THE HORSE

Inspired by the poem The Horse by Armen-Arkhe Khechumyan painter Alik Assatrian creates a series of canvases dedicated to the 2020 War in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Director: Ashot Mkrtchyan

MOTHERLAND

What if fighting for your country meant going against some of its most traditional values? Motherland is a documentary about the women who shake tradition to rid their country of landmines leftover from a devastating ethnic war. Individually outcast; together, a collective - the deminers support each other as they take on the dangerous role of breaking stereotypes and securing the future of their war-torn republic.

Directors: Emily Mkrtichian, Jesse Soursourian

INVISIBLE REPUBLIC

When war besieges the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, local reporter Lika takes cover in a bunker and begins to write a diary. Little does she know that her words will become the definitive chronicle of the brutal 44-day war.

Director: Garin Hovannisian

THE WAR DIARY

His grandfather’s war diary becomes the starting point of a journey for Hakob Melkonyan. Travelling across the former USSR, he follows the footsteps of the soldier who died in the Second World War.

Director: Hakob Melkonyan

Aurora's Sunrise

The true story of how a fourteen-year-old girl escaped the slaughter of the Armenian genocide and embarked upon an odyssey that took her to the heights of Hollywood stardom.

Director and Script: Inna Sahakyan

A STORY OF PEOPLE IN WAR AND PEACE

Prompted by a question from his son, Hovhannisyan embarks on a journey to find his surviving trench mates from the first Kharabagh war of the early nineties and examines the lasting effects of the war during peacetime. The documentary wrestles with the question of how to maintain dignity in the face of terror.

Director: Vardan Hovhannisyan

NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF

January 2018. In the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh, 5 women are demining meter by meter the "Lachin Corridor", a former combat zone where thousands of mines have been planted. This film deals with the great thoroughness of their labor, the tension that results and the humanity at work to ward off fear.

Director: Silva Khnkanosian

STONES

A group of volunteers goes to the Armenian evacuation zone for medieval Christian cross-stones, the most valuable achievement of the Armenian Christian culture.

Director: Arman Ayvazyan

The Beauty and the Lawyer

Karabina, a gay travestie and artist, lives in Armenia with her partner Hasmik, a lawyer. Their lives intertwine between stage self-expression and reality - a family filled with love, yet marked by the hostility and struggle faced by the LGBTQ+ community in society.

Director: Hovhannes Ishkhanyan

ARTSAKH: ON THE EDGE OF ETERNITY

A unique journey to the origins, in general, to the origin of humanity, since Artsakh, as well as Armenia are considered the cradle of humanity. The film consists of four parts, which, in turn, are the four main elements of the universe: earth, water, air, fire. These four subsections make up the skeleton of the film, and love, as the main theme, passes through the whole film like a red thread. The film reveals the visible and hidden beauties of Artsakh – historical and cultural monuments, cozy corners, caves, high cliffs, castles and monasteries – like ancient manuscripts. Special attention is paid to spiritual complexes, monasteries, ancient khachkars /cross- stones/ and Christian symbolism.

Director: Vahe Yan

VILLAGE OF WOMEN

In a small village, women, children, and the elderly remain while men leave for nine months each year to work in Russia. Summer is slow and peaceful — women cut hay, preserve fruits, and prepare for winter. The heat brings a lazy, sensual calm. Autumn, painted in reds, is the season of harvest and birth. Intimacy in winter leads to many children born in October and November.
As winter nears, women prepare to welcome their husbands. The wait is long and emotional. Snow brings the men home. Reunions are shy at first; children rejoice. But spring brings departure again. The village grows tense. The men leave, and the women, though weary, find strength to care for their families.

Director: Tamara Stepanyan

TONRATUN

In an Armenian village with a patriarchal tradition, five women who are daughters, mothers and grandmothers debate together about life and war while they prepare lavash, the Armenian traditional bread.

Director: Inna Mkhitaryan
Writer: Inna Mkhitaryan

My Sweet Land

This is a coming-of-age story that follows an 11-year-old boy named Vrej, growing up in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village with its roaming ducks and golden bees.

Director, Writer, and Cinematographer – Sareen Hairabedian

THE BLACK GARDEN

With cinematic brushstrokes and few words, a bleak story is told of three generations living in the shadow of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A brilliantly orchestrated study in how conflicts recreate themselves.

Director: Alexis Pazoumian

BON VOYAGE

Stepanakert's only airport has been operational for 8 years, employing over 50 people. Something is not quite right, however...airplanes and passengers are nowhere to be seen.

Director: Garegin Papoyan

5 DREAMERS AND A HORSE

The film follows four protagonists chasing their dreams, revealing three contrasting faces of Armenia: a hospital lift operator dreaming of space travel, a farmer seeking the ideal wife within a patriarchal rural structure, and young feminist and queer women striving for freedom and self-expression amidst a clash of values. The filmmakers observe with subtle humor and no judgment, capturing a country in transformation. The film ends with signs of looming conflict and a haunting image of a crowd gathering․ But what does the fifth dreamer seek?

Directors: Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan
Writer: Vahagn Khachatryan
Editing: Federico Delpero Behar

There Was, There Was Not

The first line of every Armenian fairy tale, There Was, There Was Not tells the collective myth of a homeland lost forever — and four women’s resistance to that loss.

Director and DOP: Emily Mkrtichian

SWEEPING YEREVAN

"Sweeping Yerevan" is the warm portrait of Marina, a woman who travels 40 km every night to sweep the streets of Armenia's capital, Yerevan, while dodging cars and putting her life at risk, in order to provide for her blind husband, live-in mother-in-law, unemployed son, and two young children.

Director: Nairi Hakhverdi

SHUSHI, Amen

The film shows everyday life in Shushi, the culture, the story of the telefund and how the city was sieged.

Director: Mariam Egoyan

FAR FROM MICHIGAN

Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in a multi-secular conflict. A war breaks out again. In Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, men are at the front, while women hide in the cellars. Director Silva Khnkanosian sets out to find them. After 44 days of battles, the radio announces the capitulation of Armenia. We must leave.

Director, Camera: Silva Khnkanosian
Editing: Justin Hiriar

1489

When soldiers are killed, they often end up as anonymous numbers in news reports. But behind every number there is a person who leaves behind heartbroken family members.

Director, Camera and Producer: Shoghakat Vardanyan