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SunChild 3rd International Environmental Festival: Award winners   SunChild Festival congratulates all winners! WILDLIFE COMPETITION Best Film: “Keeper of Wilderness” directed by Robert Rajchl & Erik Balaz (Slovakia, 2010)  Special Jury Mention (for journalistic approach): “Radioactive Wolves” directed by Klaus Feichtenberger (Austria, 2010)  Special Jury Mention (for technical skills): “Finland” di... more

The Cove brings to Yerevan the dolphins’ plea and closes the 3rd SunChild international environmental festival   The 3rd SunChild international environmental festival was closed by The Cove, an award winning documentary directed by Louie Psyhoyos.  It is a  documentary with the air of a spy thriller that has been called "advocacy filmmaking at its best" since its release — depicting  Taiji's centuries-old tradition of killing dolphins with an unflinching eye on the sometimes grue... more

New works of art give Yerevan Zoo special flavor   The results of Peace Park art project held as part of the 3rd SunChild international environmental festival in Yerevan were  summarized on October 19 at Yerevan Zoo.  was  one of many projects of the festival designed to mark the 70-th anniversary of Yerevan Zoo   “Ruben Khachatryan’s proposal to have the Zoo as the venue for the art project was to my... more

A commitment and mission   During the 3rd SunChild international environmental festival we had a brief interview with Samvel Karapetian, chairman of a non-governmental organization founded to study and protect Armenian architectural monuments.   -  What makes such festivals important to all of u? -  Films are the most effective way of conveying knowledge to children and all and to teach them to tak... more

Impressions and, opinions about 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival   Levon Igityan, architect  Ruben Khachatryan, the new director of our Zoo, is doing a great job and deserves great appreciation. A human being should be a little crazy, a little restive to be able to give a motion to a problem. I believe that he will be able to materialize all his ideas. There must always be someone to formulate the problem and present it to the authorities and urge f... more

Third SunChild International Environmental Festival is Over; We are Getting Ready for the 4th   ‘The energy, resources and time that we invest is only to make tomorrow a better day,’ says Ruben Khachatryan, the director of the SunChild Festival.  The 3rd  International Environmental Festival was closed October 18 and although the event was festive, it began with sobering images from The Cove, a documentary that was chosen to close the Festival. It made the  ... more

Grant contest winner announced   The three-day international conference on ‘The Role of Civic Societies and Private Sector in the Preservation of Wildlife in South Caucasus‘ organized on the sidelines of the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival  ended October 17 at Ani Plaza Hotel in Yerevan.  Representatives of international donor organizations which support the implementation of wildl... more

Lost gorillas… inside us … or Bama and lost gorillas   'Bama and Lost Gorillas’, a documentary made by German directors Ernst Sasse and Nicki Lankester,  was selected to contest in the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival’s Competition Program. "I wish very much that this film won a prize. Maybe just for the fact that it  is about love, devotion and caring, human moral values which have been ignored by many ... more

Old and new photos from Yerevan Zoo   How to bring human beings closer  to nature? Maybe by a photo exhibition that opened at Yerevan History Museum. The exhibition displays photographs made by professional and amateur photographers featuring  the old and new Yerevan Zoo. The photos seem to be an attempt to erase the artificial boundaries between humans and animals. Dedicated to the 70-th anniversary of Yerevan Zoo, ... more

Passersby watch the films of SunChild   On October 17 passersby and zoo visitors had a chance to watch short environmental films and animations that were screened within the frames of the SunChild festival. The open-air screenings were organized at the Cascade complex, Charles Aznavour square and Yerevan Zoo. With great pleasure and interest people watched Areg Mrktchyan’s environmental animations entitled “Bye-bye&r... more

Patrick Rouxel: “Now I am in love with bears”   “I am neither a media representative, nor an environment expert. I just have my personal opinion which I’ll try to share with you” – modestly said Patrick Rouxel – a famous French documentary filmmaker whose “Green” made a start to the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival.  Patrick Rouxel met journalists and festival participants... more

Bogota Change   This film is a catching story about a city that rises from the ashes thanks to its devoted mayor. Within the frames of the 3rd SunChild Environmental Festival “Bogota Change” documentary by Danish filmmaker Andreas Daalsgard was screened at “Moscow” cinema. The film is about the capital of Columbia – Bogota which was once known as an inhospitable city with... more

Armenia’s environmental non-governmental organizations present their programs and implemented work   On the second day of the international conference on the ‘Role of Civic Society and Private Sector in Preservation of Wildlife in the South Caucasus’ Armenian environmental NGOs were given an opportunity to present what they have done and their future projects.  Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment non-governmental organization is mainly engaged in chemical s... more

Living with dust   “How long are you going to live in dust? How long are you going to contaminate this place?” These are the questions that the young members of Urtsadzor eco-club ask the authorities through their film. One of the surprises of the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival took place at the State Puppet Theatre after H. Tumanyan, where “Living with Dust” film... more

