The cinema of Armenia was established on 16 April 1923, when the Armenian State Committee of Cinema was established by

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

decree. The National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCAA), founded in 2006, is the governing body of film and cinema in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

. The NCAA preserves, promotes and develops Armenian

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

and provides state financial support to full-length feature, short and animation projects. The Director of the NCCA is Shushanik Mirzakhanyan, and the headquarters are located in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

History

The first Armenian film with Armenian subject called "Haykakan Sinema" was produced in 1912 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

by Armenian-Egyptian publisher Vahan Zartarian. The film was premiered in Cairo on 13 March 1913. In March 1924, the first

n film studio: ''

Armenfilm Armenfilm (russian: Арменфильм; hy, Արմենֆիլմ), also known as Hayfilm ( hy, Հայֆիլմ), is an Armenian film studio located in Yerevan. The studio was founded on 16 April 1923 as a production unit of the Soviet State Cinem ...

'' ( hy, Հայֆիլմ "Hayfilm," russian: Арменкино "Armenkino") was established in

, starting with ''Soviet Armenia'' (1924), an Armenian

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

. '' Namus'' was the first Armenian silent

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film (1925), directed by

Hamo Beknazarian Hamo Beknazarian ( hy, Համո Բեկնազարյան; russian: Амбарцум Бек-Назаров; 19 May 1891 – 27 April 1965), also known as Hamo Bek-Nazarov or Amo Bek-Nazarian, was a Soviet Armenian film director, actor and screenwrit ...

and based on a play of Alexander Shirvanzade describing the ill fate of two lovers, who were engaged by their families to each other since childhood, but because of violations of '' namus'' (a tradition of honor), the girl was married by her father to another person. The first

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, '' Pepo'' was shot in 1935, director

. More recent directors include: *

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

(best known for ''

The Color of Pomegranates ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in many polls as one of ...

'') *

Henrik Malyan Henrik Sureni Malyan ( hy, Հենրիկ Մալյան, also transliterated Henrik Malian; September 30, 1925 – March 14, 1988) was an Armenian film director and writer. He was born in Telavi, Georgia. Malyan's uncle was famous actor David ...

(Best known for Nahapet) * Artavazd Peleshian (best known for ''

Seasons of the Year ''Seasons of the Year'' ( hy, Տարվա եղանակները, Tarva yeghanaknery; ), also called ''The Seasons'' or ''Four Seasons'', is a 1975 Soviet– Armenian short documentary film, directed and written by Artavazd Peleshyan. It was his se ...

'') *

* Edmond Keosayan * Frunze Dovlatyan *

Mikhail Vartanov Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...

(best known for '' Parajanov: The Last Spring'') * Levon Mkrtchyan (Hovhannes Shiraz) * Atom Egoyan (best known for ''Ararat'') * Harutyun Khachatryan * J. Michael Hagopian, for his acclaimed documentaries on the

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

, modern Armenian history, and historical Armenia Modern day Armenian cinema produces two or three features, eight shorts and fifteen documentary films each year.

Film festivals

Film festivals held in Armenia include the following in

: * The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, since 2004 *The ReAnimania International Animation Film & Comics Art Festival of Yerevan, since 2005 *The Sose International Film Festival, held annually by the Zis Center of Culture since 2014

International cooperation

The National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCCA) became a member of the

European Audiovisual Observatory The European Audiovisual Observatory (french: italic=no, Observatoire européen de l’audiovisuel, german: italic=no, Europäische Audiovisuelle Informationsstelle) is a public service organisation, part of the Council of Europe set up in 1992 ...

in 2012 and a member of

Eurimages Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages ...

in 2016. The NCCA also maintains an international relations department, which is tasked with coordinating activities related to the film industry, establishing business relations, and facilitating collaboration with

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an and international film structures.National Cinema Center of Armenia
/ref>

References

External links

Armenian Cinema: Armenian films and Armenian filmmakers

* Jean Radvanyi, ''Le cinéma arménien'', Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris 1993
National Cinema Center of Armenia
on Facebook {{Armenia-stub

History

Film festivals

International cooperation

See also

References

External links