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PRESS RELEASE:
PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
22 Concord Lane Cambridge MA 02138
Tel: 617-871-6764
Fax: 617-491-1011
Contact: Jane Minasian: 781-643-5638
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
http://www.armeniandrama.or g/
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
ADAA'S SECOND ANNUAL ARMENIAN FILM FESTIVAL AT THE MFA ATTRACTS OVER
1200 ATTENDEES
BOSTON, MA: The Second Annual Boston Armenian Film Festival was held
at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts during the weekend of May 1st - 3rd,
2009. Film enthusiasts from the greater Boston area filled Remis
Auditorium each night to view critically acclaimed programs and award
winning Armenian films.
As was the case during the previous year, the Armenian Film Festival
was the result of a collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston and the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA). Bianca
Bagatourian, President of ADAA, noted that, "with this new initiative,
Armenian films will now have their own series amidst those of other
ethnic films showcased at the Boston MFA, including the Jewish,
African, Palestinian, Iranian and Turkish film festivals. We are glad
that our establishment of this annual program so perfectly advances
our mission of projecting the Armenian voice on the world stage
through the performing arts of film and theatre."
This year's festival was sponsored by Techfusion.com. Techfusion
owner, Alfred Demirjian, remarked, "we are happy that in our second
film festival at the MFA, the Armenian community was able to build
upon last year's success by increases in attendance, combined with
additional financial support by individual members of the community.
This will provide us with a firm base on which to schedule next year's
third annual Armenian Film Festival in May of 2010."
Carter Long, Director of the MFA's film program, expressed his support
of Armenian film and given the level of attendance and quality of
films at this year's festival, added that he is looking forward to
welcoming the festival back next year for the third annual event.
The opening night reception at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts
was attended by over 150 people, including two Armenian filmmakers
from France, Levon Minasian and Varante Soudjian and Hrach Titizian
from California. Bagatourian said, "ADAA is proud to present this
Armenian Film Festival because we understand the opportunity that film
provides for Armenians to project their culture and to tell their
unique stories." Most films were followed by question and answer
periods which helped further understand the goals and themes of each
individual film.
"The Blue Hour" opened the festival on Friday night. The ensemble
drama by Eric Nazarian is set on the Los Angeles River and weaves the
stories of loss and hope of several strangers in Los Angeles. The film
is ultimately about families who do not communicate, the only thing
bringing them together being the Los Angeles River.
The early evening audience on Saturday enjoyed a screening of "We
Drank the Same Water" by Serge Avedikian, depicting a visit he made to
the town his grandfather lived in and the haunting memories of the
visit. This was preceded by a screening of two ten minute film poems
by Serge Avedikian and Levon Minasian about the 1988 earthquake that
destroyed the town of Leninakan.
On Saturday night, audiences enthusiastically received the screening
of a charming film by Anna Melikian, "The Mermaid" (in Russian with
English subtitles), about a young girl who takes a vow of silence to
protest her mother's refusal to enroll her in ballet class but ends up
in a special needs school when her silence is mistaken for an
intellectual disability. "The Mermaid" was a first prize winner at
the Sundance Film Festival and was also Russia's entry to the Academy
Awards this year. It was preceded by "Ligne de Vie", an animated
short about the Holocaust by Serge Avedikian.
On Sunday afternoon, audiences enjoyed the quirky dramatic comedy
"Float" by Hrach Titizian, which centers on the owner of an ice cream
parlor who separated from his wife and moved in with his bachelor
employees. It stars Hrach Titizian, Anais Thomassian and Ken Davitian.
Music videos by "System of a Down Music Videos" produced by various
Armenian filmmakers preceded this film.
Sunday night closed out the festival with "Autumn" (Sonbahar) by Oscar
Alper, which tells the story of the struggles of a man released from
prison after 10 years - a powerfully realized inner journey which
includes several languages including that of the Hemshin dialect. "The
Second Wind" (The Pickpocket), a short film about the meeting of a
young girl and a pickpocket, by a new filmmaker from France, Varante
Soudjian screened before "Autumn".
ADAA Board member Bethel Charkoudian commented that "by establishing
our film festival as an annual event it is something both Armenian and
our non-Armenian film lovers alike can look forward to attending on an
annual basis. While many of the films depict matters of a serious
nature, the presence of the filmmakers themselves, the informal Q&A
sessions, and the unique setting that the MFA provides make for a fun,
upbeat atmosphere throughout the festival weekend".
ADAA Board member and President of HarborSide Films, Paul Boghosian,
said, "I myself have experienced directly the benefits of showcasing
films at the MFA, such as gaining the necessary exposure and
credibility for those films to secure distribution, and am enormously
pleased that the young filmmakers whose films were presented will
receive over time, the same benefits."
