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OSCARS BECOME EMBROILED IN DISPUTE BETWEEN ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN
By VAHE HARUTYUNYAN
Modesto Bee
Dec 6 2012
CA
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting Thursday, Dec. 06, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 06, 2012
YERAVAN, Armenia -- Armenia's entry for Best Foreign Film at the
Academy Awards was conceived as a story of how humanity triumphs over
prejudice. But since it also deals with Azerbaijan, it has become
yet another element in the toxic feud between the two nations.
The film, "If Only Everyone," tells the story of an Armenian man who
helps a half-Russian, half-Armenian woman go to her father's grave
and plant a tree there. The father died in the early-1990s conflict
over Nagorny Karabakh, which pitted Armenians against Azerbaijanis.
Since a ceasefire was signed in 1994, Karabakh has been controlled
by an Armenian administration. No peace deal has been signed, and
little progress has been made toward an agreement on a final status
for Karabakh. The Armenians - who call the disputed territory Artsakh
- are not prepared to cede control, while Azerbaijan demands the
restoration of sovereignty over Karabakh.
The film's protagonists have to cross over the front line from
Armenian-held to Azerbaijani-held territory. There they befriend a
local shepherd, an Azerbaijani, who asks them to plant a tree on his
son's grave when they return to the Armenian side.
"This story perhaps touches on the most sensitive issue for our nation
today - Artsakh. Why did people die, what was the war about, what
motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers; others are
still searching," a synopsis on the film's website says."But these
questions eclipse the real lives of real people, who we often think
about the least, unfortunately."
It is the fourth work that Armenia's film academy has submitted for
consideration for an Oscar, but the first to be officially nominated.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences accepts a single
submission from each country for the best foreign-language film prize,
and its members vote for a shortlist and then the winner. This year,
a record 71 films have been accepted as submissions, including entries
from Azerbaijan.
In Azerbaijan, writer Elchin Huseynbayli, has stepped forward to
insist that the idea for the film was stolen from his 2010 story
"Dazzled by the Sun." He described his story in an interview on
the website ann.az. "The story I wrote goes like this: an ailing
Azerbaijani doctor enters the occupied territories of Karabakh to
fulfill his grandfather's wishes by planting a tree in the yard of his
house. The hero wants to see his father's grave, but the territory
is controlled by the Armenians and they take him prisoner. However,
after long negotiations, they allow him to fulfill his wish.
"They used my story, but changed it to favor themselves. If you watch
the film you'd think we are occupying Armenian land, when in fact
it's our land that's occupied, and they are the occupiers. ... More
than half of the film coincides fully with my story."
Huseynbayli has asked Azerbaijan's copyright agency to contact the
academy and tell them the film is not an original work. It's not yet
known if they will comply with his request.
Michael Poghosyan, who wrote the screenplay for "If Only Everyone,"
insists the movie was conceived before Huseynbayli's story was
published.
"The story for the film was written in early 2010, and filming began
in spring 2010. Before we wrote the story, we met people who had lived
through the war. It was after our meetings and talks with these people
that the idea of the film was born," he said. "We could similarly
accuse the Azerbaijanis of stealing the story of our film 'Longing,'
where the main hero crossed a border to die in his homeland," he said.
Poghosyan said the film sought to encourage harmony and peace between
different peoples.
"There is nothing anti-Azerbaijani in the film. It preaches peace and
love, which is why it has won prizes ... We would not have been able
to win such awards if the film contained inhumanity or spread enmity
between nations."
ABOUT THE WRITER
Vahe Harutyunyan is a reporter in Armenia who writes for The Institute
for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains
journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the author at
the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London
WC1X 8LT, U.K.; Web site: www.iwpr.net. For information about IWPR's
funding, please go to http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?top-supporters.html.
http://www.modbee.com/2012/12/06/2484215/oscars-become-embroiled-in-dispute.html
By VAHE HARUTYUNYAN
Modesto Bee
Dec 6 2012
CA
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting Thursday, Dec. 06, 2012
Thursday, Dec. 06, 2012
YERAVAN, Armenia -- Armenia's entry for Best Foreign Film at the
Academy Awards was conceived as a story of how humanity triumphs over
prejudice. But since it also deals with Azerbaijan, it has become
yet another element in the toxic feud between the two nations.
The film, "If Only Everyone," tells the story of an Armenian man who
helps a half-Russian, half-Armenian woman go to her father's grave
and plant a tree there. The father died in the early-1990s conflict
over Nagorny Karabakh, which pitted Armenians against Azerbaijanis.
Since a ceasefire was signed in 1994, Karabakh has been controlled
by an Armenian administration. No peace deal has been signed, and
little progress has been made toward an agreement on a final status
for Karabakh. The Armenians - who call the disputed territory Artsakh
- are not prepared to cede control, while Azerbaijan demands the
restoration of sovereignty over Karabakh.
The film's protagonists have to cross over the front line from
Armenian-held to Azerbaijani-held territory. There they befriend a
local shepherd, an Azerbaijani, who asks them to plant a tree on his
son's grave when they return to the Armenian side.
"This story perhaps touches on the most sensitive issue for our nation
today - Artsakh. Why did people die, what was the war about, what
motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers; others are
still searching," a synopsis on the film's website says."But these
questions eclipse the real lives of real people, who we often think
about the least, unfortunately."
It is the fourth work that Armenia's film academy has submitted for
consideration for an Oscar, but the first to be officially nominated.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences accepts a single
submission from each country for the best foreign-language film prize,
and its members vote for a shortlist and then the winner. This year,
a record 71 films have been accepted as submissions, including entries
from Azerbaijan.
In Azerbaijan, writer Elchin Huseynbayli, has stepped forward to
insist that the idea for the film was stolen from his 2010 story
"Dazzled by the Sun." He described his story in an interview on
the website ann.az. "The story I wrote goes like this: an ailing
Azerbaijani doctor enters the occupied territories of Karabakh to
fulfill his grandfather's wishes by planting a tree in the yard of his
house. The hero wants to see his father's grave, but the territory
is controlled by the Armenians and they take him prisoner. However,
after long negotiations, they allow him to fulfill his wish.
"They used my story, but changed it to favor themselves. If you watch
the film you'd think we are occupying Armenian land, when in fact
it's our land that's occupied, and they are the occupiers. ... More
than half of the film coincides fully with my story."
Huseynbayli has asked Azerbaijan's copyright agency to contact the
academy and tell them the film is not an original work. It's not yet
known if they will comply with his request.
Michael Poghosyan, who wrote the screenplay for "If Only Everyone,"
insists the movie was conceived before Huseynbayli's story was
published.
"The story for the film was written in early 2010, and filming began
in spring 2010. Before we wrote the story, we met people who had lived
through the war. It was after our meetings and talks with these people
that the idea of the film was born," he said. "We could similarly
accuse the Azerbaijanis of stealing the story of our film 'Longing,'
where the main hero crossed a border to die in his homeland," he said.
Poghosyan said the film sought to encourage harmony and peace between
different peoples.
"There is nothing anti-Azerbaijani in the film. It preaches peace and
love, which is why it has won prizes ... We would not have been able
to win such awards if the film contained inhumanity or spread enmity
between nations."
ABOUT THE WRITER
Vahe Harutyunyan is a reporter in Armenia who writes for The Institute
for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains
journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the author at
the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London
WC1X 8LT, U.K.; Web site: www.iwpr.net. For information about IWPR's
funding, please go to http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?top-supporters.html.
http://www.modbee.com/2012/12/06/2484215/oscars-become-embroiled-in-dispute.html