_The diverse festival returns to Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre_
Diversity in Hollywood (or the lack thereof) has been a hot topic this year, brought to national attention with #oscarssowhite and denunciations from prominent celebrities and filmmakers of color. That is part of what makes the ARPA International Film Festival so welcome—it’s an oasis for international filmmakers to display rich narratives that are often overlooked in the film industry.
The ARPA Film Festival started in 1995, when founder Sylvia Minassian decided to create an event that would give international filmmakers a platform to showcase their work in Hollywood. Nineteen years later, the festival has grown massively and is renowned in Hollywood, attracting a broad range of accomplished filmmakers and actors. The festival has hosted films from Howard Kazanjian (_Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi_), Hank Moonjean (_Beauty and the Beast_), Alanis Morrisette, Dean Cain (_Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman_), Cheech Marin (_The Cheech & Chong series_), Tony Shalhoub (_Monk_), Emilio Rivera (_Sons of Anarchy_), and many others.
Among the most highly anticipated films to be screened this year is director Albert Kodagolian’s [_Somewhere Beautiful_](http://archive.flaunt.com/s/art/somewhere-beautiful/img), which follows the collision of two emotionally charged love triangles as “Elena accompanies her photographer husband on a work trip, falling for the sublime beauty of Patagonia and the man who guides them through it, while Albert, a director returning home to Los Angeles, adjusts to being a single father in the wake of his failing marriage. As both characters come to terms with their realities, bonds are forged and beginnings found.”
From November 3–6, the ARPA International Film Festival will continue its tradition of presenting a generous selection of gorgeous films from all over the world—56 films from 23 countries this year—on the big screen in the Egyptian Theatre’s hallowed grounds. From a clarinetist taking on the identity of a killer in post-Soviet Armenia to a father and mother staging a fake funeral for their deceased son to lure his murderer out of hiding, the vibrant repertoire of films is certain to delight moviegoers who want a little more than the average summer blockbuster. Tickets are available [here](http://www.arpafilmfestival.com/program/tickets/).
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Written by Uriel Mendoza
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