Khmorchik, a small restaurant in Yerevan, has quickly become a favorite hangout for locals due to its kind and talented cook, Shant. Shant wears his heart on his sleeve and goes out of his way to make sure his customers feel at home at Khmorchik even as he struggles to build a new life for himself in Armenia. Shant is no stranger to war: he moved to Armenia to escape the Syrian war and, before that, he survived the Lebanese war. Now, he is providing much needed comfort to his new countrymen as Armenians deal with the realities of the latest war over Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).
authors
Arthur Sukiasyan
Born in Gyumri, Armenia, Arthur Sukiasyan is an independent documentary filmmaker.
He participated in film workshops worldwide, worked as a film producer and researcher.
In 2017 Arthur was among 12 selected directors from the world to participate in AFS International Documentary Workshop at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.
His debut feature length documentary, OUR ATLANTIS, has shown in a number of international film festivals, including the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto, where it won both The Audience Choice and Best Documentary Film Awards.
His current short documentary film WOUND, which had its world premiere at Visions du Réel International Film Festival's International Medium Length and Short Film Competition(2019), and recently received the Best Film award of Focus Caucasus Competition at CineDOC-Tbilisi International Documentary Film Festival (2019) as well as received The best Real Life Cinematic Portrait award (IFCA) at Golden Apricot IFF (2019).
Author's stories
Surviving war and life
The film is a story about the creation of a book. The book is travelling, has its inner road, which in this particular case only shapes in the preferred spaces of the Armenian author Aram Pachyan.*
Rum & Coke
By photographing the people affected by the fighting, Gagik Harutyunyan underscored the catastrophic aftermath of the war. The images, captured when the region was balancing between collapse and fear of more conflict, show that deportation and loss can return endlessly as long as war and its destructive power remain on the horizon.
“Endless Return” Gagik Harutyunyan
Young Armenian composer and DJ reflects on the challenges for humanity created by digital innovations and technology. In this short film musician Vardan Harutyunyan shares his thoughts about the transforming world of music and its future.
Music of the future
During the coronavirus pandemic, citizens turn to jogging to restore a sense of normalcy in their everyday lives.They jog to the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, known as the Cascade, which, before the COVID 19 outbreak, was the most popular site for tourists in Yerevan. Today it has taken on new meaning for residents struggling to gain control of their lives during the lockdown.