Taniel (Armenian: "Դանիէլ") is a multi award winning arthouse short film by British writer and director Garo Berberian, telling the story of the last months of poet Taniel Varoujan until his murder during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

at the age of 31, the day of his son’s birth. The film is the first to deal with the story of a man considered to be one of Armenia’s greatest poets with international fame. The film is loosely based on the memoirs of

Aram Andonian Aram Andonian ( hy, Արամ Անտոնեան; 1875 – 23 December 1951) was an ethnic Armenians, Armenian journalist, historian and writer. Biography Andonian was born in Constantinople. There he edited the Armenian journals ''Luys'' (''Light' ...

, a journalist arrested on the same day as Varoujan, on 24 April 1915, when some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were rounded up and deported in the first major event of the

. The film takes an arthouse approach to the subject seen in film-noir with a narrative in poetry both with Varoujan’s now endangered

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...

language (according to

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

classification) read by Yegya Akgun and Ben Hodgson’s English poem "Indelible", narrated by

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

to critical acclaim.

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

’s

Glassworks Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

played by

Valentina Lisitsa Valentina Lisitsa, ; russian: Валентина Евгеньевна Лисица, translit=Valentina Evgen'evna Lisica, ) (born 25 March 1970) is a Ukrainian-American pianist. Lisitsa independently launched her career on social media, without ...

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...

’s Out of the Ruins,

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of ...

’s Armenian Spirit and

Tigran Hamasyan Tigran Hamasyan ( hy, Տիգրան Համասյան; born July 17, 1987) is an Armenian jazz pianist and composer. He plays mostly original compositions, which are strongly influenced by the Armenian folk tradition, often using its scales and mod ...

’s Luis I Luso form the soundtrack.

Style

“Taniel” is filmed in

Neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

style, influenced by the

Film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

movement and the works of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

and

Rouben Mamoulian Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director. Early life Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. H ...

in The Mark of Zorro. The narrative of the film is heard through poetry in two languages - with Varoujan's original poems in the now endangered

dialect expressing and explaining the scenes delivered by Yegya Akgun; and writer Ben Hodgson's narrative poetry in English delivered by multi award winning actor

. Film's emotive music by Philip Glass, Tigran Hamasyan, Michael Nyman and the others is an integral part of the story, complementing the visuals and poetry.

Production

After his initial plans to film in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

—the city where Varoujan lived and worked—were not achievable, production started in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

, Armenia, with the majority of the cast from the Gyumri Drama Theater and at locations at Gyumri railway station,

Vartanants Square Vartanants Square ( hy, Վարդանանց Հրապարակ ''Vartanants Hraparak'') or Vardanants Square, is the large central town square in Gyumri, Armenia. It is bordered by the Abovyan street from the west, Gai street from the north, Shahumya ...

Hovhannes Shiraz House-Museum The Hovhannes Shiraz House-Museum (Armenian: Հովհաննես Շիրազի տուն-թանգարան) was founded in 1983 in the Kumayri historic district of Gyumri, Armenia, and opened in 2003. The museum is devoted to the exhibition and preser ...

and the historic central district of the city. Additional scenes and the title sequence were filmed in the English city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

Poetry

The film uses two strands of poetry, in Western Armenian and English. Varoujan's original poetry is recited by Yeğya Akgün in

, accompanied by English subtitles, translated by

Alice Stone Blackwell Alice Stone Blackwell (September 14, 1857 – March 15, 1950) was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, radical socialist, and human rights advocate. Early life and education Blackwell was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Henry Browne ...

, Tatul Sonentz-Papazian, etc. Young Taniel Varoujan had witnessed

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide an ...

as a child, which profoundly affected his poetry, and the film uses some of his works which were prophetic about the 1915 events. "Taniel"'s scenes are explained in the poet's rich, innovative Western Armenian, using poems from his various books about loss, love, exile and his yearning for peace for the mankind. The film concludes with an epilogue from "Nemesis" (Նեմեսիս), an epic poem from "The Heart of the Race" The English poem, narrating the film, was written by Ben Hodgson and is called "Indelible". The poem is read by

, and is "Ben’s reading of contemporary accounts of the actual events later to be depicted in the film". The dual language version of the film has Western Armenian subtitles for "Indelible". The film and the Varoujan poems used in Taniel came to the

National Poetry Library The National Poetry Library is a free public collection housed at Royal Festival Hall in London's Southbank Centre. Situated on the fifth floor of the Royal Festival Hall, overlooking the river Thames, the library aims to hold all contemporary U ...

