A film about an Armenian soldier won at the documentary film festival in Amsterdam

According to the jury, the painting creates a hidden landscape of grief

At the International Documentary Film Festival IDFA, which ended in Amsterdam, in which the most eminent directors are honored to participate, the award for best film was received by debutant from Armenia Shoghakat Vardanyan. She shot her first film “1489” on a mobile phone about the search for her brother who died in Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition to the jury prize for best film, Shoghakat was also awarded the jury award from the International Federation of Film Press – FIPRESCI.

The international jury accompanied the prize with the following wording: “A film that acts as a piercing light that creates a hidden internal landscape of grief and a tangible presence from an unbearable absence. Film as a survival tool that allows us all to look at things we would rather not see. And finally, an unforgettable example of cinema as an act of love.”

Shoghakat Vardanyan is a young and aspiring director and pianist. She shot her first film on a mobile phone. There was something I couldn’t cope with due to inexperience, so I turned for support to director Marina Razbezhkina, with whom I studied at a seminar in Armenia. And she helped complete the picture.

Shogakat’s brother, musician Soghomon, was only 21 years old. He was called up for military service as a student, when the next round of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began. And then Soghomon went missing. Shoghakat decided to make a film about this, where she talked about her parents, about the grief they experienced upon receiving the sad news and what was left of their son. 1489 is the number under which the suspected remains of Brother Shoghakat are registered.

According to Marina Razbezhkina, this is one of the most powerful and sensual films “about a person inside the war.” Shoghakat is not experienced and has never participated in festivals before. On the eve of the premiere, she consulted with Marina Razbezhkina about whether it was possible to come to the show in jeans, whether a dress would be required, whether documentarians generally wore dresses, and she herself decided that a dress was preferable – there was no point in setting a bad example for children.

The Best of Fest section also featured the film Queendom by Agnia Galdanova, a graduate of Marina Razbezhkina’s film school, which she, alas, recently closed. The film has already been shown in Italy, the USA, Great Britain and other countries, and in Amsterdam it was the leader in the audience rating. It was worked on by cameramen Ruslan Fedotov, known for his films “Where are we going?”, “Salamanca”, and Nikolai Zheludovich (who shot several scenes) – a Belarusian cameraman who worked on the films “Three” and “Anna’s Feelings” by Anna Melikyan, “Whim” » Ilya Povolotsky. According to Marina Razbezhkina, the film’s fearless immersion into life and its abysses is reminiscent of the films of the Austrian director Ulrich Seidl.

His hero is 21-year-old extravagant queer artist Gena, who performs on the streets and near the metro. He himself is from Magadan, grew up without parents, and was raised by his grandparents. He left his hometown for Moscow, and then to Paris. The festival annotation clarifies that Magadan is a city located in eastern Russia. But Russia is not among the producers of the film. It is a co-production between France and the USA. The Paris premiere is scheduled for November 18. The film also takes part in the International Film Festival “Dark Nights” taking place in Tallinn. At one of the shows in Amsterdam, Gena appeared in a short red dress and on crutches, after which the audience puzzled over whether it was an image or the consequences of an injury.

In Amsterdam, only one picture representing Russia was shown – “Mud” by Ilya Povolotsky. She competed in the Envision Competition. Ilya’s previous film “Whim” represented Russia at the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year. “Mud” talks about how our compatriots take mud baths at one of the country’s resorts.

The short film “Dreams about Putin” by Nastya Korkiya and Vlad Fishez, co-produced by Belgium, Hungary and Portugal, tells about the fantastic dreams of our compatriots. She was also presented in one of the festival programs.