMINATED: ‘The Son Rises’ directed by Alexander G. Seyum (United States)
NOMINATED: Baghdad Messi directed by Sahim Omar Kalifa (Belgium)
Here Comes the Leopard directed by Krishnamurthy ChamarajaNagar Raman (India)
NOMINATED: Isolated People directed by Jun Wang (China)
NOMINATED: Love Is in the Water directed by Armen Poladian (Canada)
Raavana Kottam [Raavana’s Kingdom] directed by Vikram Sugumaran (India)
She’s Not Mine directed by Gabriel Solomon, Tiffany McHenry Huff (United States)
Thank You, Amelia Earhart directed by Al Mertens (United States)
The Bachelor To The Future directed by Rich Twilling (United States)
The Extinction Crew directed by Tom Carr (United States)
NOMINATED: The Uncanny directed by Clara Gabrielle (United States)
Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir [One Planet; One Family] directed by Venkata Krishna Roghanth (India)
FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARIES
NOMINATED: Armenia: A Love Story directed by Chuck Holton (United States)
Journey to the Origin of Buddhism, Pilgrimage to Nepal and North India directed by Britta Jeromin (Germany)
NOMINATED: Manuscripts Don’t Burn directed by Mariam Ohanyan (Armenia)
Rigged (United States)
Shushi. Amen directed by Mariam Yegoryan, Ruben Grigoryan (Armenia)
NOMINATED: The Forgotten Homeland directed by Essam Nagy (Egypt)
NOMINATED: The Tales of the Blue Sky directed by Vruir Tadevosian (United States)
We Thrive directed by Lisa Hagopian, Eric Harabadian (United States)
Zoki, Boza, Duh directed by Gregor Zupanc (Serbia)
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
Chiko Everywhere (Israel)
NOMINATED: Echoes of Kef Time directed by Avo John Kambourian (United States)
Five R directed by Keithan Pai, Keisha Pai (United States)
Our Shrine directed by Hrazdan Madoyan (Armenia)
NOMINATED: The Desire to Live – Web Series directed by Mariam Avetisyan (Armenia)
The Space directed by Greg Ferrara (United States)
SHORT FILMS
NOMINATED: 250KM directed by Hasmik Movsisyan (Armenia)
A Gift to the Living directed by Alex Lang (United States)
An Inescapable Chain directed by 紫 瑞 李 (China)
Anna directed by Yue Gu (United States)
NOMINATED: Bellus directed by Alexis Pazoumian (France)
Blood and Water directed by Jane Simonetti (United States)
Bonding directed by Luke Rex (United States)
Breath directed by Cem Terbiyeli (Turkey)
Broken Mirror directed by Sina Maali (Canada)
Brothers Till the End directed by Roman Mitichyan (United States)
NOMINATED: Carnivore directed by Michael Aloyan (Armenia)
Glovebox directed by Joseph Matarrese, Phillip Matarrese (United States)
Happy Birthgay directed by Niv Manzur (Israel)
I Had a Dream directed by Yuval Naveh (Israel)
NOMINATED: I’ll directed by Mariam Vardanyan, Arman Asatrian (Armenia)
NOMINATED: It Takes a Village… directed by Ophelia Harutyunyan (Armenia)
Jeong-Dong directed by Choi Woo Gene (Korea, Republic of)
John directed by Boson An (New Zealand)
Kairosclerosis directed by Tzu Hsuan SU (Taiwan)
Kanhaji directed by Prataya Saha, Mansi Dadhich Mahur (India)
Looking for Pacino directed by Giosué Bottini (United States)
NOMINATED: Mars directed by Evgraf Sorokin (Russian Federation)
NOMINATED: Metamorphoses directed by Trocquenet Valère, Fert Florence (France)
Motel Room directed by Bradford Lipson (United States)
Seventeen directed by Geqi Li (United States)
Spider directed by Nicky Ciulla, PJ McManus (United States)
Takbir directed by Jordi Calvet (Spain)
The Assassin’s Apprentice 2: Silbadores Of The Canary Islands directed by Russ Emanuel (United States)
The Saboteur directed by Adrian Lambert (Australia)
The Talk directed by T. Seamus George (United States)
The Trial directed by Yu(Ray) Zhou (United States)
Thresholds directed by Silvina Der Meguerditchian (Argentina)
To Shoot or Not to Shoot directed by Nelson Gains Wagner (Switzerland)
Virago directed by Aida Gevorgyan (United States)
Waiting for Deja directed by Sean Franklin Boyd (United States)
ANIMATION
Ani And Dani directed by Artur Mikayelyan (Armenia)
NOMINATED: Frostbyte directed by Hannah Papa, Victor Uzcategui (United States)
NOMINATED: The Brave Locomotive directed by Andrew Pierce Chesworth (United States)
NOMINATED: The Life directed by Chi Fan Wang (Taiwan)
MUSIC VIDEO
809000 directed by Namewee (黃明志)(Malaysia)
Alzheimer’s Love directed by Namewee (黃明志) (Malaysia)
NOMINATED: Be Like Him directed by Namewee (黃明志)(Malaysia)
Carry the Cross by Paracrona directed by Anders Overgaard, Ringo Christiaan Van Droffelaar (Norway)
Gone Without a Trace directed by Russell Weakland (United States)
Human directed by Andrea Giacomini (United Kingdom)
My Heart Beats for Me directed by Ani Mesropian (United States)
Prisoner of Love (United States)
Spirits in Conversation directed by Greg Ferrara (United States)
NOMINATED: Survivors directed by Hovig Kazandjian (United States)
Synergy Feat. Dave Koz directed by Vahagn Stepanyan (United States)
The 20th Floor directed by Namewee（黃明志）(Malaysia)
The Future We Create directed by Meagan Holdeman (United States)
NOMINATED: The Wall directed by Namewee (黃明志) (Malaysia)
NOMINATED: Un Mondo Perfetto directed by Andrea VONJAKO Giacomini (Italy)
Writer’s Block directed by Benjamin Schwarzschild, Eli Waltz (United States)
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL SELECTED FILMMAKERS!