FILM
Ararat - Fourteen Views
Don Askarian
Germany / Holland/ Armenia, 2006
MiniDV PAL (Vídeo). 74min. Black and white / Color. VOSC20:00h
Audiorio CCCB16:00hProduction: Don Askarian, [email protected]
Photography: Sargis Kharazyan, Nune Hovhannisyan, Don Askarian
Editor: Don Askarian
Screenplay: Don Askarian
Actors: Mikael Vatinyan, Artak Poghosyan, Sergey Tovmasyan, Karen Mirighanyan, Suzzan Avetisyan, Don Askarian, Ohan Askaryan, Nune Hohannisyan, Ruben Sedrakyan, Aghasy Khachatryan, Vartan Martoyan, Gagik Rostomyan, Lilit Aramyan, Nara Manukyan, Varvara HovhannisySinopsis:
In a series of controlled improvisations, this film focuses on the holy Armenian mountain Ararat - out of reach in Turkey. Don Askarian looks at his mountain as a poet, dancer, painter and filmmaker.
Ararat is a holy mountain for Armenians. According to Biblical tradition, Noah saw the first land here again after the Great Flood. So it's awkward for Christian Armenians that the mountain is just over the border in Islamic Turkey. They can only look at it. Which is what Don Askarian does with great dedication (he worked for at least five years on the film) using all his visual inventiveness, as he studies the mountain from every conceivable angle.
Bio:
Don Askarian (Armenia, 1949) studied history and art in Moscow and later worked as an assistant director and film critic. Between 1975 and 1977 Askarian was imprisoned and on his release emigrated to West Berlin, where he began to create his meditations on Armenia from his home in exile, beginning with an adaptation of Chekhov's The Bear (1984). Since then, he has directed a range of works, including documentaries, biographical essays and fiction features, that have been acclaimed at festival screenings worldwide.
Askarian will be in l'Alternativa to introduce the Spanish premiere of his film.
