Who can produce films in Armenia? – opinions on ex-lawmaker’s Genocide movie

The right to produce a movie can be practically enjoyed by anyone in Armenia; all the problem has to do with licensing procedures, representatives of the cinema industry have said, commenting on ex-parliament member Hakob Hakobyan’s move to produce a film on the Armenian Genocide.

The professionals’ opinion is that a film cannot show in cinemas unless it has been issued a license.

“It isn’t possible to forbid anyone to produce a movie, likewise it isn’t possible to forbid him or her to draw a picture …As to what that film’s future will be, it is a different question,” Hrach Keshishyan, a movie director and the head of the  Armnews TV channel, told Tert.am. 

Moscow Cinema was scheduled to screen the movie, Recollection, on February 10, but it cancelled the plan after a closed-door preview organized for the media attracted negative comments by professionals.

The movie theatre Cinema Star (which operates in Yerevan’s Dalma Garden Mall) also refused to screen Recollection.

Keshishyan said he thinks that it is important to have clear-cut regulations (not only in Armenia but also in all other countries) to prevent movies with questionable quality or content from being screened for public.

“My film, for example, is to be screened in Russia, and I embarked on several procedures [for having it licensed]. The film was sent to the Russian Ministry of Culture in advance and submitted to its department responsible for authorizing the show. They watched movie, checked all the copyright-related issues and gave us the permission. They checked particularly what age group the film is designed for and other permissible and impermissible things – episodes features drinking and smoking people or sex – before deciding to issue permission,” Keshishyan explained.

He stressed the importance of introducing similar procedures in Armenia too. “My son can now shoot a one-minute movie by doing the necessary editing with his mobile at home, but that doesn’t mean it has to show in public,” he added.

The director noted that the same practice exists also in the United States where one can hire a movie theatre for one day to screen a movie for just a group of friends.

Commenting on the problem, the National Cinema Center’s director, Gevorg Gevorgyan, noted that Armenia hasn’t had any law on cinema in the past 25 years since gaining independence.

“First, there was no cinema industry in Armenia. Did we have any movie at all - from the USSR’s collapse until 2006-2007 - in order to have a law? Secondly, there are so many sectors not governed by specific legislative regulations in Armenia,” he added. 

Gevorgyan said he has recently sent a draft to French specialists who he hopes will present their judgments soon to enable him to submit it to the to the National Assembly’s approval later this year.

“The law will regulate a lot,” he said, stressing first of all the importance of licensing and quality assessment criteria.

Film director Edgar Baghdasaryan says he doesn’t understand why especially the former lawmaker’s move kicked up that big fuss. “Anyone who wishes [to produce a movie] does so, but because the topic was the Genocide, the reaction appeared to be so painful. But it is equally painful to me too, because I see no difference about tastelessness of the kind,” he added.


The director noted that when Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman (which is considered to the best movie shot in the past 10-15 years) was on screen at Moscow Cinema, its every single show attracted no more than an audience of six. “But one finds no ticket on sale when stupid comedies are on,” the director added.

Gevorgyan said he really sees a difference between high- and poor-quality movies. “Anyone can produce a movie, but whenever he or she devotes the work to universal or spiritual or cultural values, that person must have a license,” he added.