Founded in 2015 by husband and wife Armen and Mary Karaoghlanian, the Armenian Film Society (AFS) has been on a mission to connect and support Armenians in the film industry worldwide. Through screenings, Q&As and workshops, AFS has spent the last 10 years promoting the incredible and varied work of Armenian filmmakers, writers, actors, executives and more.
We caught up with Armen and Mary ahead of the 2025 Armenian Film Festival to talk about the history of the Armenian Film Society, the diversity of the Armenian diaspora’s film community and the festival’s big-name honorees.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Rosie Nisanyan (R.N.): What inspired you to create the Armenian Film Society? And how did the Armenian Film Festival come about?
Armen Karaoghlanian (A.K.): We founded the Armenian Film Society in 2015 because we wanted to create a space in Glendale where people could watch films by Armenian filmmakers and engage in meaningful conversations. There was not much of a film culture in Glendale at the time, and we wanted to change the landscape.
We launched AFS with the support of Arno Yeretzian at Abril Books. We held events at their bookstore on the first Friday of every month for the first five years, from 2015 to 2020. We had humble beginnings, but those gatherings fostered a wonderful sense of community. The last event we hosted there was just days before the pandemic shut the world down.
During the pandemic, Abril Books moved to a smaller location, and since we were so closely tied to that space, we went through a bit of an identity crisis. Mary and I used that time to reflect on our goals and plans. There were many ideas we had discussed but never fully pursued. So, we dreamed big, started plotting and mapped out the future.
We had one idea that we kept returning to, something that had been on our minds for years: “Wouldn’t it be great to create a film festival right here in Glendale that celebrates Armenian stories and Armenian filmmakers?”
Mary Karaoghlanian (M.K.): In retrospect, we are both glad we did not launch a film festival right out of the gate in 2015.
I believe a big part of the Armenian Film Festival’s success is that we launched it eight years into our organization’s history, by which time we had built a strong sense of community.
We had been hosting dozens of events annually, but launching a festival gave us the chance to celebrate films and filmmakers over an entire week and craft the experience we envisioned. There was also no film festival in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to Armenian stories and films by Armenian filmmakers.
We launched the Armenian Film Festival in 2023, coinciding with the centennial of Armenian cinema. There was strong demand, and we drew in a diverse and enthusiastic audience. Our goal is for attendees to leave saying, “We did not just see a great Armenian film. We saw a great film, period.”
The Alex Theatre in Glendale, California (Photo by Nar Levoni, @monochromeNar)
R.N.: This year’s festival is from September 3 to 7. What can we expect?
A.K.: On Wednesday, September 3, we will be hosting the Los Angeles premiere of Monsieur Aznavour at the Alex Theatre, which we are incredibly excited about. The Alex Theatre is celebrating 100 years literally the day after our premiere, so we are the last event of the century for the theater.
From Thursday until Saturday, we will be at The Americana at Brand, showcasing short films, feature films and documentaries. We are thrilled about all the films, but one shorts block that I would like to call out is our “Student Filmmakers” section.
It is our first time dedicating an entire block to student filmmakers. We had a lot of submissions this year from student filmmakers, and some of the best films we saw this year were made by 18, 19 and 20-year-olds. We know how difficult it is for students to get a platform to showcase their work. We are also heavily investing in the youth and students with some new programs and initiatives we will be announcing soon.
R.N.: Can you tell us a little bit more about your experience with Monsieur Aznavour? Why did you choose it for opening night?
A.K.: It is the perfect film for opening night. We are always thinking about what the opening night film will be for our film festival because we want folks excited to turn out and enjoy themselves. Ideally, you want a film that is inspiring, entertaining and a crowd-pleaser.
Monsieur Aznavour is exactly that. It has been on our radar for over two years—even before the film was made. We had been invited to their private party at the Cannes Film Festival, where they were pre-selling the film, and kept in touch with them because we knew this was a film that our audience would want to see. We did not even have a film festival when that was happening.
The film is filled with all your favorite Charles Aznavour songs, but also beautifully charts his life story from childhood to the peak of his fame. There has been a lot of interest from our community, and people are excited to see it for the first time on a big screen. That is what opening night is all about, and it is a great start to a five-day film festival.
R.N.: The festival has been in the news a lot recently with some big-name announcements. Can you tell us more?
A.K.: We are excited to host a one-on-one conversation with Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler. Sev is a rising star, behind some of the biggest films in Hollywood, including Space Jam: A New Legacy and Creed III. His most recent film, Sinners, released this past April, has become a cultural phenomenon. It is one of the most successful original films in years and is being considered for awards. We were honored to host the Los Angeles premiere of the film before its release.
Ryan Coogler, director of films such as Creed, Black Panther and Sinners, will join Sev on stage to converse about their creative collaboration and partnership, and Ryan’s connection to Armenian culture—why he feels Armenian stories need to be told in Hollywood. They are such a fantastic partnership, and I think everyone is in for a treat.
M.K.: We are going to be hosting our first-ever gala at Vertigo in Glendale following their conversation. Since we are celebrating 10 years of the Armenian Film Society this year, we wanted a celebration, filled with our friends, partners and community members, to honor what we have done these past 10 years. Mary and I also want to take the opportunity to talk about what the next 10 years look like and we will have some announcements to make.
Filmmaker Sean Baker at an AFS screening of “Anora” (Photo by Srini and Vanessa with Urbanite LA, @urbanite.la)
We are also going to use part of the gala program to honor a couple of individuals: Karren Karagulian, who is one of the actors from Anora, which won Best Picture earlier this year; Madeline Sharafian, who directed the new Pixar film, Elio; and Sev Ohanian, who has had an incredible year this year with Proximity Media. Sev will be inducted into our newly launched Armenian Film Hall of Fame by Ryan Coogler.
