4th Annual Armenian Film Festival A Hit

On the rainy evening of Friday, March 14, the Armenian Studies Program and Armenian Students Organization at California State University, Fresno, held the Fourth Annual Armenian Film Festival. With the showing of eight short films, the festival proved to be entertaining and educational.

The event featured the short films of rising Armenian writers, producers and directors. The Festival was held in the Alice Peters Auditorium of the University Business Center, on the campus of Fresno State. The festival attracted a standing-room-only audience from the Fresno community including students, couples and families.

The films screened, which ranged from 8 to 30 minutes in length, included: Post-Soviet Media in Armenia (2002) (U.S.), For Which it Stands (2002) (U.S.), Jagadakeer . . . Between the Near & East (2001) (U.S.), Armenia: The Country, the Culture (2001) (U.S.) by Vatche Arabian, The Lighthouse (2001) (U.S.), The Song of Stones (2002) (Armenia), Piano (2001) (Armenia) and Je M’Appelle (2001) (France) by Stephané Elmadjian. The Handjian Story (2002) (U. S.) by Denise Gentilini, Dark Forest in the Mountains (1999) (U. S.) by Roger Kupelian, and Cold Supper (2002) (Armenia) by Sirakan Aboyan were screened the next morning in Prof. Kouymjian’s film class.

With a diverse selection of topics, these films explored many different aspects of Armenian culture: charming fictitious stories, artistic works, and subjects that touched the heart.

“We picked the most interesting films and tried to make the program as full of variety as possible,” said Tatevik Ekezian, Vice-President of the Armenian Students Organization at Fresno State, who helped organize the festival, “We wanted to touch on a lot of different subjects,” she continued.

Of the eight films, two in particular seemed to be audience favorites. Piano, directed by Nika Shek, reveals the warmhearted story of a man whose neighbor children call Piano. The story setting takes place in Yerevan, Armenia.
“It was so natural, a real story,” said audience member Vatche Soghomonian. “Everything was superb within the film.”

The second film which received much praise was The Lighthouse, directed by Carissa D. Vanitzian. This 18 minute film was produced as a work of journalism to explore and uncover corruption within Armenia’s health care industry. The film featured Dr. Hrayr Hovaguimian, a kindhearted, humorous man, who was successful in using honest business practices to beat the system.

The directors of the screened films, who are from the U.S., Armenia and France, have impressive educational backgrounds focusing on cinema, and have also worked on an assortment of other projects. Writer and director Paul Chaderjian, presented and discussed his film Post-Soviet Media in Armenia. Chaderjian’s carefully crafted documentary reveals the controversy and difficulties within post-Soviet media within Armenia. He has worked on a number of projects and will graduate from Fresno State with a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications in May.

In its fourth year, the Armenian Film Festival strives to celebrate the diversity of all people everywhere and explore the value each individual brings to the University and Armenian community.

“We at the Armenian Studies Program feel it is important for people to see a different form of expression rather than just books or lectures. It is also important for people to see film, which is another significant medium of art,” said professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian.

With free admission for all, the film festival was sponsored by the Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program, and generously funded by the Diversity Awareness Program of the University Student Union.

With another successful year, the Festival was able to bring a sense of Armenian culture to the Fresno Armenian community, and relate to people on all different levels. We hope to see you all there next year.