Roger Kupelian: after Genocide, the story of Vartan Mamikonian is one
of most widely known
30.01.2010 12:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 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.