The idea to shoot a film about Vartan Mamikonian was born quite early on, film director Roger Kupelian said.

“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.