ADAA Board Member Alfred Demirjian, Arpi Cenkar, Elaine Mosesian, ADAA
Board Member Hapet Berberian
Visiting Filmmakers Hrach Titizian, Levon Minasian, Varant Soudjian
Michelle Kolligian, ADAA President Bianca Bagatourian, Filmmaker
Damien Arakelyan,ADAA Board Member Joan Quinn
PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
22 Concord Lane Cambridge MA 02138
Tel: 617-871-6764
Fax: 617-491-1011
Contact: Jane Minasian: 781-643-5638
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
http://www.armeniandrama.or g/
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance
ADAA'S SECOND ANNUAL ARMENIAN FILM FESTIVAL AT THE MFA ATTRACTS OVER
1200 ATTENDEES
BOSTON, MA: The Second Annual Boston Armenian Film Festival was held
at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts during the weekend of May 1st - 3rd,
2009. Film enthusiasts from the greater Boston area filled Remis
Auditorium each night to view critically acclaimed programs and award
winning Armenian films.
As was the case during the previous year, the Armenian Film Festival
was the result of a collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston and the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA). Bianca
Bagatourian, President of ADAA, noted that, "with this new initiative,
Armenian films will now have their own series amidst those of other
ethnic films showcased at the Boston MFA, including the Jewish,
African, Palestinian, Iranian and Turkish film festivals. We are glad
that our establishment of this annual program so perfectly advances
our mission of projecting the Armenian voice on the world stage
through the performing arts of film and theatre."
This year's festival was sponsored by Techfusion.com. Techfusion
owner, Alfred Demirjian, remarked, "we are happy that in our second
film festival at the MFA, the Armenian community was able to build
upon last year's success by increases in attendance, combined with
additional financial support by individual members of the community.
This will provide us with a firm base on which to schedule next year's
third annual Armenian Film Festival in May of 2010."
Carter Long, Director of the MFA's film program, expressed his support
of Armenian film and given the level of attendance and quality of
films at this year's festival, added that he is looking forward to
welcoming the festival back next year for the third annual event.
The opening night reception at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts
was attended by over 150 people, including two Armenian filmmakers
from France, Levon Minasian and Varante Soudjian and Hrach Titizian
from California. Bagatourian said, "ADAA is proud to present this
Armenian Film Festival because we understand the opportunity that film
provides for Armenians to project their culture and to tell their
unique stories." Most films were followed by question and answer
periods which helped further understand the goals and themes of each
individual film.
"The Blue Hour" opened the festival on Friday night. The ensemble
drama by Eric Nazarian is set on the Los Angeles River and weaves the
stories of loss and hope of several strangers in Los Angeles. The film
is ultimately about families who do not communicate, the only thing
bringing them together being the Los Angeles River.
The early evening audience on Saturday enjoyed a screening of "We
Drank the Same Water" by Serge Avedikian, depicting a visit he made to
the town his grandfather lived in and the haunting memories of the
visit. This was preceded by a screening of two ten minute film poems
by Serge Avedikian and Levon Minasian about the 1988 earthquake that
destroyed the town of Leninakan.
On Saturday night, audiences enthusiastically received the screening
of a charming film by Anna Melikian, "The Mermaid" (in Russian with
English subtitles), about a young girl who takes a vow of silence to
protest her mother's refusal to enroll her in ballet class but ends up
in a special needs school when her silence is mistaken for an
intellectual disability. "The Mermaid" was a first prize winner at
the Sundance Film Festival and was also Russia's entry to the Academy
Awards this year. It was preceded by "Ligne de Vie", an animated
short about the Holocaust by Serge Avedikian.
On Sunday afternoon, audiences enjoyed the quirky dramatic comedy
"Float" by Hrach Titizian, which centers on the owner of an ice cream
parlor who separated from his wife and moved in with his bachelor
employees. It stars Hrach Titizian, Anais Thomassian and Ken Davitian.
Music videos by "System of a Down Music Videos" produced by various
Armenian filmmakers preceded this film.
Sunday night closed out the festival with "Autumn" (Sonbahar) by Oscar
Alper, which tells the story of the struggles of a man released from
prison after 10 years - a powerfully realized inner journey which
includes several languages including that of the Hemshin dialect. "The
Second Wind" (The Pickpocket), a short film about the meeting of a
young girl and a pickpocket, by a new filmmaker from France, Varante
Soudjian screened before "Autumn".
ADAA Board member Bethel Charkoudian commented that "by establishing
our film festival as an annual event it is something both Armenian and
our non-Armenian film lovers alike can look forward to attending on an
annual basis. While many of the films depict matters of a serious
nature, the presence of the filmmakers themselves, the informal Q&A
sessions, and the unique setting that the MFA provides make for a fun,
upbeat atmosphere throughout the festival weekend".
ADAA Board member and President of HarborSide Films, Paul Boghosian,
said, "I myself have experienced directly the benefits of showcasing
films at the MFA, such as gaining the necessary exposure and
credibility for those films to secure distribution, and am enormously
pleased that the young filmmakers whose films were presented will
receive over time, the same benefits."
ADAA Board Member Alfred Demirjian, Arpi Cenkar, Elaine Mosesian, ADAA
Board Member Hapet Berberian
Visiting Filmmakers Hrach Titizian, Levon Minasian, Varant Soudjian
Michelle Kolligian, ADAA President Bianca Bagatourian, Filmmaker
Damien Arakelyan,ADAA Board Member Joan Quinn