Security threat Armenian film makes inaugural Oscar shortlist
WASHINGTON – The nature of the security threat posed by North Korea could change “drastically” in the coming decade as a result of its unprecedented cooperation with Russia, the White House’s senior director for arms control Pranay Vaddi said on Thursday. “What we’re seeing between Russia and North Korea is an unprecedented level of cooperation in the military sphere,” Mr Vaddi told Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
A HEART-WARMING story of a man jailed for wearing a tie has become the first Armenian film to make it onto the Oscar’s shortlist, in the international feature category.
“Most of the films that have been made about Armenia really tend to revolve around the genocide. I wanted to make a film that would be enjoyable for Armenians and something that could relate to non-Armenians,” said US actor Michael A. Goorjian, who has directed and written the film. He also stars in it.
Shot in Armenia with a mostly local cast and crew, Amerikatsi (American in Armenian) is also an attempt to rebuild the country’s film industry, which lost its way after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
“What the film is about is survival and resilience. Despite the setting, it’s very hopeful and playful,” said Goorjian, whose late father was Armenian.
It tells the story of Charlie, an American who repatriates to then Soviet Armenia after World War Two and finds himself in prison because of his tie. From his cell, Charlie realises he can see inside an apartment nearby and lives vicariously through the life of the couple there.
Making the film was itself a test of resourcefulness.
Filming, interrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, took about seven months to complete, wrapping in July 2020 as border clashes broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan.