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    Zhanna Nahapetian
  • 12 months ago
    • Categories: 2023

Film: Armenian War Documentary ‘1489’ Wins Best Film Prize at IDFA

Bollyinside
Nov 17 2023
Edited byEliza Whitfield

Armenian war documentary 1489, directed by Shoghakat Vardanyan, has won the top prize for best film at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), along with a 15,000 euro cash bursary.

  • Vardanyan’s film documents her family’s search for her brother, who went missing during a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
  • Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly also received the award for best director for his film essay “Life Is Beautiful,” which contrasts his life in Norway with the struggles of his family in Gaza.
  • The festival has been the subject of controversy due to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, with protests and filmmakers pulling their films from the festival in protest.
  • Other winners at the festival include the Brazilian documentary “Canuto’s Transformation” and the film “Silence of Reason,” which examines mass rapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    • In a stirring victory, the Armenian war documentary “1489” clinched the top prize for best film at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), bringing home a 15,000 euro cash bursary. The film, directed by Shoghakat Vardanyan, follows her family’s quest to find her brother, who went missing during a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

    The festival has been marred by controversy surrounding the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, with protests disrupting the opening night ceremonies and filmmakers withdrawing their films in protest. Both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian voices have criticized the festival organizers for their statements regarding the war.

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    Other winners at the festival include the Brazilian documentary “Canuto’s Transformation,” which delves into a mythical story from an indigenous Mbyá-Guaraní community, and “Silence of Reason,” a film that examines the mass rapes of women and girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Serbian fighters.

    Zhanna Nahapetian: