By Alina Nikoghosyan, edited by Maral Tavitian
A few days ago, the 14th Golden Apricot International Film Festival cancelled the “Armenians: Internal And External Views” screening program. The program featured 37 films, two of which covered LGBT topics.
Days before the opening of the 14th Golden Apricot International Film Festival, an out-of-competition program called “Armenians: Internal And External Views,” was removed from the festival agenda. The program included 37 films, two of which highlighted LGBT themes.
Harutyun Khachatryan, the founder and director of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, said that there had been considerable societal upheaval in response to the LGBT films.
“We have been working for 14 years and never had any issues with any of the programs nor with the society. Even when Turkish films were being screened at different places. We are a country where there is no censorship,” Khachatryan said. “We have never had an instance of pressuring or interference neither from the authorities, nor from our partners and sponsors.”
Hovhannes Ishkhanyan, the screenwriter of “Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred,” described the removal of the program as an act of censorship, and tied the festival’s decision to the two LGBT-themed films.
“They called us and said that there is an issue with the movie. Basically they told us that those films need to be dropped or else the program in its entirety will be removed,” Ishkhanyan said.
The films had been accepted into the festival and had been reviewed by the Henrik Malyan Theater, the original screening venue for the program. All of the technical issues had been resolved, and a screening date announced. According to Ishkhanyan, anonymous people had voiced complaints to the Union of Cinematographers and the Union then contacted Golden Apricot.
A campaign against the films began on Facebook.
“At the Union of Cinematographers, if you look, they say that they are supposed to defend the interests of filmmakers and revitalize the field,” Hovhannes Ishkhanyan said. “There are many people in Armenia with anti-Semitic views. What if now those people had organized and complained that there is a film portraying Jews in a favorable way and the film should be removed, would there be censorship then too?”
The new leadership of the Union of Cinematographers announced that since the death of its former director, Ruben Gevorgyants, such programs cannot be screened. Gevorgyants died on June 23, however, according to Ishkhanyan, the program had already been ready at that time and there were no disagreements.
The Union of Cinematographers could not be reached for comment.
“Since Ruben Gevorgyants was a filmmaker and one of his goals was the vitalization of the film industry, then these 40 movies should have been continued to be screened and tied to his name and his legacy,” Hovhannes Ishkhanyan said. “I have not seen such a thing that an artist dies and an entire program is removed.”
The director of “Listen to Me: Untold Stories Beyond Hatred,” Gagik Ghazare, who is also the artistic director of the Center for Contemporary Experimental Art, says that they were prepared to host and showcase the entire 37-film program at the center.
“Yes, we proposed to host the program at the ACCEA, but we were probably a bit late,” Ghazare said.
According to Ghazare, the Union of Cinematographers placed a ban on the screening.
“Being a creative union, they should have defended the exact opposite, which is the human right to expression and free speech. The Union should not put limitations, because film cannot be when there are limitations,” Ghazare said. “The end result is that the efforts of 37 film directors to present their work to the audience were stalled, which is an unacceptable precedent.”
Through the film, Ghazare said he was urging people to become more tolerant toward the LGBT community.
“The conversation is about a sliver of our society that lives with us,” Ghazare said.
The other LGBT-themed film was “Apricot Groves,” a film by Iranian director Pouria Heidary, made in partnership with Armenia and approved by the Film Society.
“Basically one state-sponsored entity approves the film while another entity does the opposite,” Heidary said. “Who else now would come here for collaboration?”
Canadian-Armenian actress Arsine Khanjian and former Golden Apricot director Atom Egoyan also criticized the removal of the films.
A change.org petition called “No to Censorship to Armenia” has received more than 300 signatories.
The issuee was also addressed by film director and screenwriter Eric Nazarian, a frequent guest at the Golden Apricot Film Festival. His films have been featured three times in the festival, and “The Blue Hour” won the Grand Prix in 2008.
See below CivilNet’s video story on the topic (in Armenian).
