Montreal Gazette, QC, Canada
Nov 18 2012

RIDM 2012: Filmmaker Marlene Edoyan explores ancestral Armenia in Figure d’Armen

November 18, 2012. 9:59 am – Section: The Cine Files

Marlene Edoyan and her parents were born in Lebanon, but they’ve never
abandoned their Armenian heritage.

In this documentary, Edoyan visits the homeland that she’s never seen,
and nearby countries with substantial Armenian communities. The people
who talk to her are friendly and welcoming.

Life is difficult for many, and unemployment is high. Many people have
bad teeth, presumably because they can’t afford to fix them.

Older people say that their children are in Russia, Georgia, or even the U.S.

Better to earn bread abroad than to die of hunger in your own country, they say.

A young man says `We have projects, but it hard to realize them here.
The place is going backwards. Leaving is the only way to get ahead.’

But a man with a small farm says that he does not want to live
anywhere else, Russia is not for him.

Lose/lose situation: A town has a copper mine and smelter that used to
employ 6,000 people. It used to have acid rain so strong that it
burned holes in umbrellas and stockings. Now the acid rain is gone,
but so are the jobs.

There are some interesting musical interludes in Figure d’Armen,
including one where a man sings with a razor blade held between his
lips.

Figure d’Armen will be shown on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, at 4:15 p.m. in
Salle Fellini at Excentris, 3536 St. Laurent Blvd., as part of
Montreal’s documentary film festival, RIDM, which ends Nov. 18. Visit
for more information.

Photos are from the Facebook page of Figure d’Armen.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress