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WHO CAN PRODUCE FILMS IN ARMENIA? - OPINIONS ON EX-LAWMAKER'S GENOCIDE MOVIE
11:10 * 10.02.15
The right to produce a movie can be practically enjoyed by anyone
in Armenia; all the problem has to do with licensing procedures,
representatives of the cinema industry have said, commenting on
ex-parliament member Hakob Hakobyan's move to produce a film on the
Armenian Genocide.
The professionals' opinion is that a film cannot show in cinemas
unless it has been issued a license.
"It isn't possible to forbid anyone to produce a movie, likewise
it isn't possible to forbid him or her to draw a picture ...As to
what that film's future will be, it is a different question," Hrach
Keshishyan, a movie director and the head of the Armnews TV channel,
told Tert.am.
Moscow Cinema was scheduled to screen the movie, Recollection, on
February 10, but it cancelled the plan after a closed-door preview
organized for the media attracted negative comments by professionals.
The movie theatre Cinema Star (which operates in Yerevan's Dalma
Garden Mall) also refused to screen Recollection.
Keshishyan said he thinks that it is important to have clear-cut
regulations (not only in Armenia but also in all other countries)
to prevent movies with questionable quality or content from being
screened for public.
"My film, for example, is to be screened in Russia, and I embarked on
several procedures [for having it licensed]. The film was sent to the
Russian Ministry of Culture in advance and submitted to its department
responsible for authorizing the show. They watched movie, checked
all the copyright-related issues and gave us the permission. They
checked particularly what age group the film is designed for and other
permissible and impermissible things - episodes features drinking
and smoking people or sex - before deciding to issue permission,"
Keshishyan explained.
He stressed the importance of introducing similar procedures in
Armenia too. "My son can now shoot a one-minute movie by doing the
necessary editing with his mobile at home, but that doesn't mean it
has to show in public," he added.
The director noted that the same practice exists also in the United
States where one can hire a movie theatre for one day to screen a
movie for just a group of friends.
Commenting on the problem, the National Cinema Center's director,
Gevorg Gevorgyan, noted that Armenia hasn't had any law on cinema in
the past 25 years since gaining independence.
"First, there was no cinema industry in Armenia. Did we have any movie
at all - from the USSR's collapse until 2006-2007 - in order to have
a law? Secondly, there are so many sectors not governed by specific
legislative regulations in Armenia," he added.
Gevorgyan said he has recently sent a draft to French specialists who
he hopes will present their judgments soon to enable him to submit
it to the to the National Assembly's approval later this year.
"The law will regulate a lot," he said, stressing first of all the
importance of licensing and quality assessment criteria.
Film director Edgar Baghdasaryan says he doesn't understand why
especially the former lawmaker's move kicked up that big fuss. "Anyone
who wishes [to produce a movie] does so, but because the topic was the
Genocide, the reaction appeared to be so painful. But it is equally
painful to me too, because I see no difference about tastelessness
of the kind," he added.
The director noted that when Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman
(which is considered to the best movie shot in the past 10-15 years)
was on screen at Moscow Cinema, its every single show attracted no
more than an audience of six. "But one finds no ticket on sale when
stupid comedies are on," the director added.
Gevorgyan said he really sees a difference between high- and
poor-quality movies. "Anyone can produce a movie, but whenever he or
she devotes the work to universal or spiritual or cultural values,
that person must have a license," he added.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/02/10/remember/1584592
11:10 * 10.02.15
The right to produce a movie can be practically enjoyed by anyone
in Armenia; all the problem has to do with licensing procedures,
representatives of the cinema industry have said, commenting on
ex-parliament member Hakob Hakobyan's move to produce a film on the
Armenian Genocide.
The professionals' opinion is that a film cannot show in cinemas
unless it has been issued a license.
"It isn't possible to forbid anyone to produce a movie, likewise
it isn't possible to forbid him or her to draw a picture ...As to
what that film's future will be, it is a different question," Hrach
Keshishyan, a movie director and the head of the Armnews TV channel,
told Tert.am.
Moscow Cinema was scheduled to screen the movie, Recollection, on
February 10, but it cancelled the plan after a closed-door preview
organized for the media attracted negative comments by professionals.
The movie theatre Cinema Star (which operates in Yerevan's Dalma
Garden Mall) also refused to screen Recollection.
Keshishyan said he thinks that it is important to have clear-cut
regulations (not only in Armenia but also in all other countries)
to prevent movies with questionable quality or content from being
screened for public.
"My film, for example, is to be screened in Russia, and I embarked on
several procedures [for having it licensed]. The film was sent to the
Russian Ministry of Culture in advance and submitted to its department
responsible for authorizing the show. They watched movie, checked
all the copyright-related issues and gave us the permission. They
checked particularly what age group the film is designed for and other
permissible and impermissible things - episodes features drinking
and smoking people or sex - before deciding to issue permission,"
Keshishyan explained.
He stressed the importance of introducing similar procedures in
Armenia too. "My son can now shoot a one-minute movie by doing the
necessary editing with his mobile at home, but that doesn't mean it
has to show in public," he added.
The director noted that the same practice exists also in the United
States where one can hire a movie theatre for one day to screen a
movie for just a group of friends.
Commenting on the problem, the National Cinema Center's director,
Gevorg Gevorgyan, noted that Armenia hasn't had any law on cinema in
the past 25 years since gaining independence.
"First, there was no cinema industry in Armenia. Did we have any movie
at all - from the USSR's collapse until 2006-2007 - in order to have
a law? Secondly, there are so many sectors not governed by specific
legislative regulations in Armenia," he added.
Gevorgyan said he has recently sent a draft to French specialists who
he hopes will present their judgments soon to enable him to submit
it to the to the National Assembly's approval later this year.
"The law will regulate a lot," he said, stressing first of all the
importance of licensing and quality assessment criteria.
Film director Edgar Baghdasaryan says he doesn't understand why
especially the former lawmaker's move kicked up that big fuss. "Anyone
who wishes [to produce a movie] does so, but because the topic was the
Genocide, the reaction appeared to be so painful. But it is equally
painful to me too, because I see no difference about tastelessness
of the kind," he added.
The director noted that when Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman
(which is considered to the best movie shot in the past 10-15 years)
was on screen at Moscow Cinema, its every single show attracted no
more than an audience of six. "But one finds no ticket on sale when
stupid comedies are on," the director added.
Gevorgyan said he really sees a difference between high- and
poor-quality movies. "Anyone can produce a movie, but whenever he or
she devotes the work to universal or spiritual or cultural values,
that person must have a license," he added.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/02/10/remember/1584592