Taste the Waste   ‘The documentaries screened within the frameworks of the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival that opened in Yerevan October 14 do not pursue only environmental and educational goals. From the cinematographic point of view many of them have serious artistic value’, says a young film critic Raffi Movsisyan, who presented October 16 to the audience Taste the Waste, a... more

Find your trace… The official opening ceremony announced the start of the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival. The video clip about the real dialogue between humans, nature and the world of animals, accompanied by flute sounds of “Bambir” rock group, once again made the audience think about our invisible links with and, unfortunately, – the visible fight against nature. There world ... more

Environmentalists discuss wildlife conservation issues in Yerevan More than two dozens environmentalists, NGO members, individuals and journalists interested and covering environmental problems gathered today at Ani Plaza Hotel in Yerevan to participate in the international conference on the ‘Role of Civic Societies and Private Sector in the Preservation of Wildlife in the South Caucasus.’ The conference, organized by the Foundation for the Preserv... more

Treasures of Armenia’s Nature in Photos "Armenia has a great deal to show the world, especially its incredibly beautiful nature and has to seriously think about how to protect it," says Marie Tibet from the British World Land Trust organization.  An interesting and unique exhibition of photos has opened at Ani Hotel in Yerevan on the sidelines of the 3rd SunChild International Environmental Festival organized in collaboration... more

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SunChild promotes new projects   SunChild invites interested NGOs and student groups to cooperate.  During the upcoming conference, which will take place October 15-17 at “Ani Plaza” hotel, Yerevan, Armenian NGOs and groups of students who are concerned about environmental problems, will have a chance to receive financial assistance of 1 million AMD to be used for their projects.   NGOs will ... more

French documentary director Patrick Rouxel to give master class   The SunChild Festival is next to people  who shoot environmental films and seek to get new  knowledge from renowned directors. French documentary director, Patrick Rouxel, who has brought  his documentary "Green" for the Festival will give a master class on October 17 at 3 pm at French University of Armenia. Since 2003 Rouxel has been doing documentaries which raise su... more

Yerevan universities to turn into cinema halls Students  involved in environmental activity and their professors  should not be worried about being unable to run after classes to cinema halls. Part of documentaries  brought to Yerevan for the 3rd SunChild Environmental Festival  will be screened inside universities. Yerevan State University  will screen ten films  investigating environmental problems. The scree... more

Children are among SunChild Festival participants The SunChild Festival always cooperates with children sparing no efforts to get them involved in the creative work of the festival in the first place. This year’s Festival  features short documentaries done by members of SunChild’s eco clubs which focus  on  air, water and soil pollution problems and protection of animals. Twelve of 32  documentaries selected for... more

24 hours in 13 minutes - watch SunChild events diary on ATV   So, you are concerned that physically you will not be able to attend all the events to take place within the frameworks  of  the 3rd SunChild international festival of environmental films, but would very much like to. Do not get sad. The Sunchildren’s cameras will record all interesting and fresh developments specially for you. Every day on 10.40 pm ATV channel will presen... more

Environmentalists unite to protect natur The international conference, entitles “The role of civil society and private actors in Wildlife Protection in the South Caucasus” is waiting for environmentalist participants. During the conference 16 Armenian NGOs will have an opportunity to present their activities, projects and current initiatives. This section of the conference is a wonderful occasion for active institutions ... more

A great Birthday Present: An airplane full of books for the Yerevan Zoo Last night a very special birthday present for the 70th anniversary of the Yerevan Zoo arrived. Currently the zoo has no appropriate library; most of the books are outdated and no longer usable in a modern zoo.  With the kind support of the British airline bmi John Burton, the director of the World Land Trust, was able to bring 60 kilo of zoological books (or 110 books) via airplane to Armeni... more

SunChild Press Conference   ‘This year the SunChild International Environmental Festival is going to be more interesting than the previous two. I call on everyone  to take part in it,’ Ruben Khachatryan, the director of the festival, told journalists at October 13 press conference. The press conference convened at Armenia Marriott Hotel’s Trdat Hall was to present  the  program of ev... more

The sounds of “Bambir” at SunChild Festival   For the sake of nature: this will be the slogan of the rock concert with one of the most popular Armenian rock bands – the “Bambir”. The open- air rock concert will begin right after the opening ceremony of the festival. The sounds of rock will unite music and nature lovers at the Charles Aznavour square. With “Bambir” for nature!  Join the concert on Oc... more

SunChild Festival presents Armenia’s protected areas and cultural assets   Part of the SunChild Festival Biennale Program is an international conference on “The Role of Civil Society and Private Actors in Wildlife Protection in the South Caucasus”. The conference will take place at Ani Hotel’s Conferences Hall in Yerevan. In the frame of the conference will also take place a photo exhibition under the title: “Armenia’s Natural Treasu... more

