Festival Awards

The Arpa International Film festival (Arpa IFF) brings acclaimed local and international filmmakers and entertainment professionals, including producers, directors, writers, and agents to select the films that stand above the rest.

Film Category Awards

  • BEST MUSIC VIDEO AWARD ($250)
  • BEST SHORT ANIMATED FILM AWARD ($300)
  • BEST SHORT NARRATIVE FILM AWARD ($350)
  • BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD ($350)
  • BEST FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD ($500)
  • BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY AWARD ($500)
  • BEST FEATURE DIRECTOR AWARD ($500)
  • BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD  ($600)

Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award

Annual Apa Film Festival Armin T. Wegner Award

This special award was created by AFFMA following a proposal by Armin T. Wegner Society of USA.

The award is presented each year to a filmmaker whose film deals with subjugated peoples, ethnic cleansing, forced deportation, massacres and genocides. The motion picture must contribute to the fight for social conscience and human rights, a struggle to which Armin T. Wegner devoted his entire life.

Festival Jury

Delving into creative exchanges, the jurors create an opening where the passionate intensity of these gifted filmmakers flourish. Each year we are fortunate to have jury members who have an increasing awareness and understanding of contemporary international cinema.

Festival Jury 2020

Born in Uruguay and raised in New Jersey, Gabe Saporta is a musician and entrepreneur. For nearly ten years, he enjoyed multi-platinum success as the singer and creative force behind the band Cobra Starship. In 2016, Saporta and wife Erin Fetherston welcomed their first child. Wanting to spend more time with his family and less time in the spotlight, Saporta transitioned behind the scenes the following year and founded The Artist Group (T∆G), a music management company. In 2018 he launched T∆G MUSIC to provide full label and recording services for his clients. In 2019 T∆G achieved more than 100 million streams with its first independent release, Tessa Violet’s LP “Bad Ideas.” In 2020 Saporta signed a global distribution deal with The Orchard to expand T∆G Music’s radio presence and international reach. Saporta continues to grow T∆G into a full service music company providing a wide range of management and label services for its clients, and, more importantly, guidance and stewardship in-line with the company ethos: “We believe creative expression is the cornerstone of self-realization and we feel privileged to be on that journey with our artists.”

