Armenian Film Festival will be held in New York, between June 28 and 30. Movies of Armenian directors, including Egoyan and Verneuil will be shown in Cantor Film Center .
The festival is organised under the support and sponsorship of Fordham
University, Communication & Media Studies; Graduate Center CUNY, Middle East
and Middle Eastern American Center; New York University, Middle Eastern Studies
and Columbia University, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Culture
General admission is $10 and for students and seniors $7. Passes
to the entire series are $30, $20 for students/seniors.
Passes are available in
Midtown: Kalustyan 123 Lexington Av. @ 28th St 202.685.3451
Queens: Sevan Foods 216-07 Horace Harding Expwy, Bayside 718.281.0004
NJ: Krichian Foods 388 Crooks Av. @ Vernon, Paterson 973.569.1033
Brooklyn: Rashid Sales 155 Court @ Atlantic Av. 718-852-3295
The Cantor Film Center is located at 36 E. 8th Street, at University Place (212
375 8116). Subway: N, R to 8th ST-NYU; 6 to Astor Place.
Find below the programme of the festival and information on movies.
Programme
Friday, June 28
18:00
Pinched Cheeks and Slurs in a Language that Avoids Her
Tina Bastajian, USA, 1994, 11 min, video
Movements
Rene Gabri, USA, 2002, 38 min, video
Jews in Armenia: The Hidden Diaspora
Vartan Akchyan, 25 min, Israel/Armenia/USA, 2002,
video
Q & A with filmmakers
20:00
Prison Art
Gennadi Melkonian, Armenia, 1997, 26
min, video
Charles Garry: Streetfighter in the Courtroom
Roxanne Makasdjian Bezjian, USA, 1992, 58 min,
video
Q & A with filmmaker
Saturday, June 29
2:00
Garod (The Yearning)
Frunze Dovlatian, Armenia, 1990, 137 min, 35mm
4:45
Next of Kin,
Atom Egoyan, Canada, 1984, 75 min, 16mm
Sentenced to Death,
Sonia Balassanian, Armenia, 2000, 10′, video
Q & A with filmmaker Sonia Balassanian
6:45
The Old Roman Road,
Don Askarian, Armenia, 2001, 76 min, 35mm
8:30
Two Thousand and None,
Arto Paragamian, Canada, 2000, 94′, 35mm
Sunday, June 30
2:00
Genatse,
Linda Ganjian, Armenia/USA, 2002, 10 min,
video
Embers of the Sun: Prehistoric Monuments of Armenia
Zareh Tjeknavorian, 2001, 13 min, video
I Will Not Be Sad in This World
Karina Epperlein, USA, 2001, 56 min, video
Q & A with filmmakers
4:00
Non-Stop,
Ashot Mkrtchyan, Armenia, 1998, 4 min, video
Merry Bus,
Albert Mkrtchyan, Armenia, 2001, 113 min,
35mm
6:30
Girl from Moush,
Garine Torossian, Canada, 1994, 5 min, 16mm
Hokees,
Garine Torossian, Canada, 2000, 22 min, 16mm
Jagadakeer… Between The Near And The East
Tina Bastajian, USA, 2001, 19 min, video
Mother, Here Have I Found a Homeland
Gayana Gashian, USA, 2001, 30 min, video
Q & A with filmmakers
8:30
Tribute to Henri Verneuil, (Achod Malakian),
Brief montage on the filmmaker’s life, 5 min,
video
Mayrig (Mother),
Henri Verneuil, France, 1991, 94 min, 35mm
Detailed Information on Films
Pinched Cheeks and Slurs in a Language that Avoids Her
Tina Bastajian, USA, 1994, 11 min, video
in English and Armenian with English subtitles
In this work, a young girl is drawn to a woman as the ambiguous background track
in Armenian questions the woman’s presence because of the color of her skin. The
mystery and wisdom of reading coffee grounds challenge racial slurs, and add an
ironic twist to the relationship between the girl and the woman, and the viewer.
Movements,
Rene Gabri, USA, 2002, 38 min, video
in Armenian with English subtitles
In 2001, the Iranian-born artist made his first journey through Armenia. A
collage of interviews, tracking shots, and still shots, the video traces the
movements through/of a country.
Jews in Armenia: The Hidden Diaspora
Vartan Akchyan, 25 min, Israel/Armenia/USA, 2002, video
in English, Hebrew, Russian and Armenian with English subtitles.
Here is presented the long history of Jews in Armenia, through the newly
discovered medieval Jewish cemetery in the Armenian highlands, to the story of a
tiny yet devoted group of Subbotniks today. Questions of identity and
nationality are raised as elsewhere in the Armenian diaspora.
Prison Art
Gennadi Melkonian, Armenia, 1997, 26 min, video
in Armenian with English subtitles
About art and creative work, born in the severe, inhuman conditions of prison,
this movie presents a layer of art that is blocked from the common view by the
high prison wall and barbed wires– a culture that has become taboo and is
officially banned, a culture that is isolated from and unknown to the society
outside.
Charles Garry: Streetfighter in the Courtroom
Roxanne Makasdjian Bezjian, USA, 1992, 58 min, video
In this biography, Charles Garry speaks eloquently about his background as an
Armenian immigrant in California, his commitment to equality before the law, and
his courtroom strategies. He gives intimate portraits of two of his clients,
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, and they, in turn, are interviewed about him, as
are William Kunstler, Jessica Mitford, and others.
