WORCESTER, Mass.—The sixth annual Worcester Armenian Film Festival, featuring screenings and discussions with filmmakers, will take place on Thursday, May 16 at the Sprinkler Factory and Sunday, May 19 at the Armenian Church of the Martyrs.

Hosted by the Hamazkayin Worcester Chapter, the film festival will feature filmmakers Kevork Aslanyan (“How to Get Fat in a Healthy Way”), Anais DerSimonian (“STICKY”), Emily Hagopian (“Kahaniya”), Nina Kotyantz (“Snow” and “Morris”), Arnaud Khayadjanian (“Bad Girl,” “Deaf Hearts” and “We Are Our Mountains”) and Garo Berberian (“Taniel”).

Guest filmmakers

The Hamazkayin Worcester Chapter has invited Khayadjanian and Berberian from Europe to participate in the discussions following the screenings.

Arnaud Khayadjanian is a French screenwriter, director and producer with Armenian origins. He graduated in cinema at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 2014, he directed BAD GIRL, a short film selected in 23 international festivals including Oscar-qualifying Uppsala Film Festival. It was a two-time winner at the Sundance Channel Contest (Vimeo and Jury Prize). In 2015, Khayadjanian directed “Stony Paths,” a documentary inspired by the story of his Armenian great-grandparents. The film was honored by French critics and was selected in 24 international festivals. “Stony Paths” received the Jury Prize from Ismailia Festival in Egypt, the Best Documentary Prize in Yerevan Film Festival; it was broadcast on Shant TV in Armenia and BIP TV in France. In 2017, Khayadjanian directed “Deaf Hearts,” a short film televised on French-German channel ARTE. Also in 2017, Khayadjanian directed his second documentary “We Are Our Mountains” about the unknown and extraordinary people of Artsakh. The following year, he started production on “No More Heroes,” a short film about French “greasers,” a 1960s subculture.

Director Garo Berberian was born in Chiswick, London and graduated from Berkshire School of Art and Design with a merit in Photography. A winner of Fuji’s student street photography award, Berberian eventually moved into broadcast television, rising up through the ranks from editor to director, working on numerous award-winning television, documentary, commercial and hard hitting viral campaigns. Berberian’s first short film, “Return of the Tyke,” was the winner of the Best Short audience award at the 2014 ARPA film festival in Los Angeles. His new film, “Taniel” looks at the last months of poet Taniel Varoujan’s life. The film’s narrative is heard in poetry and seen through film noir images. “Taniel” has won two awards at the Bermuda International Film Festival, followed by 5 screenings in Armenia at the Golden Apricot International Film Festival and in the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. The film has also been screened in Australia at AFFSydney, Mark Kermode’s Screenplay Film Festival and DC Shorts Washington and will be screened later this year at Pomegranate International Film Festival in Toronto and SOSE among others.

Below is the schedule:

Sprinkler Factory, May 16 at 7:45 p.m. ($10 donation)

1) How to Get Fat in a Healthy Way (22 minutes) (Kevork Aslanyan)
2) Sticky (2 minutes, 22 seconds) (Anais DerSimonian)
3) Kahaniya (12 minutes, 43 seconds) (Emily Hagopian)
4) Bad Girl (10 minutes), Deaf Hearts (18 minutes) (Arnaud Khayadjanian)
5) Snow (6 minutes, 14 seconds) (Nina Kotyantz)

Armenian Church of the Martyrs, May 19 at 1:30 p.m. ($10 donation)

1) We Are Our Mountains (16 minutes, 53 seconds) (Arnaud Khayadjanian)
2) Morris (13 minutes, 28 seconds) (Nina Kotyantz)
3) Taniel (20 minutes) (Garo Beberian)

The Sprinkler Factory is on 38 Harlow St, Worcester, MA.
The Armenian Church of the Martyrs is on 22 Ormond St. Worcester, MA.