Sixteen-year-old Alex struggles to find his place in conservative Armenian society. Many people do not accept him, or his style of dressing: his dyed hair, face tattoos and clothing are seen as an affront to traditional values.Alex finds himself spending a lot of time at home, alone. An artist and a musician, Alex fears his art will never be accepted in Armenia.  The divide that exists in society was recently underscored by a clash in the capital Yerevan over a contemporary dance performance near the city’s central Republic Square metro station. Media outlets have called the conflict “Armenia’s cultural revolution.” Conservative groups have called the performance an act of Satanism and are labelling those who performed and watched Satanists.  Alex was in the audience that day, and witnessed the attacks on the performers. He has also had problems with his art. A recent concert he held in the basement of Yerevan’s Komitas State Conservatory was interrupted by the police. Critics labelled his music a satanic act as well.  But for Alex and his friends, the music is a form of rebellion, an act of fearlessness and an attempt to carve out creative freedom at home. 

Can we control our lives through the lens of a camera? A young Armenian director takes over her aunt’s old video camera, a lifelong dream. Through the old footage of her childhood and her own interviews with her family and friends, she unpacks Armenia’s recent history and hopes for the future. Disillusioned with her present in post-war Armenia, young Armenian filmmaker Greta Harutyunyan picks up a camera to explore her options for the future. But to understand the future, she travels back to her past, revisiting it through a homevideo archive created by her aunt. Greta finally takes over the aunt’s video camera, a moment she always dreamed of, and turns it on her and the people around her. Through this ‘time travel’ we can discover Armenia reflected in its recent past, different generations and their conflicting visions for a better future. Through their advice to Greta, we witness Armenian society projecting their own vision for a better future of the country. While filming, Greta learns about the death of her soldier cousin, one of those documented in the old VHS camera footage of festive and hopeful childhood moments. The 19-year-old soldier is one of many victims of the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A young Armenian director takes over her aunt’s old video camera, a lifelong dream. Through the old footage of her childhood and her own interviews with her family and friends, she unpacks Armenia’s recent history and hopes for the future. Disillusioned with her present in post-war Armenia, young Armenian filmmaker Greta Harutyunyan picks up a camera to explore her options for the future. But to understand the future, she travels back to her past, revisiting it through a homevideo archive created by her aunt. Greta finally takes over the aunt’s video camera, a moment she always dreamed of, and turns it on her and the people around her. Through this ‘time travel’ we can discover Armenia reflected in its recent past, different generations and their conflicting visions for a better future. Through their advice to Greta, we witness Armenian society projecting their own vision for a better future of the country. While filming, Greta learns about the death of her soldier cousin, one of those documented in the old VHS camera footage of festive and hopeful childhood moments. The 19-year-old soldier is one of many victims of the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This film was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of FES or Chai Khana. This Film was produced in the framework of Chai Khana Fellowship program - Summer/Autumn 2022

Leo is a stand-up artist from Armenia who is not afraid to talk about topics that have been taboo for years. Armenian media has been "colonized" by foreign media outlets for decades. Russian media influence has always been significant, especially in comedy. Comedy shows were flooded with discriminatory speech and sexism and homophobia were an integral part of jokes. Leo is a stand-up artist from Armenia, who uses his routine to address issues that have long been taboo.