Armenia to Produce Four Short Films for Cannes 2027 Through Critics’ Week Program

Armenia is set to receive a rare spotlight at the 80th Cannes Film Festival, where it will serve as the Guest of Honor of the Critics' Week Next Step Studio program and premiere four new short films created through an international filmmaking partnership.

The initiative will unite four Armenian directors with four filmmakers from abroad, forming creative teams that will develop and produce four original short films in Armenia before their world premieres at Cannes in 2027.

The Armenian directors selected for the program are Armik Israelyan, Sona Khachatryan, Raffi Movsisyan and Naira Sargsyan. Their international collaborators will be announced on Aug. 19 during the closing ceremony of the CineLink industry platform at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

The filmmakers were introduced during the 23rd Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in the presence of Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Tigran Virabyan and Guild of Armenian Film Directors and Producers President Artyom Baghdasaryan.

Over the coming months, each team will take part in an intensive creative program that includes script development, workshops with internationally recognized industry professionals, production planning, filming and post-production before the completed works are unveiled in Cannes.

The selection process brought together Armenian and French producers, who first narrowed the competition to 12 projects. Final interviews were held July 16 at the Cinema House in Yerevan. The jury included Next Step Studio coordinator Juliette Canon, producer and program curator Dominique Welinski, and Armenian producer Artyom Baghdasaryan, who leads the Armenian edition of the initiative.

All four films will be produced in Armenian and feature Armenian actors, placing local stories, language and talent before one of the world's largest film audiences.

Beyond the four premieres, organizers say the program is intended to create lasting opportunities for Armenia's emerging filmmakers by connecting them with international producers, encouraging future co-productions and helping launch feature-length projects on the global stage.

The initiative is supported by Armenia's Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports in partnership with the Guild of Armenian Film Directors and Producers.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.