“Artdocfest” will not be held in Yerevan this year due to the Facebook post of the festival president

The banned in Russia “Artdocfest” film festival will not be held in Yerevan this year due to the Facebook post of the director of this project, Vitaly Mansky.

“The president of the festival, Vitaly Mansky, made an incorrect note about the documentary filming taking place in Azerbaijan. After our questions, the post was removed, and he commented that the filming was anti-war and had nothing to do with the Azerbaijani authorities. But as a result, the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema, where the films were supposed to be shown, canceled the screenings”, explained the organizer of the festival, “Kinoclub Yerevan”.

On November 8, when Azerbaijan was celebrating its victory in the 44-day war, director Mansky posted a photo of the Heydar Aliyev airport against the background of the Azerbaijani flag, writing these lines: – “It is already the second time that I am on “Victory Day” in Azerbaijan. I was so impressed by the first one that now I came to film the celebration around it for the new film.”

Although he later deleted that publication, he explained in a new post that he was called from Yerevan and told that they did not understand him correctly, and that he is ready to come to Yerevan and continue this difficult conversation about peace face to face, however, they are no longer waiting for a director in Armenia.

The Theater hosting “Artdok” is determined. Although this was a good opportunity for their students to get acquainted with the unique films shown in the framework of the festival, public relations officer Vova Arzumanyan said that they will not back down from the decision.

“We don’t think it’s right to provide space for holding the festival. To date, no contact has been established, but we are with the intermediary organization [«Կինոկլուբ Երևան». – խմբ.] we can implement other projects that will be important in the field of art. And I must also say that they were the first to inform about that post and were afraid to host it at the institute,” said Arzumanyan.

In the last post, Mansky also announced that the film “Nina’s Children” by Eduard Gevorgyan, about the Artsakh war, would be shown during the festival, which would provide an opportunity to hold discussions on this topic. Discussions took place, however, already under the director’s note. Armenians are upset, Azerbaijanis also demand an explanation.

The festival “immigrated” to Armenia last year and the organizer, “Kinoclub Yerevan”, decided to emphasize that free cinema has the right to live, actually expressing support for Mansky, against whom the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case and then announced a search.

The director publicly spoke against the war against Ukraine, participated in anti-war demonstrations.

It is noteworthy that Mansky’s career began with the war theme. He shot one of his first films in Lachin, when the Karabakh war was just starting, the Soviet Union had not yet collapsed.

He told from the movie that the Azeri school was on the mountain, and the Armenian school was at the bottom. in one place, children were taught that Karabakh is theirs, and in another, that Artsakh is ours. Mansky says that these children are now people in their 30s who probably gave their lives to that unfinished war.

To the question of whether there is a desire to go to Lachi again and shoot a new film, the director gave a very clear answer a year ago. – “Considering that Lachin is now in the territory of Azerbaijan, I kind of… don’t know… I don’t think that I will go there now. I do not think”.

A year ago, the famous director also said that when there is already a war, all humanitarian and peace-loving statements are actually provocation and betrayal. – “The muses are silent during war.”

Was Mansky’s deleted post about the silence of the muses?