23 November 2023
On November 22, at Moscow Cinema, the screening of the film "Absent Image" by director Hrant Vardanyan took place, dedicated to the Master of documentary cinema, Artavazd Peleshyan. The Master's reaction was positive upon learning that a film would be made about him.
On the initiative and proposal of the RA Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sport, director Hrant Vardanyan joint with the Hayk Documentary Film Studio, started shooting the film back in 2018, picturing the jubilee evening dedicated to the Master's 80th birthday. The filming started on that day and continued for five consecutive years with some breaks in-between, of course, breaks were necessary to ensure a correct and unbiased perception of the situation.
Film critic Karen Avetisyan remarked that there were many documentary mentions of Artavazd Peleshyan, and each of them depicted the Master in a unique way. Talking about Hrant Vardanyan's film, Avetisyan said, "Here we got Hrant Vardanyan's film. It's different and bold compared to other ones. First, in terms of ''approachability'': both the author and the Master could reach each other as closely as possible, which is usually really hard with Peleshyan. Second, the boldness—an attempt was made to talk about Peleshyan in his language-the one which is hard to explain, yet very emotional," remarked Karen Avetisyan.
The director of the film, Hrant Vardanyan, also expressed gratitude to the audience. "Thank you for being here and sharing this moment with me. The film is an attempt to converse with Peleshyan in his own language, and I'm not sure how successful I've been. Unfortunately, the Master couldn't be here. I've been by his side for two years and I am proud of that. This proximity allowed us to understand each other and I tried to introduce Artavazd Peleshyan, whom I know, through this film,” said Vardanyan.
"Absent Image" is not Peleshyan’s biography, it is not a chronicle of his film-making history or professional activities. Rather, it's a journey alongside Artavazd Peleshyan—sharing tea and coffee, visiting museums and cinema halls, meeting with film enthusiasts and young filmmakers, immersing in everyday life, feeling the pulse of the Master, and simply experiencing life with him. They went to Lisbon together, where Artavazd Peleshyan held a master class and Hrant Vardanyan captured the dynamic interaction between the Master and the audience, filming his speech, as well as his theoretical and practical observations about cinema. They spent four days shooting in Paris. They also visited the House of the Lumière Brothers.
By the way, Artavazd Peleshyan has made a half-joking, half-serious observation about the Lumiere brothers. "Cinema is a monster," says Peleshyan, "such a monster that after the Lumiere brothers invented cinema, they never made any more films."
"Absent Image" was made possible by the initiative of the RA Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sport and the state financial support of the National Cinema Center of Armenia and Hayk Documentary Film Studio.
