Discovery of Armenian Cinema: A Rich Collection of Documentary Photographs and Film Posters
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Macam) at the Chedly Klibi Culture City is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Armenian cinema, titled "Printing Memory," as part of the 36th edition of the Carthage Film Festival (JCC). The exhibition, imagined by visual artist and multidisciplinary creator Amen Okja, was inaugurated in the presence of Mohamed Tarek Ben Chaabane, director of the 36th edition of the JCC and president of the organizing committee, Armenian filmmaker Inna Mkhitaryan, and several festival guests.
A Brief History of Armenian Cinema
Cinema appeared in Armenia in 1923, under the impetus of Soviet power, with the creation of the first studios of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in Yerevan. Production was then limited to a few films per year, primarily serving communist propaganda objectives. However, this period left behind documentaries of great historical interest, including a film about collectivization among the Yezidis, shot in 1932. Daniel Dzuni and Amo Bek-Nazarov contributed to the emergence of innovative films, exploring various genres that are still popular today.
The Emergence of Armenian Cinema
A major figure emerged in the 1920s and 1930s: Hamo Bek-Nazarian (1891-1965). During a period of intense ideological struggle, Armenian cinema paradoxically enjoyed a certain formal freedom. Bek-Nazarian drew on the satirical vein of Istanbul's playwrights Baronian and Odian, developing a powerful comedic work that targeted patrons and nationalist militants. He adapted the texts of "progressive" authors such as Toumanian or Spandarian to the screen and even, it is said, caught the attention of Stalin with "Pepo," a biting satire of the Tbilisi bourgeoisie.
The Golden Age of Armenian Cinema
It was not until the 1960s, with the thaw, that Armenian cinema regained genuine artistic ambitions, driven by filmmakers with diverse sensitivities and contrasting relationships with power. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a brutal drying up of film production: for over a decade, no films were made. It was not until the mid-2000s that a new wave of independent films emerged.
The "Printing Memory" Exhibition
The "Printing Memory" exhibition offers a rich collection of documentary photographs and Armenian film posters, covering a period from the 1930s to the present day. Mostly restored, these posters are accompanied by a video projection dedicated to one of the most emblematic Armenian filmmakers: Sergei Parajanov. The public can discover images from his medieval masterpiece "Sayat Nova" (1969), also known as "The Color of Pomegranates," which invents a unique visual topology made of static and symbolic images, radically breaking with socialist realism in favor of pure poetry.
Sergei Parajanov: A Legendary Filmmaker
Born in 1924 in Tbilisi to Armenian parents, trained at the prestigious Russian film school VGIK, and long employed at the Dovzhenko studio in Kiev, Sergei Parajanov remains the great surrealist filmmaker of the Soviet Union. A total artist, he explored writing, directing, choreography, drawing, and, when he could not film, turned to Dadaist collages and assemblages in the manner of Joseph Cornell. However, it is his cinema-poetry, made of meticulously composed animated tables and fragmented narration, almost "staccato," that has durably marked the history of cinema.
The Evolution of Armenian Cinema
Through the exhibited posters, the Macam offers a dense and accessible panorama of the evolution of Armenian cinema. From Amo Bek-Nazarov, considered the father of Armenian cinema, to the major figures of the poetic golden age of the 1960s to 1990s, the exhibition highlights a cinematography oscillating between social satire, struggle against patriarchy, and affirmation of Soviet Armenian identity. Artavazd Pelechian, master of "distant montage," profoundly renewed documentary cinema with a symphonic approach to reality, influencing many contemporary filmmakers.
The Future of Armenian Cinema
Today, Armenian cinema is trying to reinvent itself in the face of economic challenges and the emergence of new formats, favoring intimate and universal stories that address human rights, resilience, and contemporary geopolitical issues. The Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan remains the main hub for filmmakers from the region and the diaspora, while the National Cinema Center of Armenia plays a central role in restoring heritage and supporting new productions. The Armenia Focus offered by this edition of the JCC, through a selection of Armenian films, was also punctuated by a masterclass animated by director Tamara Stepanyan, dedicated to Armenian cinema and identity issues. "We were told that cinema was not for women. Yet, without difficulty but with pride, we, a collective of women, broke taboos and iron doors to move on to film production," she notes, offering the public a true cinematic journey to discover the identity of a country rich in history and heritage to be transmitted, where Soviet Armenian cinema dialogues with that born after independence.
