The red carpet was rolled out yesterday evening to welcome visiting guests, dignitaries and the lucky few with tickets to the opening of the 8^th Annual Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan.

A passing shower, offering temporary relief to the stifling heat that has hit the Armenian capital for the past week, greeted such cinema luminaries as French actress Fanny Ardant and Hungarian director Bella Tarr.

During the opening ceremonies, Ardant received the Parajanov Lifetime Achievement Award.

Iranian writer and director Abbas Kiarostami’s 2010 film Certified Copy was selected to launch the festival.