Critics’ Forum
Film
On the Sidelines, but Noteworthy: Three Documentaries at the AFFMA
Film Festival This Weekend
By Myrna Douzjian
The AFFMA Film Festival is just a few days away, and, this year,
courtesy of the screeners provided by the organizers of the festival,
I had the chance to review several of the documentaries on the
program. Though the feature highlights of the weekend remain the
opening and closing night films – “Lost and Found in Armenia” and “If
Only Everyone,” respectively – I would argue that, as in previous
years, some of the films on the sidelines are quite worthy of audience
attention. Though stylistically and thematically distinct, the three
films I have in mind – “Memories Without Borders,” “Armenian Activists
Now!” and “Armenian Rhapsody” – bring unique material to the
documentary genre of Armenian film.
An initiative of the UK-based peace-building organization,
Conciliation Resources, “Memories Without Borders” was produced by the
collective efforts of a team of Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish
directors – Levon Kalantar, Ayaz Salayev, and Mehmet Binay. This
documentary broaches the subject of relations between Armenia and its
two most hostile neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan, through the lens of
personal histories. It portrays the memories of four individuals
across the region in order to demonstrate the long-lasting effects of
the Genocide and the Karabakh war. As the introduction to the film
puts it, this documentary gives a voice to civilians impacted by the
historico-political currents of the South Caucasus: “Between closed
borders, ordinary lives continue to be haunted by extraordinary
memories.”
“Memories Without Borders” delivers on the promise of its intriguing
title by presenting intersections between the Turkish, Armenian, and
Azerbaijani narratives that it depicts. The first chapter features the
experience of a Turk who, in his adulthood, learns about his Armenian
heritage; the second portrays the grandson of a Genocide survivor who
repatriates to Karabakh from France; the third, related by an
Azerbaijani woman, recounts the displacement of the Yerevan
Azerbaijani State Drama Theatre as a result of the Karabakh war;
finally, in the last chapter, an Armenian woodworker describes the
creation of his masterpiece – a chess set made up of carved pieces of
Turkish and Armenian national and cultural figures. The stories
presented in each of the chapters, though unrelated in terms of their
immediate focus, raise questions about the rigidity of geographical
borders, and, by extension, national and ethnic identities. The
message comes across most clearly in the words of the woodworker: “No
one lives forever, not even those who create borders.” Along these
same lines, arguably every chapter in the film, though less overtly,
makes a case for the logic of transcending national divides.
All in all, “Memories Without Borders” is a must-see because of its
novel approach to the representation of the geopolitical conflicts
that plague Armenia. The film offers more than just a pacifist
message about regional conflict; it open-endedly frames provocative
questions about identity and personal choice, forcing viewers to
grapple with the reality of traumatic histories – irrespective of
which side of the border one calls home.
While we might consider “Memories Without Borders” a performative
documentary – one that emphasizes personal and emotional experience in
a stylized way – “Armenian Activists Now!” is more of an observational
documentary that proceeds, for the most part, through scenes of
various protests and a series of interviews with Armenian activists
and grassroots organizers. Though it manages to cover all of the major
fronts of activism in Armenia, including the environment, election
processes, women’s rights, corruption, and animal welfare, “Armenian
Activists Now!” has an unfortunately amateurish feel to it. In fact,
the amount of material the film presents is one of its greatest
weaknesses. That is to say, there’s a great deal of material that
needs to be unpacked and contextualized, but oftentimes the film only
provides fast-paced bits of information on each of the areas of
activism it treats.
Among some of its other flaws are scenes that seem irrelevant or, at
best, not terribly important. The Armenian-American singer-songwriter
and political activist Serj Tankian appears in one of these, and
though his presence in a documentary about Armenian activism makes
complete sense, the scene remains random because it does not say much
about him or his relationship to the film’s specific content. As a
result, in such instances, the viewer is left wanting more by way of
an explication from the documentary.
Nevertheless, Robert Davidian, the director/producer of “Armenian
Activists Now!,” manages to impress by virtue of the task that he has
undertaken – a pioneering attempt at documenting the crucial role of
activism in the formative years of Armenia’s contemporary
statehood. For that very reason, this documentary can, at the very
least, be put to good use as filmic material for high school Hai Tad
classes, since it has limitless potential to spur lively discussions
on civic duty, activism, and contemporary Armenian politics.
The third documentary, “Armenian Rhapsody,” directed by Cassiana Der
Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, and Gary Gananian, is stylistically
mixed, incorporating both observational and performative modes of
filmmaking. As the synopsis indicates, “`Armenian Rhapsody’ is a road
movie, made of a polyphony of characters where the faces and the music
are the real protagonists. As in a rhapsody, the film is made of a
juxtaposition of musical and narrative fragments with variations in
theme, intensity and tone.” And, by extension, just as a rhapsody is
associated with improvisation, the film, too, has the qualities of
spontaneity and genuineness. The film’s beautifully scored scenes
naturally flow like a collage that represents Armenia’s fabric.
The documentary’s exposition creates the effect of flipping through a
photo album (set to music, of course): the first few minutes are
filled with numerous and lengthy shots of the expressive faces of
figures who play a role in the film. After the seemingly endless
catalog of individuals, the film moves on to depict several
interviews, as well as the wedding day of a diasporan Armenian
couple. Some of the most engaging moments along the way include
interviews with a 95-year-old Armenian man, a World War II veteran,
and the caretaker of the Khor Virab Monastery. Strikingly, the latter
among the three claims that his overgrown moustache bears the traces
of his history. But the most powerful moment in the documentary comes
with the interview of a middle-aged woman who speaks about her life
and her family, mentioning her son and grandchildren who live in
America. When she goes on to detail the trials and tribulations of her
life, overcome with emotion, she is unable to complete her
sentence. Then, for several long seconds, the audience must confront
only what this woman feels, what she cannot say. The scene is
brilliantly raw, and the directors rightfully take the time to
emphasize its affective energy.
Though for the most part the film’s fragmented style is both
conceptually and stylistically effective, it has one questionable
scene: during an interview with a diasporan couple, the conversation
is interrupted by reportage on the Spitak earthquake. The news
footage provides information about the calamity that the interviewee
is unable to articulate; however, it comes off as an extreme departure
from the remaining parts of the film – an uncharacteristic break from
the rest of the “road movie.” Aside from this minor incongruity and
the need for more professionally translated subtitles, “Armenian
Rhapsody” is as idiosyncratic as the array of characters it
features. Simply, a joy to watch.
“Memories Without Borders,” “Armenian Activists Now!” and “Armenian
Rhapsody” may not have made it to prime time on the AFFMA Film
Festival’s program, but they’ll certainly give die-hard moviegoers a
great deal to think and talk about this weekend.
All Rights Reserved: Critics’ Forum, 2012. Exclusive to Asbarez.
Myrna Douzjian is a doctoral candidate in the Department of
Comparative Literature at UCLA, where she teaches literature and
composition courses.
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