"Armenian presence at the Bif&st Bari 2026: Tamara Stepanyan in competition, Diana Martirosyan on the jury" by Carlo Coppola
La versione originale in italiano di questo articolo di Carlo Coppola è stata pubblicata al seguente indirizzo sul giornale "Bari Connessa"
Հայկական ներկայությունը Bif&st Բարի 2026-ում՝ Թամարա Ստեփանյանը մրցույթում, Դիանա Մարտիրոսյանը՝ ժյուրիում: Կառլո Կոպպոլայի հոդված.
The festival was presented at a press conference — streamed live — featuring Antonio Decaro, President of the Puglia Region; Vito Leccese, Mayor of Bari; Anna Maria Tosto, President of the Fondazione Apulia Film Commission; and Oscar Iarussi, Artistic Director of the festival. The event was moderated by Antonio Parente, Director General of the Fondazione Apulia Film Commission.
One of the most notable highlights of this edition is a landmark international presence: for the first time, Armenia is represented at the festival by two prominent figures — one behind the camera, the other on the international jury. They are director Tamara Stepanyan and film critic and cultural journalist Diana Martirosyan, two contemporary voices from a country that has been gaining increasing visibility on the international cinema circuit.
Armenia's entry in the competition is "In the Land of Arto" (Le Pays d'Arto), the debut fiction feature by Tamara Stepanyan, following a career built in documentary filmmaking. The film had its world premiere on August 6, 2025, at the Piazza Grande of the Locarno Film Festival, marking a pivotal milestone in the director's career.
Born in Yerevan in 1982, Stepanyan relocated with her family to Lebanon in the early 1990s and later studied at the National Film School of Denmark. Widely regarded as one of the leading new voices in contemporary Armenian cinema, she began making short films around 2010, building a rich and award-winning documentary filmography. Her debut feature "Embers" (2012) premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, while "Those from the Shore" (2016) and "Village of Women" (2019) earned recognition at numerous international festivals.
In 2025, Stepanyan presented the documentary "My Armenian Phantoms" at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) — a deeply personal work created in the wake of her father's death, celebrated Armenian actor Vigen Stepanyan. In the film, she explores over two hundred titles from the Armenian cinema archive in search of a connection between family memory and national cultural heritage. Armenia selected the film as its official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, underlining the growing international attention for cinema from the South Caucasus.
Alongside Stepanyan, Diana Martirosyan — Armenian film critic and cultural journalist — will serve as a member of the international jury for the Meridiana section at Bif&st 2026.
Born in Yerevan in 1990, Martirosyan represents the new generation of Armenian cinema scholars and observers. She studied journalism at the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University and went on to pursue film studies at the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, one of the country's leading training institutions. Throughout her career she has published interviews, essays, and reviews in Armenian, Russian, and English, focusing in particular on contemporary European cinema and the relationship between Western and Eastern European and Caucasian film cultures.
Beyond journalism, Martirosyan is actively involved in film festival programming and organization, collaborating with the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival — Armenia's premier film event — and with ReAnimania International Animation Film Festival. Her research interests include Italian cinema, a passion that led her to study the Italian language and the history of Italian filmmaking. Thanks to this international profile — combining criticism, research, and cultural curation — she has been invited in recent years to serve on juries and panels at several film festivals worldwide.
The double Armenian presence at Bif&st 2026 reflects a moment of great creative vitality in Armenian cinema, increasingly visible on the international circuit through stories that weave together history, diaspora, and cultural resilience. Bari — a city at the crossroads of the Mediterranean — welcomes these voices with the curiosity and openness that have always defined the festival.
The Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Bari expressed satisfaction at the participation of both compatriots. Honorary Consul Dario Rupen Timurian and his staff conveyed their pleasure at welcoming them officially to the city, noting that advance notice of their attendance would allow the Consulate to organize a formal institutional reception in their honor.
Tags/Keywords: Bif&st 2026, Bari International Film Festival, Armenia cinema, Tamara Stepanyan, In the Land of Arto, Diana Martirosyan, Locarno Film Festival, My Armenian Phantoms, Academy Awards Armenia, Meridiana jury, Armenian film 2026
