24 October 2023
At the invitation of the National Cinema Center of Armenia. Catherine Trautmann, the President of Eurimages, the largest cultural support fund of the Council of Europe supporting cinematographic co-production, distribution and exhibition, along with Susan Newman, the fund’s Executive Director, and expert Iris Cadoux, will be visiting Yerevan on October 26-27.
This visit stems from an agreement made between the director of the National Cinema Center of Armenia and the president of Eurimages in February of this year, at the European Film Market.
On the occasion of the jubilee year of Armenian cinema, the visit of the Eurimages partners to Armenia will even more strengthen the pathway of cooperation and development with this prominent European fund.
Eurimages officials are set to conduct a meeting with Armenian producers on October 27. The objective is to provide participants with insights into Eurimages activities and the procedures for submitting joint film projects. Notably, Armenian producers who have previously received financial support from Eurimages will be involved in the meeting.
As part of the Eurimages delegation's visit, they are scheduled to attend the following cultural institutions in Armenia: the Sergei Parajanov Museum, the Komitas Museum-Institute, and Matenadaran.
To note, this is the second visit of Eurimages officials to Armenia. The first occurred in March 2018, when the 150th jubilee session of the Eurimages Board of Management meeting was held in Yerevan. The event was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of the Republic of Armenia.
Eurimages membership has greatly contributed to the development of independent film production and co-production in Armenia. By being involved in joint film production projects, Armenia integrates into the global and European cinema family.
P.S: Eurimages, the largest cultural support fund of the Council of Europe supporting cinematographic co-production, distribution and exhibition, was established in 1988. As of now, 40 of the 47 countries of the European Council (including Armenia) are members of Eurimages. Among the former Soviet republics, both the Baltic states and countries like Georgia and Ukraine are part of Eurimages. Among the non-European countries, Canada and Argentina are also members of Eurimages. Armenia became a member of Eurimages in 2016 and has recorded tangible results in a short period.
In 2016, the Armenian-Russian coproduction Spitak, directed by Alexander Kott, received Eurimages support totaling 250,000 euros. The film celebrated its world premiere in 2018, at the Moscow International Film Festival, where it earned the prestigious "Best Director" award.
In 2017, the Russian-Armenian-French coproduction Factory (director and scriptwriter Yuri Bikov) received Eurimages support of 200,000 euros. The Armenian side contributed 20,000 euros through the "Sharm" company as a minority co-production. The film premiered globally at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018.
In 2018, the French-Armenian-Belgian coproduction Should the Wind Drop /Si le vent tombe/ directed by Nora Martirosyan received funding from Eurimages in the amount of 200,000 euros. The filming took place during the fall of 2018 in the Republic of Artsakh. The film received financial support from the National Cinema Center of Armenia in the same year. Notably, in 2020 it was in the official selection of the 73rd edition of Cannes International Film Festival and ACID Cannes program. "Should the Wind Drop" was also the opening film of the 17th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in 2020.
In 2019, the Armenian-German-Lithuanian animated documentary Auroras Sunrise (produced by "Bars Media", producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan, director: Inna Sahakyan) received Eurimages support of 140000 euros. The film delves into the theme of the Armenian Genocide. The world premiere of the film took place in June 2022 at the Annecy International Film Festival (France). Subsequently, the Armenian premiere occurred in July at the international competition section of the 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, where it took “The Silver Apricot” award. Further adding to its accolades, the film was honored with the “Best Animated Film” award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
In 2021, the coproduction film project Luka (dir. Jessica Woodworth), also financially supported by the National Cinema Center of Armenia in 2020, received funding from Eurimages in the amount of 290,000 euros. The film is a co-production between Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Armenia and Bulgaria The producer of the Armenian side is Angela Frangyan, who represents DOKINO production company. Notably, Armenian actor Samvel Tadevosyan played a key role in the film alongside renowned European actors like Geraldine Chaplin.
It is also worth noting the fact that four of the five Armenian films financed by Eurimages have received state support from the National Cinema Center of Armenia (except Factory)
