08 October 2022
As part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia, Days of Russian Spiritual Culture are being held in Armenia on October 5-7.
In acknowledgement of long-term relations and close cultural cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the program "Days of Russian Spiritual Culture in Armenia" is being held in Yerevan. The program incorporates a number of multi-faceted and comprehensive cultural events.
On this occasion, on October 7 the Director of the Department of Cinematography and Digital Development of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Dmitry Davidenko, the Deputy Director of Gosfilmofond Artur Melikyan and the Director of the State Central Cinema Museum Larisa Bazhenova visited the National Cinema Center of Armenia, where they met the NCCA Director Shushanik Mirzakhanyan and a number of Armenian filmmakers. In his welcome speech Dmitri Davydenko highlighted the irreplaceable influence of Armenian cinematography on the Russian cinema.
The attendees concisely presented the activities of their organization, unanimously remarking that they all are pursuing the same goal - preservation and development of cultural heritage. In particular, Shushanik Mirzakhanyan spoke about the work being done for preservation and restoration of the Armenian cinema heritage prior to its 100th anniversary. "It is noteworthy that the 100th-anniversary commemorating events will continue through 2024 with an aim to mark the 100th anniversary of Sergey Parajanov, the greatest esthete and film poet of the 20th century", she added in her speech.
Supporting the conversation regarding the anniversary of Armenian cinema, Larisa Bazhenova proposed to organize an extensive event dedicated to the anniversary of Armenian cinema in the museum's venue in 2023. The event will showcase Armenian culture in its entire palette with a particular and multi-layered focus on the cinema. Ms. Bajenova emphasized that their museum preserves rich archival materials of Armenian filmmakers, which can be presented during the event days. Artur Melikyan, the Deputy Director of "Gosfilmofond", came up with mutually beneficial proposals for cooperation, noting that their archival collections contain the Armenian films, the copies of which are either unavailable or incomplete in Armenia. A. Melikyan expressed his willingness to support the digitization and restoration of those films.
Film producer and director Vardan Hovhannisyan presented his new documentary project dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage in Syria, noting the importance of co-production with the Russian side.
The meeting was held in warm business-like atmosphere in anticipation of new meetings and substantial cooperation.
