Аrmenia
10′22″, 2016
DIRECTED BY
PRODUCED BY
SCRIPTWRITER
Zareh Tjeknavorian
EDITED BY
Alina Tjeknavorian
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Zareh Tjeknavorian
CONTACT
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Shot on super 8mm film at the funeral of Catholicos Vazgen I, Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, Elegy in Light depicts an ancient and rarely seen rite of the Armenian Church with the sound of monastic ritual chant: an experience described by one viewer as “a psychedelic trip into medieval times.” This ethnographic cine-poem is, like the ceremony it depicts, a meditation on mortality. The fragmented images and impressionistic visual textures of 8mm film reflect the nature of memory and of the soul itself; a cinematic memento mori made from the substances of time and light.

Zareh Tjeknavorian dabbles in esotericism, ancient life-ways and forgotten histories through short and long-form films. His Enemy of the Peopleis recommended as one of the most important movies about Armenia. His curiosities go beyond the frame: The Enigma of Space, a panoramic study of „dragon-stones” of the South Caucasus, was recently published. Zareh currently lives in Denmark, where he teaches Directing at European Film College.