Filmmaker Orwa Nyrabia among Golden Apricot Film Festival jury members
Producer, filmmaker and human rights activist Orwa Nyrabia is on the jury of feature films of the 19th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival scheduled for July 10-17, organizers said.
Orwa Nyrabia is the artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
In 2008 he and his wife founded DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria, which grew quickly into the most important documentary film gathering in the Arab World.
Produced highly acclaimed films such as Dolls, A Woman from Damascus, Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait, Return to Homs, etc.
The latter won the Grand Jury Prize at 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2017, Nyrabia, together with his partner Diana El Jeiroudi, was the very first Syrians to be invited as members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a year later in 2018 Nyrabia became the director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Nyrabia was reportedly arrested at Damascus International Airport by Syrian authorities and later released following an international filmmakers' campaign for his freedom including Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Charlotte Rampling, Kevin Spacey, Juliette Binoche, and many others.
Nyrabia made Syrian filmmakers' international call in demanding democracy for Syria that was signed by over 70 Syrian filmmakers, inviting filmmakers around the world to join in demanding democracy, including Juliette Binoche, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Mike Leigh.