07 March 2024
Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Daniel Danielyan, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of RA, Bruno Montariol, International Aid/Cooperation Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia and Shushanik Mirzakhanyan, Director of the National Cinema Center of Armenia met at the Cinema Center. The officials discussed cultural cooperation, focusing particularly on several important issues related to the film industry.
Deputy Minister Daniel Danielyan welcomed the guests, emphasizing the importance of cultural working meetings with European officials. Ambassador Maragos expressed a keen interest in Armenian culture and underscored its special role and significance. The director of the Cinema Center presented to the guests the programs and actions of essential importance to the organization. The director of the Cinema Center introduced the organization's pivotal programs and initiatives to the guests. These initiatives primarily focus on the preservation, restoration, and dissemination of Armenian film heritage, as well as the development of joint film production in Armenia. Shushanik Mirzakhanyan noted that 2024 is a jubilee year for Armenian cinema since the 100th anniversaries of Sergey Parajanov and Charles Aznavour are included in the UNESCO Calendar of Anniversaries of Eminent Personalities and Important Events for the 2024-2025 cycle.
Jubilee events dedicated to them are planned both in Armenia and abroad. During the meeting, Vassilis Maragos expressed his desire to organize for the diplomatic sector of the European Union to Armenia a screening of Triptych-three restored short films by S. Parajanov (Kyiv Frescos, 1966, Hakob Hovnathanyan, 1967, Arabesques On The Pirosmani Theme, 1985). In this regard, it was agreed to clarify the dates and details related to the screenings. During the meeting, they also discussed the upcoming Festival of European Films scheduled to be held in Yerevan in May. The atmosphere of the meeting was warm and friendly. At its conclusion, the Ambassador toured the area of the National Cinema Center of Armenia.