Anthony Grieco is a 2015 Nicholl Award winner for his script Best Sellers. It was recently produced by Cassian and Arielle Elwes and stars Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza.  Anthony has had several scripts optioned, and eagerly awaits the start of production on his next script, a Buzz Aldrin biopic to be directed by Marc Forster.  In addition, Anthony is a script consultant. He has worked as a Story Specialist for The Writers Store and a mentor for the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest. He is also the co-writer of the screenwriting book The Pocket Screenwriting Guide: 120 Tips for Getting to Fade Out.  Anthony moved to Los Angeles when one of his first spec screenplays was solicited by various agents and managers. Within months, he had optioned his first (co-written) feature, a comedy called I’m With Stupid, to Peachtree Films. Anthony attended the University of Toronto where he studied English and History. He later attended Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City and went on to act in over 50 television commercials and episodic programs.  In his spare time, Anthony is an amateur photographer (favorite subjects include Los Angeles architecture, his wife’s cooking, and his cats Max and Buddy), film buff, collector of Criterion films, and frequent dinner party attendee.
Born in Armenia and raised in Los Angeles, writer-director-producer Eric Nazarian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production from the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Cinematic Arts.  He was awarded the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for his original screenplay, Giants.  The Blue Hour, his first feature film as writer-director, world premiered In-Competition at the 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain and the Torino Film Festival, winning several awards on the international film festival circuit, including Best Director at the Arpa International Film Festival. Formerly a photojournalist, he has made films in Armenia, Mexico and Turkey.   Nazarian wrote the period drama Three Christs with director-producer Jon Avnet, starring Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Julianna Margulies and Walton Goggins, based on the book by Milton Rokeach. The film’s World Premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films released the film in 2020. Nazarian is an inaugural fellow of the 20th Century Fox Writers Intensive Lab (FWI). A former fellow of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, he has lectured on world cinema and the origins of silent film at university campuses in the U.S. and Europe.
Karen Kondazian’s career as an actor, author, journalist, and producer, started early in life… At the age of eight, Karen was chosen to be one of the infamous children on Art Linkletter’s famous Kids Say the Darndest Things. The opportunity to miss school during tapings was all it took for Karen to abandon her life’s goal of becoming a CIA spy and focus on acting.  She was born in Boston, completing her education at The University of Vienna and The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, after which she began her acting career in New York. Her first professional work was in the Off-Broadway, award-winning production of Michael Cacoyannis’ The Trojan Women, later winning the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Rose Tattoo. Tennessee Williams, after seeing her work, was so impressed that he gave her carte blanche to produce any of his plays in his lifetime. Other award-winning performances include Sweet Bird of Youth (with Ed Harris), Vieux Carre (with Ray Stricklyn), and Maria Callas in Master Class. On television, she has appeared as a series regular lead in CBS’s Shannon, and also guest-starred in over 50 television shows and films including James Dean (with James Franco) and Yes Giorgio (with Luciano Pavarotti) — also playing Kate Holiday in David Wolper’s award running series: Showdown at OK Corral.  She is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  As an author, Kondazian is a multi-award winning novelist. Her debut novel, The Whip, won the USA News Book Award (Best Historical Fiction), Readers Favorite Award (Best Western Fiction), among other awards. The book was also featured on the cover of Publishers Weekly and is a screenplay.  As a journalist, her long-running weekly column, Sculpting Your Career, appeared in BackStage, and Drama-Logue newspapers. Out of those columns, she created her first non-fiction book: The Actor’s Encyclopedia of Casting Directors.  Karen currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and is working on her third book.
Roman Mitichyan has one of the most diverse backgrounds in the world of sports and the cinematic arena.  Nicknamed “The Emperor “Mitichyan was born in Vanadzor, Armenia. A former UFC Fighter, Mitichyan is the   recipient of USJI, National Championship 1st place Award, and the world bronze medalist in Sambo.  Aside from his multiple martial arts achievements Mitichyan has brought his versatility in numerous films and documentaries portraying characters from all walks of life. His film credits include Argo, War Dogs, Escape Plan, Takers, John Wick, The Promise,  just to name a few, opposite Hollywood giants the likes of Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Sylvester Stallone, Jim Carrey, Pierce Brosnan, and the upcoming ‘Fast 9’ feature  opposite Vin Diesel. His television credits include Scorpion, Bones, Blacklist, Sons Of Anarchy, Homeland Numbers, not to mention his recurring role as Sam Rudo in the popular series “The Morning Show “ opposite Jenifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon.  Roman credits his successful transition from fighter, to stuntman, to actor, to director and producer to his discipline, hard work ethics, relentless drive, and last but not least appreciation for all the opportunities which continue to push forward his creativity as  a multidimensional actor in the entertainment industry.
Clayton Trussell is a writer and producer best known for his work on the Netflix series, “Narcos” and “Narcos: Mexico.” He was born in Los Angeles, California, and attended the University of Colorado at Boulder. His career first began on set, working on various productions, including the acclaimed HBO series “Luck”, before transitioning to the writers room with the award-winning, teenage drama “Pretty Little Liars.”  In 2019, Clayton was nominated for a WGA award for Best Episodic Drama for his work on “Narcos: Mexico.”
Heather McComb is an American actress and producer with over 90 credits to her name in film and television. Heather made her film debut as the lead Zoe in Francis Ford Coppola’s “New York Stories”. Since then, she’s continued to work with some of today’s most acclaimed directors including David Gordon Green, Bryan Singer, Martha Coolidge and Wayne Wang.  Heather’s feature film credits include Apt Pupil, Silver Skies, Oceans of Pearls, as well as several movies that have screened in competition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival including: All the Real Girls, God’s Lonely Man, and Steel City. Heather’s also had memorable roles on many notable television shows including: Prison Break, House M.D., all four CSI’s, The Mentalist, Castle, The Rookie and Shameless to name a few – as well as being cast on the critically-acclaimed NBC show The Event, portraying FBI Agent Angela Collier. She is best known for her work on Showtime’s breakout hit Ray Donovan, where she played Patty. Heather also recently appeared in a crossover event for Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 on ABC.  In addition to her television work, Heather recently starred in the films Sweet Home Carolina, Mommy is a Murderer, Pretty Bad Actress, Shooting Star, The Cleaner and Battle Scars which Heather also produced.
Chuck Harter has worked in many aspects of the motion picture and television fields during his decades as a resident of Los Angeles. He conceived, produced and consulted on all aspects of the critically acclaimed documentary “Hey! Hey! We’re The Monkees” which aired on The Disney Channel. Chuck also consulted on virtually the entire production of the VH1 music documentary “Endless Harmony: Beach Boys” and has participated in many different documentary projects over the years as both a consultant and advisor. “A great documentary, made by a creative team that puts 100% into it, can educate, entertain and enlighten.”
Justin Humphreys is a writer, film historian, and curator, specializing in movie props, costumes, and other memorabilia. He has worked extensively with Bonhams Auctions and The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, among others.  In 2017, Humphreys cataloged Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1957), which sold for $5.3 million and set the World Record for most expensive movie prop to ever sell at auction.  He has published three books and is currently completing his fourth, the authorized biography of filmmaker George Pal. He recently appeared on the Criterion Collection’s BluRay release of The War of the Worlds (1953).

“For the past 23 years as the jury liaison of Arpa International Film Festival I have had the distinct pleasure in gathering esteemed industry professionals that includes directors, producers, screenwriters, actors, professors, novelists,and musicians who bring their expertise and talent in recognizing excellence in the craft of filmmaking and music. Our diverse group of jurors in our first ever virtual awards ceremony are committed to see all the films in competition and make their final decision in the categories of feature films, shorts, documentaries, animations, and music. Our awards ceremony will be different this year but for any of our filmmakers a virtual reality experience will reach worldwide film loving audiences ready to experience fresh new voices in the cinematic arena. The Annual Arpa International Film Festival continues to keep its doors open for our independent storytellers and values the generosity of our jury members whose creative input will make sure that these films are seen, studied, and acknowledged.” – Sonia Keshishian, Jury Liaison

Previous Jury Members

Our past international film festival judges include: Charles Agron, James Duke Mason, Felix Pire, Sev Ohanian, Sebastian Siegel, Howard Rosenman, Deborah Attoinese, Charles Gideon Davis, Max Howard, JD Larson, Stuart Manashil, Debra Balamos, Rob Bowman, Alan Cassidy, Alan Cummings, Kirby Dick, Heather Jack, Corey Kaplan, Jeffrey Meadows, Carol Mechanic, Nina Menkes, Susan Kay Moses, Paul Peterson, David Rosenbloom, Hamlet Sarkissian, Steven Small, Geoff Stier, Katherine Tomlinson, Ara Keshishian, Jeff Speich, Owen Ward, Ken Sherman, Randi Wilens, Milton B. Suchin, Essy Niknejad, Stacey Margetts, Ray Rhodes, Scott Davis, Frank Guttler, Geoff Yim, Valerie McCaffrey, Stuart Sender, Vatche Mangassarian, Stuart Manashil, and Ken Davitian.