This year’s festival has something for everyone. Our goal is always to give people a good reason to come out and immerse themselves in film.
R.N.: I actually had the pleasure of interviewing Sev recently. Can you tell us more about how you decided to honor Karren, Madeline and Sev? What brought them to the forefront?
A.K.: We are not a competitive film festival. We do not give out awards. That has been something we always felt strongly about.
We did, however, want to find ways in which we can recognize the incredible contributions that Armenian filmmakers are making. We knew leading up to this festival that we were going to use the gala as a way to recognize individuals, and for us, it was looking at which filmmakers had a really meaningful and impactful year on a global scale. There are obviously quite a few names.
Karren had such an incredible year with Anora, from the Cannes Film Festival to the Oscars stage. Armenians all around the world were proud to see him represent us.
Madeline is an incredible filmmaker. Just the fact that she has broken into the Pixar system is rare—she made a Pixar short that was nominated for an Oscar and is now being entrusted to direct a feature-length film in Elio. It is really hard to break in at Pixar and she has been able to make that kind of impact, even having only graduated from college a handful of years ago. She is very proud to be Armenian and incorporated Armenian elements into this big Disney Pixar film. She embodies what we want to celebrate—somebody who acknowledges their Armenian heritage and is trying to find ways to incorporate it at scale.
Sev has had a big impact for several years, but this year in particular feels like a breakthrough. As the co-founder of Proximity Media and one of the lead producers of Sinners (along with Ryan and Zinzi Coogler), he has produced films with a massive impact. Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I first met Sev in film school, and we have been great friends. Since this is our first time recognizing filmmakers, it makes me really proud to be able to have him part of this evening. He was a part of our first festival, where we had an anniversary screening of his first film, My Big Fat Armenian Family, and he has been such a big supporter of AFS.
I am so thrilled to have Sev become the inaugural inductee of the Armenian Film Hall of Fame. As you can imagine, the Hall of Fame will be a rarefied group. There are not a lot of names that we will be putting up in those rafters.
R.N.: I love that the Armenian Film Society always promotes work that has anything to do with Armenians. Recently, you shared on Instagram that Superman is Armenian on his mom’s side because Angela Sarafyan plays Lara Lor-Van in the new film. How do you find out about all these projects and why are they important to share?
A.K.:
I live and breathe cinema. I read all the trades and publications. I listen to every podcast and interview. I watch everything I can.
I naturally discover information because it is ingrained in my life. We are lucky because people will tip us about certain things that might not be on our radar.
There are also a couple of other secret ways in which we find information. Sometimes, we break the news, and it is not public yet. The Superman news was not public when we shared it, so nobody really knew about it. We are also connected to a lot of filmmakers who will give us a nudge or a heads-up on news that has not been confirmed publicly yet.
Armenian Film Festival volunteers (Photo by Srini and Vanessa with Urbanite LA, @urbanite.la)
And to answer the second part of your question, I think the most important part is that we share this news because it is important for us to amplify Armenian filmmakers and artists. One of the reasons why we started the Armenian Film Society is that we felt that some of these filmmakers did not have a platform to share their work. If they were lucky enough to get into a film festival and get a couple of screenings out of their projects, it was usually limited to whatever local audiences there were. However, with social media, we can now amplify their work year-round, give them a platform and connect them to a global audience.
In addition to that, it helps people see that there are all these Armenians in the industry, working in various aspects of filmmaking. I think for Armenians, including myself, when I first started, I did not think it was possible to work in the film industry. I did not really know of any Armenians working in the industry. But hopefully, seeing all these Armenians doing amazing work will bridge the gap and make people say, “I can do this, too.”
R.N.: What makes you excited or inspired about the film community of the Armenian diaspora?
M.K.: I think what excites me the most is the diversity of voices. The diaspora is incredibly vast, and filmmakers are telling stories that are very personal but universally resonant. They are telling stories that are unique to them, which are all very different from one another.
The filmmakers I see from France are very different from the ones in Australia, Canada and the U.S. They all are telling such diverse stories, and that, to me, is inspiring because these stories not only preserve our culture, but also push it forward. And it makes Armenian identity a part of the global conversation. I have always felt that Armenians are more than one story. In years past, our experience was that everybody was trying to tell a specific type of story. I think we have many types of stories that need to be told, and we want to share those stories with the world.
R.N.: Tell us more about the Armenian Film Society’s London expansion.
A.K.: We launched a London branch last year. We hosted the Armenian Film Festival London last December and will host our second annual one this December. We have been doing events throughout the year in London in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). We have a lot of great partners there and a great film community we have helped cultivate, which speaks to the kind of expansion we are working on.
We do plan on expanding to other cities and countries very soon. For us, the most important thing has been that we want other people to be able to participate in and enjoy some of these great films. We started in LA and spent the last 10 years there, but we want people in New York, Boston, Toronto, Paris, Yerevan and beyond to be able to see some of the films that we are showcasing so they can participate in some of these larger conversations.
Tickets are now available for the Armenian Film Festival on September 3 to 7 in Glendale, California. Follow the Armenian Film Society on Instagram and Facebook, and join their e-newsletter to learn about upcoming events. You can also donate to support their work.
Rosie (Toumanian) Nisanyan (she/her) is a writer, artist and tea entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in the vibrant Armenian communities of Chicago, Illinois and Orange County, California before moving to New York to work in Broadway advertising. Rosie’s writing spans poetry, arts reviews, consumer trend reports and screenplays; she’s now excited to focus her efforts on spotlighting Armenian artists of the Diaspora.
