This is how I became a documentary film director…
In my school years I saw how easy is to live with lies. But from my early years of school I’ve understood that I can’t use that method as far as I couldn’t lie – I was cached from the first tries. So, while choosing my profession I’ve decided not to go to theater or fiction film, as the audience of it is interested in lies that convince. After many years of study and practice now I consider that the most important thing in documentary film directing is the honest communication between the filmmaker and the audience, even if it’s not possible to overcome the manipulation during editing.
As a documentary filmmaker I was formed mainly with the help of my 2 masters. Armen Dovlatyan was my bachelor’s degree master for 5 years who was staying with us at university till 1 am to finish the editing or performance rehearsals. The technical part of editing is possible to learn in several weeks, but the artistic and creative professionalism needs to train the brain and eyes for years. The second person is Harutyun Khachatryan, the founder of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, who was my lead in the Master’s degree. Masterclasses and workshops by world-famous filmmakers, classical and modern films with a high sense of aesthetics and art-house mood also were organized by the Golden Apricot.
After my study, I was lucky enough to meet major producers, who liked my style in documentary and hired me as a director on condition that I should keep my style.
Trailers of my films
My films available online
