RETROSPECTIVE SHOW OF ARMENIAN FILMS IN GERMANY

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 19 2007

BERLIN, JUNE 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The first retrospective
show of Armenian films under the title ‘Nostalgia’ was held on
May 5-31, 2007 in Germany under the initiative of the ART COMBAT
Transnational (ACT) German organization, with the sponsorship of the
European Cultural Parliament, and with the assistance of the steering
committee of the Golden Apricot (Voske Tsiran) film festival.

Film directors Haroutiun Khachatrian, Vigen Chaldranian,
cinematographer Garegin Zakoyan and RA Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to Germany Karine Ghazinian represented Armenia at
the event. 20-30 Armenian films (most of them from state archives),
with the commentaries by a responsible person from the Armenian cinema
archives, cinematographer Garegin Zakoyan, presented the present and
the past of Armenian cinema.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Armenian National Cinema Center,
besides film shows, historic, political, scientific discussions,
and disputes dedicated to the subject of Genocide in cinema were
also held within the framework of the project. As film director and
cameraman Fred Clemen, Director of ART COMBAT Transnational, evaluated,
the project’s goal is to present a type of national cinema which has
given wonderful film directors and has a unique voice in world cinema.

The subjects of public discussions that followed the screening were:

The history of Armenian cinema and the traces of the Armenian
Genocide in it (with the participation of Haroutiun Khachatrian,
Garegin Zakoyan, and Vigen Chaldranian),

Germany’s participation in the Genocide (the participants were
professor Herman Goltz and Hilmar Kaiser),

Cinematographic art and deportation: the loss of homeland and Diasporan
cinematographic art (participants Atom Egoyan, Arsine Khanjian,
Karine Torosian, and Garegin Zakoyan).

The month of Armenian films, which was also accompanied by interesting
discussions, gave a unique resonance to the issue of presentation
of the subject of the Armenian Genocide in cinema and in particular,
Armenian cinema.