Golden Apricot international film festival
Yerkir
July 15, 2005
One of the most significant cultural events of the year, the second
international film festival Golden Apricot, is currently underway
in Yerevan. It is impossible to watch all the films presented at the
festival, to attend all festival events and press conferences. However,
we will try to present the most important and interesting events of
the festival to our readers.
Today our guest is Susan Khardalian, a film director from Sweden. She
is presenting a film on the Armenian Genocide titled “I Hate
Dogs”. Khardalian was born in Beirut. She studied at the local school
there and later graduated from an American university. She has worked
as a film director since 1988 and has directed 30 films.
S.K.: My background is in journalism. I have worked for some newspapers
in Lebanon, I have worked for a radio station. And journalism
brought me to the world of cinema and documentary films. Why? Because
journalism was very important for me in getting to know the world. But
the organizations where I worked limited me. And in this way I entered
cinematography. I have directed 30 films and all of them have social
implications, political aspects and social concerns connected with
conflicts.
Q: Do you mean ethnic conflicts and wars?
A: Different aspects of wars, the social problems connected with wars,
post-war problems, the situation and suffering of women in wars. And
especially, the problems of small nations. We have made several films
about the Palestinians, the Kurds, of course about the Armenians, about
issues of racism in Europe. These films all go beyond journalism; they
not only present information but contain subjective interpretations
of the author. What is important for us is not the details of a
phenomenon or an event. What we are interested in is the roots, the
social causes and if possible alternative solutions for such phenomena.
Q: You came to Yerevan to present your film titled “I Hate Dogs” at the
Golden Apricot Festival. Tell us about this film.
A: This is a short film. We came up with the idea of the film and made
it in the last six months. It is about an Armenian man who survived the
Genocide. Even though the Genocide is the man topic of the film, the
most important thing in it is the ability of Armenians to survive. And
it is also a love story. The man is 99 years old but he got married
at the age of 95. This enthusiasm for life is both very natural and
extraordinary for a person who has survived the Genocide. The film
lasts 28 minutes.
Q: So your hero is a real person? Are your films documentary?
A: This person has been in charge of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation Party in France. He is a real person with a vivid mind and
great interest towards life and the world, Armenia and the Armenian
nation. He is well aware of the developments in Karabagh, the relations
between Armenia and Turkey, the process of Genocide recognition. He
reads newspapers and watches TV. He has already made up a list of
people whom he wants to invite to his 100th birthday anniversary.
Q: Please tell us about you team with whom you make your films. You
live in Sweden, does this mean that the films you make are presented
at various festivals by this country?
A: Our team is a small and independent one. 5 people work on each of
our projects. There are two directors, me and Pio Holmkwist, we are
co-authors. We have our team and our editor. It is an international
team that includes people from different countries and of different
nationalities. Our center is in Stockholm. We get our financing from
Swedish organizations.
Q: Do they order films from you?
A: No, we sell our projects.
Q: Does this mean that you get the funding before you make the film?
A: Yes, and this is what gives us independence. We sell our ideas and
our projects. People often ask me whether it was the Swedish government
that ordered the film “Return to Ararat”. I answer that it was not. The
Swedish government does not have a right to express their position on
the Genocide. After the film was launched the Turkish diplomats tried
to exert pressure on the Swedish authorities but the latter answered
that just as they do not have a right to order a film, they do not
have the right to ban it or to intervene in any other ways because we
are an independent organization. It’s interesting that the last film,
“I hate the dogs”, raised more resistance in Azerbaijan than in Turkey.
Q: What will be the topic of your next film?
A: It will be on the problems of globalization. The film will be titled
“Bullshit” and the title expresses our attitude towards the cataclysms
accompanying globalization.
Q: Let’s get back to the Golden Apricot. You did not participate in
the first festival, did you?
A: No, I didn’t participate in it.
Q: What is your impression of the festival?
A: Of course, it is a very important event first of all because it
opens up the Armenian issues and the Armenian reality for the world
and secondly, because it opens Armenia in the face of the developments
of the world cinema. The festival will no doubt have its influence
on the development of the Armenian cinema, and not only cinema.