The Centennial of Armenian filmmaking was celebrated in Geneva

17 June, 2023

On June 17, the centennial of the Armenian filmmaking was celebrated at a gala event in Les Cinémas du Grütli in Geneva. The event was attended by over two hundred guests.

The festivities were organized through the joint efforts of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Embassy of Armenia in Switzerland, and 18th Geneva International Oriental Film Festival. The latter is one of the largest annual cultural events in Switzerland.

In the framework of the festival the Armenian Day was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian cinema. Two modern Armenian movies – “Americatsi” and “Gates to Heaven” were screened. Both of them have previously been demonstrated at a number of international festivals and have received awards.

The first one is a movie by an Armenian-American director Mr. Michael Goorjian, which tells a story of the Genocide survivor named Charlie (played in the film by M. Goorjian himself), who in 1940-s repatriated from the United States of America to Soviet Armenia. The second movie is directed by the native of Artsakh Mr. Jivan Avetisyan, that features a romantic story of a famous German photo journalist and an opera singer from Artsakh, which unfolds against the backdrop of the Four-Day War of 2016.

Opening remarks were delivered by the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Swiss Confederation H.E. Mr. Andranik Hovhanisyan, Director of the Federal Office of Culture of Switzerland Mrs. Carine Bachmann, Head of the Geneva Municipal Department of Culture and Digital Transition Mr. Sami Kanaan, President of Geneva 18th International Oriental Film Festival Ms. Romani Jean and the member of the Council of the Festival Mr. Hayk Hovhannisyan. They spoke about rich traditions of the Armenian cinematography, presented the history of the Armenian movie making, paid tribute to the prominent figures of the Armenian cinema and noted the impact which the history of the Armenian people had on the development of the Armenian filmmaking. It was also noted that the centennial of the Armenian cinematography has been included in the UNESCO calendar of jubilees of prominent individuals and events for years 2022-2023.

In the framework of the Armenian Day, directors Micheal Goorjian and Jivan Avetisyan, who have arrived to Geneva to participate to the event, spoke about their films. They presented to the audience the main messages of their films, dwelled upon the artistic values of the movies, told details related to the film shooting process and spoke of the historical periods reflected in the movies. They also answered to the questions from the audience.

After the conclusion of the official part of the event, a reception was held on behalf of the Embassy of Armenia in Switzerland during which the guests were served the Armenian wine.

The deputies of Federal and Geneva canton Councils, Rector of the Geneva University, heads of other scientific and educational institutions, public and culture figures, artists, movie producers, members of the Armenian community were present at the event.

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