1.Tell us about your movie, where did the idea of this movie come from?
The film is about a young Physical Education teacher in a remote village. His life dramatically turns upside down when one of the kids faints during his class. Some parts of the story are based on a true event, through which I wanted to speak up about important social issues and people’s personal responsibility in some institutions.
2.Tell us about yourself, your education, your experience. We would like to know you better.
I hold an MA in Painting from the Yerevan State Academy of Arts and I have long been active in the field of contemporary art. My debut short film TWIST (2020) had its world premiere at the 26th Sarajevo film festival in the short film competition program. HANDSTAND is my second short film. I am an alumnus of the Talents Sarajevo (2016) and Berlinale Talents (2017).
- Has this film been previously appeared in any other festivals? If so, which festivals?
Special Award after Gennadi Melkonyan, 18th Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Yerevan ,2021
2nd Prize for Best Short Film, 12th International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, 2022
Official Selection for International Short Film Competition, 20th Zagreb Film Festival, 2022
Official Selection for International Competition, 39th Tehran International Short Film Festival, 2022
Official Selection International Shorts Competition, 19th IndieLisboa International Film Festival, 2022
- How have you discovered members of your team and how do you keep the relationship with them strong?
Since the market is very small in Armenia, that is why almost all filmmakers know each other. So, from the development of the project, I knew with who I can work. I want to mention that the lead actor and one of his partners are not professional actors. So, we did a lot of rehearsals in order to achieve what we planned.
- How do you usually get funding for your films?
The main funding, we receive is from the National Cinema Centre of Armenia. Also, the production company covers some part of the budget.
- How did you hear about Tehran Short Film Festival? How familiar are you with Iranian cinema?
We knew about the festival for a very long time, since the Tehran Short Film Festival is one of the famous short film festivals.
