We come to know ourselves when communicating with others. By knowing ourselves, we strive to know the other as well, and only through knowing them do we start to feel sympathy for them. Conversely, the unknown and the incomprehensible breed mistrust, fear, and hostility. To know the lives and customs, traditions, issues, and experiences of different nations and tribes, social and religious groups, and individuals — this is the call and aspiration of the Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival.
Founded in 2015 by the "Filmadaran" Film Culture Development NGO, the "Apricot Tree" Film Festival is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in late summer or early autumn in various villages across Armenia.
It is the only one of its kind in the region and one of the few rural film festivals in the world, where participants live for a week and share meals with villagers, directly getting to know each other's worldviews.
The festival was held for the first time in Yerevan.
The festival's geography expanded to include Yerevan, Gyumri, and the village of Ujan in the Aragatsotn province.
The festival was held entirely in Ujan.
The festival moved to the Lori province.
In the villages of Debed and Dsegh in the Lori province.
Set to take place in Debed and Dsegh in August-September 2026.
To decentralize cultural life in Armenia, where the overwhelming majority of cultural events take place in the capital and Gyumri.
To bring the world's best documentary films to Armenia in all their varieties and manifestations.
The festival provides an opportunity for the rural population to establish direct human connections with the participants they host.
To introduce foreign artists to Armenian culture without a tourist veil, getting acquainted with the daily life of Armenian villagers.
To create new opportunities for village children within the framework of the film school.
To promote inbound tourism by bringing urban audiences to the festival location.
August 30 - September 6, 2025
Villages of Debed and Dsegh, Lori province
Around 40 international and local participants
8 days in an Armenian village
Industree is the co-production platform of the "Apricot Tree" Film Festival, within the framework of which the following projects were implemented this year:
Vietnamese photographer and artist Thu An Nguyen led a collage workshop for village children.
Director and Artistic Director of the Millenium Film Festival, Zlatina Rousseva, led a film workshop for 8 beginner directors from Armenia and the EU, resulting in the creation of a short film.
Italian director and educator Marta Violante led a film workshop for about 15 children from Debet and Dsegh villages, resulting in the creation of a short film.