Golden Gate Armenian Film Festival

All screenings will be held November 20-22 at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco. This year's festival features highly acclaimed movies screened at the Venice, Locarno, and Golden Apricot International Film Festivals. Produced in Armenia, France, Germany, Belgium, and Canada, documentaries, dramas, short films, and animated films bring to the screen topics from the lives of Armenians across the globe.  The festival jury members will reward the best feature, best documentary, and best short films with handcrafted awards by famous Armenian-Lebanese artist Narine Poladian. 

Saturday, Nov 21st, 1:30pm

A collection of short films that explores characters trapped in the heavy gravity of loss, isolation, and unexpressed emotion. From an ordinary office worker spiraling into destructive grief and a young blind healer cast out by a morally decaying village, to an old man navigating a timeless house filled with the memory of his late wife, these stories delve deep into the human psyche. Whether facing the cold, alienating indifference of a war photography exhibition or drifting through the Parisian night torn between a hidden love confession and past romance, each protagonist confronts a profound internal reckoning where the past aggressively bleeds into the present. More info here.

Sunday, Nov 22nd, 1:30pm

The first Armenian feature-length animated film created with artificial intelligence.

After remaining sealed for centuries, the gates of Agravakar suddenly open, bringing Pokr Mher into the modern world. But in this unfamiliar age, his legendary strength is fading, and humanity’s belief in heroes has nearly disappeared. To reclaim his power, Mher must awaken courage in the hearts of a group of ordinary children—children who never imagined that the world might need a hero again, or that the greatest heroic power could already be hidden within themselves.

         Watch the trailer!

Friday, Nov 20th, 4:30pm

"Scattered Seeds of the Pomegranate" is a documentary that traces the settlement of Armenians in France and Europe following the 1915 genocide. Through the eyes of director Alexandra Routhiau Mikaélian—herself of Armenian descent—the film blends previously unseen archival footage, animation, live-action imagery, and personal testimonies, taking viewers on a unique journey into "Armenian lands." It is a universal story—one of seeking refuge and the movements of the human spirit—that resonates with all the diaspora communities shaping the France and Europe of today. Watch the trailer! 

Saturday, Nov 21st, 4:30pm

Céline arrives in Armenia for the first time to legalize the death of Arto, her husband. She discovers that he has lied to her, that he fought in the war, usurped his identity, and that his former friends consider him a deserter. A new journey begins for her, as she encounters Arto's past: invalids from the battles of 2020, veterans of the victorious battles of the 90s, hauntings from a war that never ends. A woman chases a ghost, but how do you bury it? Can the dead be saved? 

           Watch the trailer!

Sunday, Nov 22nd, 4:30pm

“To be or not to be?” echoes through the halls of a derelict Soviet-era retirement home, where a group of its elderly residents rehearse Shakespeare’s Sins—an original play in which the renowned playwright's own characters confront him over their tragic fates. From casting to premiere night, Outliving Shakespeare follows the retired theater troupe bonding in and between rehearsals, transforming from a lighthearted warm look at the innocent dignity of aging, into a deeper thought-provoking exploration of the loneliness that accompanies it. As the production unfolds, the theatre mirrors reality. Watch the trailer!

Friday, Nov 20th, 7:30pm

Set in the remote village of Gandzani in southern Georgia, near the Armenian border, A Fire There explores youth coming of age amid uncertainty and change. The village, home to an ethnic Armenian community where echoes of exile and Soviet nostalgia still linger, frames the lives of three teenagers negotiating the tension between inherited traditions and the desire for something new.  

Watch the trailer!

Saturday, Nov 21st, 7:30pm

Juliette, 35, seems to have it all: a power job in finance, a beautiful house, and a life of constant travel. Despite her mother’s hopes for grandchildren, her nights are filled with fleeting lovers. When she is assaulted by a work colleague at a company event, her world collapses. Juliette then sets out on a new path to bring meaning to her life.

Watch the trailer! 

Sunday, Nov 22nd, 7:30pm

July 2023. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under siege by Azerbaijan for seven months now. Sensing the approach of war, the director asked his friend Artsiv to film his daily life with his wife Tatev and their five children. Through images of striking tenderness, a quiet resistance emerges—that of a people on the brink of fleeing forever. Watch the trailer!