– I was born in Yerevan in 1968. When I returned from the army in 1988, the nationwide movement had already started. The changes that were taking place in the society were very interesting for me, so I decided to capture everything on video. Personally I did not have a camera; in 1988 it was something extraordinary; it cost almost as much as an apartment. My friend gave his camera to me and I started to film what was happening here in the capital. Since the state television was not really free in terms of TV coverage of the demonstrations, my video materials were in high demand. Later I started to cooperate with the international media, and prepared news stories for BBC, ABC and other news agencies. In 1989, I traveled to Artsakh and provided news coverage from there too.
In 1991, the movement was gradually turning into a war, and I found myself in Getashen and Martounashen, where a real war was unleashed against the powerful Soviet military weaponry. There was Tatul Krpeyan with his squad, Simon Achikgyozyan, also known as Ded (Grandpa) and the guys from Arabo unit. I captured them all on video, but mainly from behind. At that time, the Soviet KGB was still working. And let’s not forget that what we call today a Liberation Army, was then considered an illegal armed formation. For the Soviet leadership our boys were just armed extremists and militants. That is why in my videos Tatul, Simon and Arthur, Tatul’s assistant, basically appear from behind. This was done for their safety.
I also managed to capture with my camera a number of episodes of the infamous Ring operation. The Soviet troops and Azerbaijan Special Forces (OMON) entered Getashen on a false pretext of checking documents. We did not know that they had an order to expel Armenians from Getashen. We were unarmed, because we had hidden the weapons. Tatul guessed their real intention and made a surprising move. With a grenade in his hand, he jumped on an armored vehicle, bearhugged a Russian officer and shouted, “If you don’t withdraw the army, I’ll unpin the grenade.” I realized at that moment that it was all over for Tatul, but I went on filming. I learned a very important lesson after that incident: if you have the willpower and are ready to go to the end, you can win. With this heroic deed, Tatul died that day, but saved many lives. The Azerbaijani OMON really retreated. Getashen was emptied but the number of casualties was relatively small.
Tatul’s death was the most severe loss for me. Two days later, we learned that Simon Achikgyozyan was killed in Martounashen. He fought with Arabo unit and stemmed the advance of enemy into the village. Simon was a scientist, a fantastic person, very discreet and decent. He used to sing spiritual songs at Narek choir. He kept a firm hand on his squad, but not by force, but rather with his reputation and dignity. Today, I often wonder what our life would be like if Tatul and Simon hadn’t died … Would they change and become someone else? I don’t think so.
All of my videos captured during the Ring operation were, unfortunately, lost when I was in captivity. After the operation, I was involved in the process of exchange of prisoners; I would participate in negotiations with the Azerbaijani side and make agreements. On the last day of negotiations I was told they were finished, so I was arrested and taken to the Ganja Fortress. After spending two months there, I was also exchanged for another prisoner of war.
You know, the war begins, and no one knows how it will end. It is not something you can enjoy. Most times, you just want to escape. But in our war it was impossible, because you cannot run away from yourself. We all realized that the war was imposed on us, but it was a crucial war, and the only place we could escape was the frontline. Our struggle was the only possible and correct way to preserve what was on this side of that line and was called homeland. Our war was really a just war, and I am extremely happy that it ended with the victory of justice.
– In 1993, you founded Bars Media film studio, where you produced A Story of People in War and Peace, a film which won you many awards. How did the idea of the film come up?
– The idea was born when the war was over, and there was a desire not only to forget about the war, but sort of push back memories to enter another phase of life. I got married and had children. Bars media was created and it was the only independent studio of documentary films at that time. I had archived the entire material filmed during the war. We were shooting mostly environmental films.
It was in 2002. My son, who was born after the war and was already six years old, accidentally saw my uniform. This news stunned him, because we never actually spoke about war at home. He began to ask questions, you were a soldier, dad? And I realized that I had to and ought to return to the war theme, so that my children and the children of my friends and others understood that war was not something they used to see in Schwarzenegger movies. They needed to realize that war was a dirty work and understand what the homeland actually meant. You lose a lot in the war, but I, for example, gained something that is beyond price – homeland, or rather a sense of homeland. When you have to sit in the trenches for hours, in the terrible cold and with whizz of bullets around, you realize that the trenches can become your grave, but you firmly hold on to the trenches, clinging to the land on which you are standing and you realize that it’s your homeland and you can really feel its taste at the moment.
The war gave me the sense of belonging to my homeland called Armenia. The war also gave me a set of values. There are things that I will never allow myself, because Tatul, Ded and my other friends who died would do the same. It is sad that we knew how to live in the war, but living in peace turned out to be more difficult. Our system of values underwent certain changes which I didn’t approve of. Many questions arose, and I realized that I was unable to find answers to those questions on my own, that I should try to do it with the help of those who had gone through the war with me. So I tried to find my friends who ended up as the characters of my film. What had changed in their lives about ten years after the war? Flashbacks of war, combined with touching human stories were turned into a film, titled A Story of People in War and Peace.
– Did the film help you find answers to you questions?
– The film helped me understand something very important. Despite all the disappointments of life, one can live with hope and faith. If you have hope and faith, you can change many things around you, instead of constantly complaining and whining. This short, in my opinion, even personal film was really accepted with great interest, and not only in Armenia. It was translated into 15 languages, won 20 international awards, and was shown in about 30 countries. Of course, the film is not a masterpiece and owes its success to its truthfulness and honesty of its characters.
– After this film, you returned to “peaceful” themes.
– Yes, Bars Media covers various issues. For example, we shot a film about the Last Tightrope Dancer of Armenia, which was also well received. In the near future, I will travel to Africa, where we are making a film about elephants. The list of environmental films goes on. Our films are shown in the United States, Japan and many European countries. Currently, we are preparing a joint French-German project on the Armenian Genocide. It will be an extensive documentary-animation film, which is planned to be finished by 2015. We have projects, which are to be launched in various countries of Africa, as well as in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
-How did independent studios, whose number now exceeds 20 in Armenia, fill the gap that had emerged in the post-independence period of film industry? What problems are facing independent studios today?
– The production of local studios is mainly consumed in the country. No one has a chance to watch these films abroad. The biggest problem in this area is the fact that Armenia has yet to join international structures; they don’t work by international standards here. During the Soviet era Armenian cinematography was doing very well as part of the powerful Soviet film industry, but the rules have changed, and our filmmakers should try to find their place in the international film industry. Without the state aid, of course, it’s extremely difficult. We need to see in our cultural policy makers, state officials those who are able to pave the way for Armenian films to the international film industry.
*** Vardan Hovhannisyan (director, cameraman, producer) was born in Yerevan, in 1968. He began his career as a documentarian in 1985 as an assistant cameraman in Yerevan Documentary Film Studio. As a freelance reporter and cameraman he covered the developments in the hot spots of the region, as well as in the regions of ethnic conflicts related to the post-Soviet transition cooperating with CBS News, Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) and World Monitor international news agencies.
In 1993 he established Bars Media Documentary Film Studio.
Vardan Hovhannisyan’s documentary “A Story of People in War and Peace”, which shows the destinies of the regular fighters during the Artsakh liberation war and today’s peacetime, has been translated into 15 languages and won over 20 prestigious international awards, including the FIPRESCI prize, the Best New Documentary Filmmaker Award at Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary award at Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, etc. in 2012 the film won “Hayak” National Award.