Film aficionados flocked to the opening  of the 22nd “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival yesterday in the Armenian capital.

Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan welcomed film celebrities who’ve travelled to Armenia to attend the festival.

Harutyun Khachatryan, founder and president of the festival, paid tribute to all Armenian filmmakers who have recently passed away. At Khachatryan’s invitation, the other two co-founders, Susanna Harutyunyan and Mikael Stamboltsyan, took to the stage and the three of them together announced the start of the festival.

This year’s opening film was Jafar Panahi’s new film “It Was Just an Accident,” which won the top prize, the Palme d’Or, at Cannes in May.

Panahi presented the festival’s Parajanov Thaler Prize to Iranian film director, screenwriter, and photographer Amir Naderi for his profound contribution to world cinema.

The jury of the Golden Apricot International Competition Program is headed by Mauritanian film director and producer Abderrahmane Sissako.