Armenia regains activity in global cultural events

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Such events are important for preservation of national identity. They help the young generation know their culture,” chairman of the Armenian church and cultural community of Berlin Petros Tikichian said in his opening remarks.

Community member Sona Aiber-Chukaszyan gave a report on Komitas’ life.

“It was a great evening, filled with the energy and spirit of Komitas,” Father Eghishe told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The event was attended by art workers, historians, students and representatives of the Armenian community of Berlin.

* During the 8th session of Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic issues, parties reached an agreement the reconstruction of Surb Gevorg Church in Tbilisi, said commission Co-Chair Vardan Badalyan.

“An agreement containing a clause on church reconstruction will be signed today between relevant Ministries,” he told journalists Tuesday.

Touching upon the problem of Javakhk he said the issue wasn’t discussed at the meeting. He also noted the construction of Javakhk-Batumi highway will create infrastructure development potentials in the Armenian-populated region.

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The premiere of Sasna Tsrer full-length animated film took place in Moscow Cinema, Yerevan, on January 25.

“It’s an important event for the Armenian nation. Sasna Tsrer features Armenian colors, music and mentality. We finally have a screen version of an Armenian epos,” AFR Dashnaktsutyun member Artyusha Shahbazyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net

“This film is a work of professionals. And special credit should be given to scriptwriter and director Arman Manaryan,” he said.

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Tekeyan Cultural Center in Yerevan hosted the presentation of “Armenian Genocide” book today, January 27. The book was published in 10 languages, including Turkish.

“My first book, dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, was published in March 1965. For the past year, I worked at a number of problems related to Middle East, Arabian world, Artsakh, yet I always touched upon the issue of Genocide in some way or another,” the author of the book, RA National Academy member Nikolay Hovhannesyan said.

According to him, “Armenian Genocide” book differs from other monographs on the subject. While working at the book, I was guided by a principle “no whining”. I attempted to narrate the most tragic pages of our history and do it in a dignified manner. I believe I managed to avoid the most common shortcoming of our historiography,” he emphasized.

“My friend characterized this book as a strong message to Turkey,” the author noted.

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Shooting House, the first feature film in the history of Artsakh (NKR) has been shot. It’s a 20-minute film based on the history of writer, journalist and Karabakh war veteran Ashot Beglaryan. The film was shot under the support of NKR Defense Ministry and Public Television of Artsakh (financial sponsor: businessman Karen Baghdasarov). Starring in the film is participant of Karabakh war Martin Aloyan, actor of the Vahram Papazyan Drama Theatre.

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Arto Chakmakchyan’s exhibition opened in UNESCO headquarters in Paris on January 28. Renowned singer Charles Aznavour, RA Ambassador to France Vigen Chitechyan, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Francoise Riviere, cultural workers and representatives of the Armenian community of France attended the opening ceremony.

The exhibition was organized on the initiative of French Embassy in Armenia and RA delegation to UNESCO, under the auspices of Calouste Gulbenkian and AGBU Europe.

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Film director Roger Kupelian shared ideas about the film about Vartan Mamikonian.

“The idea to shoot a film about Vartan Mamikonian was born quite early on. I was taught the poems of Vartan when I was quite young. It was in New Zealand, during my work on the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, that I was able to meet some of the artisans that were able to help facilitate shooting the first few trailers. The name “East of Byzantium” was not the original name, as that was arrived on after consulting with producers here about having a project with wider appeal. Don't be surprised if it changes again. We've been through years of development and research on many levels and it's just a fact that it has allowed the project to really mature and hone down to the importance of its central story,” he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

“We've approached many smaller studios and agencies but until all the pieces are in place it is best to keep your powder dry. As you know Hollywood is going through a particularly tough time so getting such a high budget film greenlit takes time. We are in the process of attaching executive producers who will take this to the next level,” Kupelian said.

Asked why the Avarayr Battle was chosen to be the film plot, he said, “The short answer is: Filmmaker's discretion. And now for the long answer: Keep in mind that the further you step out of Armenia, the less the Diaspora usually knows about anything dealing with Armenian history or at least of the region. Many people are very familiar with this story more than many others, however. After the Genocide it is one of the most widely known.”

“This story is not about a 'battle' any more than Braveheart was about one particular battle. It's about characters, and these characters symbolize the spectrum of challenges the Diaspora and homeland are dealing with today. At the end of the day the decision was purely an emotional one: If you don't believe in your story and the importance of telling it, this very difficult path is not worth being on. You will face many challenges, many of them from within your own cultural circle. To outsiders it is an exciting story similar to Gladiator. To us it is fraught with political questions and inside squabbles. There has to be a distance at some point when deciding to tell a story for a wider audience,” Kupelian said.