Garod (The Yearning)
Frunze Dovlatian, Armenia, 1990, 137 min, 35mm
in Armenian and Russian with English subtitles
Arakel Aloyan is an Armenian who had seen his village burnt by the Turks and had
fled to the East and began a new life in Soviet Armenia. But he still dreams of
his home village in Turkey; that yearning makes him cross the Soviet border.
However, the Soviet government considers it "spying against the
nation."
Sentenced to Death
Sonia Balassanian, Armenia, 2000, 10 min, video
in Armenian
Grief over a son lost to war. Not once are the adversary or the carnage
mentioned; rather, the mother speaks of simple things. She is given a gift of
fresh spring greens by her grandchild. She talks. His death was sudden, its
manner unspeakable.
Next of Kin
Atom Egoyan, Canada, 1984, 75 min, 16mm
Egoyan’s first feature follows a bored young Canadian who, while receiving
experimental "video therapy", discovers tapes of an Armenian family
who are missing a son. The young man assumes the identity of the long-lost boy,
and is readily adopted by this new "family."
The Old Roman Road
Don Askarian, Armenia, 2001, 76 min, 35mm
in English and Armenian with English subtitles
Levon–a writer of Armenian extraction now living in Rotterdam–is caught
between memories of homeland and the realities of contemporary life. Poetic,
almost surrealist scenes of magic love and political cruelty are contrasted with
the reality of present-day Rotterdam, presented in the guise of a modern crime
story.
Two Thousand and None
Arto Paragamian, Canada, 2000, 94 min, 35mm
Benjamin Kasparian (John Turturro), a brilliant paleontologist, has just made a
groundbreaking discovery. But before he has a moment to bask in the glory, he
learns he has a rare medical condition that causes a bizarre and fatal swelling
of the brain.
Genatse
Linda Ganjian, Armenia/USA, 2002, 10 min, video
in Armenian with English subtitles
Genatse presents the Armenian toastmaking tradition as a unique oratorical art
form and a folk tradition. Its masters adeptly weave elements of politics,
history, storytelling, joketelling, philosophy and poetry into eloquent,
heartfelt and individualistic expressions that create a powerful intimacy among
those seated around the table.
Embers of the Sun: Prehistoric Monuments of Armenia
Zareh Tjeknavorian, 2001, 13 min, video
This short evokes the haunting beauty and enduring power of Armenia’s
prehistoric monuments. Many sites are presented here for the first time;
hidden in remote areas of Armenia’s mountains, they are mysterious vestiges of
the Bronze Age cultures that flourished in the Armenian Highlands between 9 and
3 thousand years ago.
I Will Not Be Sad in This World
Karina Epperlein, USA, 2001, 56 min, video
This is the story of Zaroohe, a survivor of 1915, narrated as an Armenian fairy
tale, and the result is a lyrical piece, a poetic portrait of an ordinary woman
with an extraordinary spirit.
Non-Stop
Ashot Mkrtchyan, Armenia, 1998, 4 min, video
When politicians are not able to reach an agreement, "leaders" appear,
meetings are convened, and as a rule everything ends up in a bloodbath. In this
case it is Armenia. But with a little imagination, it becomes, Chechnia or
Bosnia, Prednestrovie or Albania, Abkhasia, Africa…
Merry Bus
Albert Mkrtchyan, Armenia, 2001, 113 min, 35mm
in Armenian with English subtitles
A child and a woman, who have suffered the loss of their families during 1988’s
disastrous earthquake in Armenia, find each other listening to the
"music" of the telephone wires. The child believes that he has found
the first column of his "new" family, and the woman indeed adopts him.
Nevertheless, the little boy is sure that the family should necessarily have a
father as well….
Girl from Moush
Garine Torossian, Canada, 1994, 5 min, 16mm
A poetic montage of the artist’s journey through her subconscious Armenia.
It is not one based in reality but one that appears, like the mythical city of
Shangri-La, when one’s eyes are closed. It is an homage to the Armenian
filmmaker Sergey Paradjanov.
Hokees
Garine Torossian, Canada, 2000, 22 min, 16mm
Anahid, a contemporary Armenian woman, pregnant with the child of her
Canadian-Turkish lover, is haunted by the past when her great-grandmother,
murdered along with her unborn child during 1915, returns to reclaim what
was lost.
Jagadakeer… Between The Near And The East
Tina Bastajian, USA, 2001, 19 min, video
in English, Turkish and Armenian with English subtitles
Jagadakeer means fate, destiny or literally what is written on one’s forehead.
Memory, nostalgia, displacement, absence and reconnection are explored using the
Genocide as a point of reference, and visual/ aural backdrop.
Mother, Here Have I Found a Homeland
Gayana Gashian, USA, 2001, 30 min, video
A journey into the past by six women who survived in 1915. The piece reveals the
inner strength of Armenian women and their gratitude to their new homeland,
America.
Tribute to Henri Verneuil, (Achod Malakian)
Brief montage on the filmmaker’s life, 5 min, video
Mayrig (Mother)
Henri Verneuil, France, 1991, 94 min, 35mm
in French with English subtitles
Story of an Armenian family (Omar Sharif, Claudia Cardinale) that arrives in
France in 1921 and endure the pain and privations of exile in a foreign land.
The son, Azad, eventually discovers his gift for cinema.
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