Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Photo: Natalie Agazarian
Anahid Valencia
Staff Writer
The Armenian Studies Program partnered with Cine-Culture, AGBU Arts, and the Armenian General Benevolent Union Greater Fresno Chapter to host “Armenians in Film” on Friday, February 21.“Armenians in Film” consisted of six short films by Armenian directors, including Ophelia Harutunyan and Katia Spivakova, who participated in a discussion after the screening.
The films were titled “All I Need,” “The Ticket,” “It Takes a Village,” “The Egg,” “Romeo,” and “Areg and Manushak.” They explored themes of perseverance, culture, the connection between the past and present, the value of female friendship and the importance of expression.
“I think that sometimes we think that people who are Armenian live a world away. We have so many similarities and parallels between our cultures that I really saw myself there and it was very relatable,” said audience member Leia Lozano.
“Armenians in Film” began with brief introductions given by Prof. Mary Husain, the director of CineCulture, and Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, the Berberian Coordinator of Armenian Studies.
The first short film of the six was “All I Need,” directed by Katia Spivakova. “All I Need” had twinges of eerie nostalgia, as it led viewers through the story of a modern woman, Tania, revisiting her childhood home in Shushi, Karabagh, while she was faced with her family’s history of survival during the Armenian Genocide.
Tania walks through her unkempt childhood home in a wave of remembrance as the focus shifts to the poignant scenes of her past. In one, her grandfather is hidden in a trunk as a Muslim woman sits upon it and is interrogated by Turkish officials, accusing her of being a liar.
To get them to leave, the woman reveals her hair from her hijab; a sacred part of a Muslim woman’s body, which non-related men traditionally are not to see.
“All I Need” is intense, whimsical, and emotional. The final scene is of Tania leaving the house and setting it in flames. Each flame and roar symbolizes an innate connection between Tania and her family history, as the Armenian Genocide is a tragedy that lives on in all Armenians.
“The inspiration of the film is really the true story that my mom told us, about our great-great- grandfather, who was from Artsakh. His friend, a Turkish woman, saved him during the Genocide,” Spivakova said in the discussion after the screening. “I wanted to make the connection between the spirit of this modern woman and [her history], [that it was] more of an energetic connection that I had in mind.”
“Romeo,” directed by Marina Arzumanova, is an example of the true, inevitable love for art that artists possess. Romeo Melikyan is an artist who lives near the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan and deeply dreads war, because it robs him of his desire to create.
Though Romeo finds himself creating pieces of art inspired by the ugly, industrial side of his surroundings, Romeo has an innate love for the natural joys in life.
“People are so cold, they need something,” Romeo said in the film. Toward the end of “Romeo,” he meets a child who has an interest in pursuing art, a scene that symbolizes the continuity of expression.
Arzumanova’s film gives the impression that art is personified into something that creates itself, and Romeo is the middle-man.
“The Ticket” is directed by Kevork Aslanyan and tells the story of a boy traveling by bus through an entire city using a single ticket.
The boy leaves home and his mother, to whom he brings back an item of clothing. Near the end of the film, he loses his ticket and gets off the bus quickly, only to find it in a bittersweet, comedic reveal shortly later. Once he returns home he presents the gift to his mother, who is grateful and touched by his kindness.
“The Ticket” is a film of familial love, dedication, and sacrifice. One of the most touching aspects of the film is the idea of a young boy exerting such great amounts of independence and navigating the unknown, all for the sake of making his mother happy.
Ophelia Harutunyan’s “It Takes a Village” places powerful emphasis on the importance of female friendship. The film takes place in an Armenian village where the husbands of the women are either away on business or simply not in the picture.
The main character, Mariam’s, birthday is approaching, and her anticipation of her husband’s return home and his phone call wishing her a happy birthday grows throughout the scenes. Once Mariam’s birthday comes, her friends and family shower her with affection and a sense of community.
Mariam and her daughter prepare for her husband’s phone call and answer it with shining eyes, only to discover that her husband cannot return home when they expected him to and that he did not even buy the plane ticket. Her disappointment was all-consuming, until she got a call notifying her that her friend, Anush, had gone into labor.
Anush’s husband is away too, and the thought of giving birth to their baby without him is painful for her. However, with a village of women surrounding her, the baby was born. “It Takes a Village” is a true enactment of the title itself.
“I was inspired to write a fictional story and so that’s how it kind of came to be,” said director Ophelia Harutunyan. “When I visited the villages, I saw a lot of resilient women and I was struck by how strong they were, yet they didn’t realize it and so I wanted to make a film to honor them and to really draw a portrait of Armenian women.”
“The Egg,” directed by Vahan Grigoryan, is a comedic tale of an aspiring actor who works as a children’s entertainer, dressed as a chicken. Throughout the film, the main character listens to a motivational recording and, humorously, continuously finds eggs around him that progressively get larger. The film ends with a scene of the main character’s eyes poking through a gargantuan egg.
Finally, Ruben Van Leer’s “Areg and Manushak” features musician Tigran Hamasyan and is a cinematic showing of the power of music. The title of the film is also the title of Hamasyan’s song that he performs overlooking the Armenian mountains, that draws in a crowd and resembles a place of worship.
Hamasyan was inspired by the spirituality of the mythical bird and thus created the song, “Areg and Manushak.” The film features a beautiful, soulful performance with the piano, where Hamasyan’s voice penetrates through the mountains and over the hills.
“Armenians in Film” took viewers through several different emotions, places, and time periods. The audience seemed to be inwardly touched by the various sentiments explored throughout the films, showcasing the connectedness that culture can bring to all.