Under Order No. 32-N, signed by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan on 1 July 2026, Armenia has introduced new rules governing the organisation and conduct of state film funding competitions.
The order was officially published on 7 July and will enter into force on 17 July 2026.
The document was adopted pursuant to Article 8(1)(10) of Armenia’s Law on Cinematography. The provision authorises the competent government body to approve the rules for organising and conducting competitions through which state funding is allocated to the film sector.
Article 24 of the law provides that state film funding is awarded on the basis of competitions conducted under a procedure established by the Government. At least two competitions must be held each year, according to a timetable set by the national film body.
Transitional arrangements following the adoption of the law
Armenia’s Law on Cinematography was adopted on 30 June 2021 and entered into force on 26 July 2021.
Its transitional provisions stated that Articles 10–23 would apply once the relevant government decisions and other implementing regulations had entered into force. Until those acts were adopted, the legal, organisational and financial relations governing cinematographic activity were to remain subject to the rules in force before the law took effect.
The implementing regulations envisaged by the law were to be adopted within one year of its entry into force.
Before the new ministerial order was adopted, film funding competitions were conducted under regulations approved by the national film body itself.
A set of rules governing film project competitions and financing had been approved on 29 April 2024 and was applied by the National Cinema Center of Armenia.
Establishment of the Cinema Foundation of Armenia
Under Government Decision No. 618-A of 2 May 2024, the National Cinema Center of Armenia, a state non-commercial organisation, was reorganised into the Cinema Foundation of Armenia.
Davit Banuchyan was appointed acting director of the newly established Foundation. The Foundation became the legal successor to the National Cinema Center and assumed its rights and obligations in accordance with the transfer act.
The organisation’s official English name is Cinema Foundation of Armenia, abbreviated as CFA.
The 2024 working group
On 13 June 2024, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports issued Order No. 10802-A/2 establishing a working group to draft regulations for the organisation and conduct of state film funding competitions.
The group included representatives of government institutions and film industry organisations. Its first meeting was scheduled to take place at the premises of the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia.
On 17 February 2025, a draft ministerial order was published for public consultation on Armenia’s unified legal draft platform. The consultation remained open until 4 March 2025.
The accompanying justification stated that the regulations were required to implement the Law on Cinematography and to regulate mechanisms supporting the production of national films.
Foundation Order No. 57-L
On 18 April 2025, Cinema Foundation of Armenia director Davit Banuchyan signed Order No. 57-L approving regulations and related annexes governing state funding competitions for national film projects.
The order approved the competition rules, the list of required documents and the levels of state funding available to selected projects.
It also repealed the film project competition and financing regulations approved on 29 April 2024. Order No. 57-L entered into force upon signing.
The Cinema Foundation of Armenia used these rules to organise state funding competitions for national film projects pending the adoption of ministerial regulations.
A new professional working group
Following the adoption of Order No. 57-L, the Cinema Foundation of Armenia established a new professional working group to discuss legal regulation and procedural reforms in the film sector.
The group was created under Order No. 115-L, signed by Foundation director Davit Banuchyan on 24 July 2025. Its first meeting took place on 28 July.
The Foundation was represented by Davit Banuchyan, director of the Foundation; Armen Khachatryan, adviser to the director; Dionis Margaryan, the Foundation’s legal counsel; Artak Poghosyan, head of the finance and economic department; and Ani Sahakyan, head of the applications review department.
The group also included Artyom Baghdasaryan, president of the Armenian Guild of Film Directors and Producers; Armine Anda, president of the Armenian Animation Guild; Tigran Arakelyan, president of the Armenian Animation Association; and filmmakers and producers Raffi Movsisyan, Zara Jian, Karine Simonyan, Hovhannes Galstyan and Tamara Stepanyan.
The group discussed proposed amendments to the Law on Cinematography, procedural issues affecting the sector and reforms to its governance system.
The regulatory process culminated in the adoption of Ministerial Order No. 32-N on 1 July 2026. Once it enters into force, the order will provide the regulatory basis for future state film funding competitions in Armenia.
