Hollyscoop Hosts ARPA Awards Gala and Reception In Hollywood

The girls of Hollyscoop Diana Madison , Nora Gasparian and Ani Esmailian will host the 2009 ARPA International Film Festival closting gala at the Egyption Theatre this Sunday October 25, 2009.

More than 20 nations including Armenia, Venezuela, Turkey, Brazil, France, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Malawi, Israel, Spain, China, Bhutan, India, and Iran are represented among the feature films, shorts, documentaries, music videos and animations that will screen during the festival. “Our programming department tracked the global film market for the last year and singled out the exemplary films relating to Arpa’s mission – to present the works of filmmakers exploring such issues as war, exile, genocide, and environmentalism,” says Arpa Festival director Alex Kalognomos.

This year’s recipient of Arpa International Film Festival’s Armin T. Wegner Award, which is awarded annually to a motion picture that contributes to the fight for social conscience and human rights, is “Voices from Inside: Israelis Speak.” “This feature length documentary film is based on the stories of 16 Jewish Israeli voices of conscience, each representing a different facet of the peace movement inside Israel,” says Zaven Khatchaturian, Arpa International Film Festival Curator, who invited the filmmakers, producer/director Lucy Martens and producer Marjorie Wright, to the festival.

The Armenian Educational Foundation (AEF) will receive this year’s Arpa Foundation Award. Over its 60 year history, AEF has been committed to youth and the pursuit of higher learning. To that end, the organization has built and supported the establishment of hundreds of day schools around the world. A short film, produced by Christina Hacopian (“Gossip Girl,” “Bride Wars,” “Dirty Dancing”) and directed by Sevag Vrej (award-winning feature film director of N-4 and Serj Tankian’s MVPA-nominated “Feed Us” music video) documenting AEF’s educational endeavors will be screened during the closing night awards ceremony. “The legacy of AEF will be eternal – for as long a children have schools in which to learn and advance,” says AFFMA Founder Sylvia Minassian.

The 12th Annual Arpa International Film Festival will present a star-studded closing night awards. AFFMA was founded in 1995 for the purpose of enhancing the community’s artistic environment and supporting artists who seek to bridge the cultural divide. For more information about contributions, becoming an AFFMA member, or volunteering for Arpa International Film Festival, please visit www.affma.org or call 323-663-1882.