William Saroyan in "The Bucket List"

Yes, this is one of my "Armenian pride" posts, you know the kind: you hear an Armenian name mentioned in a movie, an Armenian name in its credits, or anything Armenian in the most unexpected of places. Well, in watching the new film The Bucket List, which I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, there is just such a mention!

You see, the movie is about two unlikely pals who are terminally ill but decide to live life to the fullest anyway. In this setting, William Saroyan's play,The Time of Your Life, is briefly mentioned. It turns out parts of the play were also used in Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End!

How great is that?

BBC Documentary: Inside Iran

While I don't intend to turn this into a Middle Eastern blog, Iran is a key ally to Armenia, in terms of trade, energy, communications, politics, and much more. Not only that, Iran and Armenia share a lot of culture and history, and indeed, many Armenians call Iran home. Considering global events and our relationship to Iran, I think it's only fair that we try to understand the country even more.

It took a year to get permission to make this documentary, so I hope you enjoy it!

Karabakh Film Screened in the Czech Republic

It sounds like it is similar in some ways to A Dark Forest in the Mountains.

A film titled "A Story of People in War and Peace" produced by Vardan Hovhannisian was screened at the festival of documentaries in Brno, Czech Republic. The film shot by an Armenian reporter tells about the fate of those who fought in the Karabakh war.

CT2 channel, Lidovskiye Noviny, Prague Post, Radio Cesko and other mass media cover the festival.

Armenian films need even more exposure! Too bad there isn't more information regarding a DVD release or even a theater premiere. Perhaps they should take lessons from the Priestess?

Source: PanArmenian

Turkey Filming Anti-Genocide "Documentary"

Ah, the Turks. We can always count on them to waste resources in the most ridiculous of ways. Just recently, a Turkish engineer declared that Armenians' push for Genocide Recognition was hurting business and demanded a ridiculous sum in court. And now, there's this:

With a purpose to "refuse statements" on the Armenian Genocide a documentary titled "A Big Lie" is being shot in Turkey on the basis of Russian and Armenian archives. The documentary will be afterwards translated into German, English, Russian and Arabian. It will consist of 6 parts, the first of which will be shown on April 24 via a state TV channel.

If anything, it will be an exercise in creativity and distortion of reality.

Source: PanArmenian

Sergei Parajanov's Works Exhibited in France

Sergei Parajanov was one of the most critically-acclaimed filmmakers of the 20th century and is best known for The Color of Pomegranates, also known as Sayat Nova.

An exhibition featuring the works of Sergei Parajanov has opened in the French town of Toulouse. The exhibition presented about 30 works, including famous collages, graphics, as well as hats and dolls made by Parajanov. A documentary of his life will also be presented. In mid-February, the exhibit will be moved to the National School of Arts in Paris.

Even though he is very well known and highly respected, further exposure of Armenian greats such as Parajanov serves to strengthen our many contributions to humanity.

Source: Yerevan.ru (translated)