The Golden Apricot Film Festival

Yesterday was the opening of the Golden Apricot Intn'l Film Festival. It was all outdoors, and was in Armenian (though some people had translation headphones I understand). The show (as it seems appropriate to call it) was a bit strange to me, with mimes, a blessing by an Archbishop with his crew, the Minister of Justice (Hasmik, a woman) being precariously whisked up and down a steep slippery ramp to talk. The fireworks were nice (as you can see) since they really lit up the Opera house, and then the outdoor movie screening that followed was nice (there was an indoor one for the VIPs), though again, only if you speak Italian or can read Armenian subtitles really fast.