UCLA alumni take over Arpa International Film Festival
UCLA alumni Michael Ashjian (third from the left) and Alex Kalognomos (second from the right) have taken the helm this year at the Arpa International Film Festival. The festival features films from a variety of countries, including Spain, the United States, Armenia, Cuba and Canada. Sylvia Minassian (second from the left) is the founder of Arpa.
(Courtesy of Alex Kalognomos)
By Samantha Mannis
Nov. 10, 2014 1:49 a.m.
Fourteen years ago, UCLA alumnus Alex Kalognomos first attended the Arpa International Film Festival as a patron. It was not until a few years later while waiting to enter a screening that Kalognomos was whisked away by a volunteer in need of help during the festival. Kalognomos has been actively involved as a volunteer and coordinator for the event ever since.
The Arpa International Film Festival runs from Nov. 14-16 at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Founded by Sylvia Minassian in 1997, the Arpa International Film Festival branched out from the 1995 Arpa Foundation for Film, Music, and Art (AFFMA).
“I have always been into the arts and especially film, and to me the independent filmmakers were very important because I believed in their creativity and their messages,” Minassian said. “I wanted to encourage them to network and showcase their work, and I figured that a film festival would be the best way to do that.”
The festival will feature a selection of feature films, documentaries, short films and music videos over three days. The films come from a variety of countries, including Spain, the United States, Armenia, Cuba and Canada.
Kalognomos said the Arpa International Film Festival is one of the oldest Hollywood film festivals to date, and this year marks its 17th consecutive year.
The festival director of the Arpa International Film Festival for the last eight years, Kalognomos is taking on a new role as executive producer and adviser while fellow UCLA alumnus Michael Ashjian has taken over as the festival director.
Ashjian first volunteered with the festival two years ago. Ashjian said that as he became more involved with the event, and Kalognomos pursued other projects, he was offered the director position. Having just graduated from Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles and hoping to practice a career in entertainment law, Ashjian said the director position would provide him with experience in the entertainment industry.
Kalognomos said the original mission of the Arpa International Film Festival was to bring together different cultures who share the experience that defines diaspora, a cultural phenomenon affecting groups of people all over the world.
Ashjian said he and his team are trying to grow, rebrand and become a festival for a new age.
“We want to reach everyone who is into film, whether that be a young person in their teens, or an older person in their 60s or 70s. We really try to get the best content internationally and domestically,” Ashjian said. “And we have a really good opportunity to show it in one of the most historic theaters in the world.”
Kalognomos said the content they present at the festival is constantly changing year after year, reflecting the issues that filmmakers are grappling with.
“Ten years ago, filmmakers were attracted to our festival because we dealt with these global issues of war, exile, multiculturalism and also environmentalism,” Kalognomos said. “Now, it seems (for these filmmakers) time for a reassessment of America’s role as leaders of the free world, and questioning what our place is in many of these countries that we go into.”
Minassian said, after 17 years, she is enthused to see the festival evolve, grow and become more renowned in the film community.
“It is a great joy, because each year we see more people coming to the festival which is an excitement both for us and the filmmakers,” Minassian said.
Setting the tone for this year’s Arpa International Film Festival, Ashjian said a determining factor of the event’s success this year will be attributed to its programming team.
“For any festival, the programmers and how you choose the films is basically the idea and the real spirit of the festival,” Ashjian said.
Keeping with the spirit of the festival, Kalognomos said the festival’s mission this year is to present the festival attendees with a quality experience through consistently maintaining their attention to detail.
“It’s about giving the filmgoer an experience that no one will be able to take away from them and that they will never be able to forget,” said Kalognomos. “We hope they will walk out of the theater saying, ‘That film was incredible,'” Kalognomos said.
