Brutal Romance wins silver at UNICA festival

Brutal Romance, a short by the Armenian producer Shavarsh Hambardzumyan, won the 2nd place and a silver medal at the 73rd film festival UNICA.

After a 23-year-long interval, Armenia has participated in the festival. "In 1988, my film last won a gold medal. Armenia has not participated in the festival since. This year, due to my efforts, an all-Armenian amateur film festival has been organized. The winners got a opportunity to enter the international arena and participate in the UNICA festival," Artashes Hovhannisyan, President of the Center of All-Armenian Non-commercial Cinema, told journalists.

At UNICA 73, Armenia presented seven short and one 1-minute film. "We got a silver medal and six certificates, which is a great achievement for such a small country as Armenia. Over 100 films participated in the festival, their budgets being much larger. And the fact that our film ranked among the best proved both a surprise and happiness for us," Hovhannisyan said.

Brutal Romance, a 36-minute version, was shot in 2002. However, it has not taken part in any festival since. "The only success of the film is that it was selected for being sent to astronauts. They are not allowed to see every film. They actually liked my film. Later it remained in my drawer and I saw it with my fiends," said Shavarsh Hambardzumyan.

A 12-minute version of the film took part in the festival. The plot is genuine love. The events unfold in the Stone Age, which is often associated with the 21st century. A girl does no return a boy's love and is eventually punished.