The 23rd Annual Arpa International Film Festival University Collaboration Launch
Arpa International Film Festival (Arpa IFF) is dedicated to cultivating cultural understanding and global empathy by creating a dynamic forum for international cinema. Over the past 23 years, the festival has bridged cultural divides by fostering dialogue among people of diverse backgrounds. By showcasing local and international films that explore critical issues such as war, genocide, diaspora, dual identities, exile and multiculturalism, Arpa IFF has solidified its role in safeguarding films that continue to make a social impact.
Due to COVID 19, the Festival, which normally took place in theaters, will go online in order not to disappoint the hard-working filmmakers and our filmgoing community. From the comfort of your own home, people from all around the world can take part in our 23rd Annual Festival, thanks to our host, Seed&Spark. The festival will take place online between November 12-22, 2020, with 69 films from 19 countries. Our Tickets and Passes are now available for purchase. Gold All-Access festival pass is $50 (to view all 69 films), and individual blocks/programmes tickets are $12 each.
This year, we have launched a platform for university students to submit their films to our film festival. We’ve collaborated with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Film Festival “ZotFest” where student filmmakers submitted their films, with the opportunity to showcase their creations beyond a university’s vicinity. ZotFest is an annual student film-run festival at the University of California, Irvine. The festival is a sub-organization of FADA (Film-Arts-Drama Alliance) at UCI which proposes to provide filmmaking opportunities for students of all majors.
The intention behind our collaboration is to give a platform for upcoming student filmmakers. By building a bridge of collaboration between a university and a film festival, we hope to establish a platform for students, to encourage them to make the best movies. By giving student filmmakers the Arpa International Film Platform, it to showcase students’ films to our international audience, while simultaneously being part of a competitive program. We are all very excited to see what happens next!
Originally premiered at UC Irvine’s Student Film Festival, ZotFest, these six short films are the culmination of the hard work of filmmaking students within UCI. The COVID-19 Pandemic didn’t stunt the passion of these students, and being able to come together to showcase their creativity is something truly inspiring. We hope you enjoy what these budding filmmakers have to offer.