Filmmaker: documentary is a strong weapon

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian filmmaker and public activist Tigran Khzmalyan said that the Armenian cinema was born as silent screen and now it dies silently.

Cinema is a strong weapon, that’s why the Armenian authorities are not interested in creation of films in the country, Khzmalyan told journalists in Yerevan.

According to him, this very fact is behind the sale of Armenfilm and closure of Yerevan film studio. Khzmalyan was the director of Yerevan film studio.

Khzmalyan said that all three presidents of Armenia dealt with creation of culture ideology.

“The first president considered patriotic ideology to be false. In the opinion of the second president, Armenia does not need Parajanovs and Fellinis. And now such films are featured, which make the Armenian youth to hebetate,” said Khzmalyan.

He added that documentary is a strong weapon, as it is rules out lies. That’s why documentaries are not featured in Armenia. Even those films, which won Golden Apricot international film festival are not aired by Armenian TV channels today, said Khzmalyan.

In 1992-1994, well-known filmmaker Khzmalyan was TV and Vesti program reporter in Nagorno Karabakh. From 1994 to 1996, he worked as a political analyst of the Armenian Assembly of America. In 1996-1997, he was Deputy Director of the Public Information Department at the UN mission in Armenia. From 1997 to 2005, he was the director of Yerevan film studio.

Currently Khzmalyan is an independent filmmaker, script writer and producer. He is the author of five feature films and 12 documentaries. He also deals with public activity and currently is a member of Sardarapat movement.