's librarian, poe
Chris McCabe
s attention during the library'
Endangered Poetry Project
in August 2018. Subsequently, when Chris McCabe was working on the anthology based on poems in endangered languages, he considered Varoujan's works and picked 'Alms'
Ողորմութիւն
to include among 50 other works.
Poems from the Edge of Extinction'
anthology was announced i
March 2019
and published in September 2019. Varoujan's poem is presented in both in

and in English, with an introduction and background about the poet, his life, the language and style. The book was very well received, and was officially launched a
London Literature Festival
at

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

Cast

- Narrator *Tigran Gaboyan - Taniel Varoujan *Yegya Akgun - Voice of Taniel Varoujan *Shoghakat MLké-Galstian - Araksi Varoujan *Samvel Grigoryan - Bedri Bey

Crew

*Garo Berberian - Director *Garo Berberian, Ben Hodgson - Writers *Nare Ter-Gabrielyan - Producer *Guri Goliadze, Ben Hodgson - Director of Photography *Mariam Dvalishvili - Assistant Director *Garik Manukyan - Production Design *Tatevik Ayvazyan - Poetry Producer *Lorraine Want - Film Editor *Jesse Hodgson - Illustrator *Mark Coory - Animation Designer *Richard Hinton - Foley Artist

Awards and nominations

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

— Bermuda International Film Festival: Outstanding Director (for Garo Berberian) *

— Bermuda International Film Festival: Audience Award *

— ARPA International Film Festival: Best Short Film *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

&mdash
Avanca Film Festival
Don Quixote Special Mention Award *

&mdash
L'Age D'or International Arthouse Film Festival
Best Short Film, Best Poster , Special Mention for th
trailer
ref name=":0" /> *

&mdash
Fresco International Film Festival
Special Mention *

— Monochrome Film Festival: Best Cinematography , Best Foreign Film *

—

Cyprus International Film Festival The Cyprus International Film Festival (CYIFF) is an annual film festival held in Cyprus. The festival has taken place in Nicosia and more recently in Paphos, in cooperation with Cultural International Festivals. Description The International ...

: Best Short Direction *

— Art Visuals and Poetry Film Festival: International Audience Award * * "Taniel" has been selected to screen and nominated at a number of international festivals in 2018, such as in Sydney, Toronto, Bucharest, Washington DC, etc. Among them were the biggest Armenian film festival, Golden Apricot; ScreenPlay Film Festival run by Shetland Arts, curated by

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...

and

Linda Ruth Williams Linda Ruth Williams (born 16 April 1961) is Professor of Film Studies in the College of Humanities at the University of Exeter, UK. Her special interests include sexuality and censorship in cinema and literature (she has written widely on porno ...

and one of the oldest European Film Festivals at Montecatini. First festival of 2019 was SR Film Festival New York in March, followed by Buenos Aires, Avanca and Yerevan.

Notable Cultural Screenings

* 17 July 2018 -

Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute The Armenian Genocide Memorial complex ( hy, Հայոց ցեղասպանության զոհերի հուշահամալիր, ''Hayots tseghaspanutyan zoheri hushahamalir'', or Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, '' Tsitsernakaberd'') is Armenia's official ...

* 16 November 2018 -

Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fo ...

with

AGBU The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ� ...

Performing Arts * 19 April 2019 -

Hrant Dink Hrant Dink ( hy, Հրանդ Տինք; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspa ...

Foundation, Istanbul *3 May 2019 -

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

as a part o
Programme of Armenian Studies

Daniel Varoujan Daniel Varoujan ( hy, Դանիէլ Վարուժան, 20 April 188426 August 1915) was an Armenian poet of the early 20th century. At the age of 31, when he was reaching international stature, he was deported and murdered by the Young Turk gov ...

Annual Lecture, with an inaugural lecture by

Krikor Beledian Krikor Beledian ( hy, Գրիգոր Պըլտեան, born Beirut, 1945) is a prolific Armenian poet, novelist, and literary critic living in France. After graduating from the Armenian Lyceum Nshan Palandjian of Beirut, he moved to Paris in 1967, ...

References

External links

* *
Official website

«Ոսկէ ծիրան»ի սեւ-սպիտակ թեմաները
''

Agos ''Agos'' (in hy, Ակօս, "furrow") is an Armenian bilingual weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey, established on 5 April 1996. ''Agos'' has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an online English edition. Today, the paper h ...

''
Short film about Taniel Varoujan wins two awards at Bermuda Int’l Film FestivalThe Socially Relevant Film Festival Highlights Armenian Films
*{{cite web, last=Berberian, first=Garo, url=https://armenianweekly.com/2019/06/13/immortal-dream-the-making-of-taniel/, title=Immortal Dream: The Making of Taniel, date=13 June 2019 , publisher=

Armenian Weekly ''Armenian Weekly'' (originally ''Hairenik Weekly'') is an English Armenian publication published by Hairenik Association, Inc. in Watertown, Massachusetts in the United States. It is the sister publication to the Armenian language weekly ''Hai ...

Taniel on British Council Film Directory
Armenian-language films English-language Armenian films British multilingual films Armenian multilingual films Films based on poems Neo-noir British World War I films British drama short films 2018 multilingual films Armenian drama films Films about poets 2018 drama films 2018 short films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films