The most quantity of films in Puppet Theatre   SunChild 2011 is offering more than 70 films from 30 countries to environmental film-lovers.  During the Festival there will be possibility to watch films in 11 venues of the capital. Among them Moscow Cinema, Naregatsi Art Institute, Small Theatre, Armenian State University, American University of Armenia, Armenian National Museum, Puppet theatre, Nairi Cinema, Tumo Centre, and open... more

Choose Your Animal and Join SunChild!   On October 14th Yerevan will be full of children in animal costumes. On that day, they will embody their beloved animals.  The SunChild festival has always had a special focus on children, granting them the opportunity to directly participate in the festival events. This is why the kick off of the festival will be announced with the children’s parade, promoting protection of a... more

The Zoo’s “Happy Kid” will be 2.5 meters   In only 2 weeks the Yerevan Zoo will welcome its new “permanent visitor” – the child sculpture, made within the frames of the “Peace Park” art project. The author of the sculpture - Tzvetanka Koykova from Belgium, has already started creating the art work. During these days she is cutting stones, necessary for the sculpture. Zoo visitors are welcome to observ... more

Tell a story – in pictures   Moving images as well as photos are a great and powerful tool to discover our surrounding world, to get new information, and to be emotionally involved. That’s why the organizers of SunChild Festival compiled not only a huge film program but also several photo exhibitions.  On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Yerevan Zoo the Festival presents an Animal Photo Exhibit... more

“Nature in the city” On October 16th SunChild will go out to the streets to engage more people in this large-scale environmental-educational event. You will have a unique chance to watch films on your way home or just having a walk in the city. In the central parts of the city – the Charles Aznavour square, the Cacade comples and Northern avenue - SunChild will set up pavillions with printed materials and nature... more

Climbing the trash mountrain   Empty bottles, supermarket bags and cans are creatively recycled into colorful animal costumes for the huge Animal Carnival, the kickoff event of this year’s SunChild 3rd International Environmental Festival.  The handmade costumes make the multifaceted manifestations of garbage clearly visible for everybody. But the message about garbage and recycling is not only essential du... more

Interview with Ruben Khachatryan   The interview with Ruben Khachatryan is about SunChild Festival, the 70th anniversary of Yerevan Zoo and ecological problems in general. The program is broadcasted on “1in am” news agency.      ... more

Exciting films about wildlife from all over the world   The films selected for the wildlife competition of SunChild 3rd International Environmental Festival take the audience on an exciting journey. A journey to the most rare and astonishing animal species living in high mountains, dense forests,  in the depths of the oceans and endless grass lands. The audience can watch bears catching fishes, eagles building nests, monkeys stealing food ... more

Children Competition   Finland, Italy or Armenia? The neck- and neck race for the best environmental film made by a film maker minor 16 will be a decision between just three countries Finland, Armenia and Italy. The prize for the best of the 11 short films, which are made by children for children, is a video camera bestowed by FPWC's general partner VivaCell-MTS. As Armenia has no movies in other SunChild Film ... more

SunChild Environmental Film competition – exciting finalists go for the award   This year’s SunChild Festival faces a stiff competition between the films which are dedicated to environmental issues. It will be very exciting how our environmental jury chaired by Ms. Flo Stone will decide. 10 films from 4 continents (Europe, America, Africa and Asia) compete for the award and offer a broad range of topics and styles.  Some of the films are made by directors... more

Animal Carnival with Musicians from Bremen   SunChild 3rd International Environmental Festival will kick off with a grand carnival-parade on October 14th in Yerevan. Hundreds of children from Yerevan and other regions of Armenia will join and march through the central streets of the capital wearing colorful costumes and masks. The beautiful event will fill the city with a unique wildlife breath. The animal costumes will be made of wa... more

Visitors will vote for “Their Winner” From 17-21th of Ocober in Yerevan’s History museum will be organized” Zoo Animals Photo Contest”. The series of anniversary events will include a photo contest, where the best photos of the “Zoo Animals Photo Contest”, as well as historical zoo photos will be presented. The winners of the contest will be selected by the juries, however, visitors will also have an op... more

Let the animals dance samba!   As in 2009 the Animal Carnival Parade will be the kickoff event of SunChild International Environmental Festival. And again hot Brazilian Samba-rhythms contributed by the band Confusao will entice all participants of the parade as well as passers bye to join the festival and celebrate nature.   Confusao was founded 1986 in the German town Bremen and since then the members ... more

“Green” will open the 3rd Sunchild festival This year “Green” will be the opening film for the 3rd “Sunchild” international environmental festival. The film was produced in 2009 in France. “Green” is directed by 45 years old Patrick Rouxel of Swedish - French origin. He spent his childhood in Malaysia and Singapore and later on was educated in USA and France. Focused on environmental issues since 2003 h... more