Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

[freakyfreaky]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979138.html?categoryId=2878&cs=1

[TomServo]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

She won the World Cinema Director award at Sundance.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

Yeah, I saw that. Very impressive.

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

Won award at 2008 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czech Republic and at Berlin, Sofia and Sochi. http://www.azg.am/EN/2008071903

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1346885/

Review of her 2004 film Mars. http://russianfilm.blogspot.com/2008...mars-2004.html

Sells out at 2008 Apricot; wins Apricot.

http://www.gaiff.am/en/news/2008/07/19/annamelikyan/

http://www.gaiff.am/en/news/2008/07/20/win2008/

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

Melikyan's "The Mermaid" selected as Russia's entry as Best Foreign Film in the 2009 Oscars.

http://en.rian.ru/culture/20080923/117046067.html

http://en.rian.ru/video/20080924/117078526.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/inc/quickread/e3i145a1d5cabedb4a11cd0a5c192ab14f3?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=310&width=600

http://www.huliq.com/1/69126/anna-melikyans-rusalka-enter-2009-oscars

Has entry in recently formed Asia Pacific Screen Awards. http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1

Here's her new project.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938486.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

Welcome to Khalyvood, Anna!!!

[freakyfreaky]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

Leaves Mumbai right before terrorist attack last November. Lucky girl.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia80d5f25758725bc50c2e4d590610266

"Mermaid"
Mermaid (Russia)
Jan 7, 2009, 10:49 PM ET

A young woman lives in a world of her own making after she decides to stop speaking in this bittersweet, whimsical tale from writer-director Anna Melikyan.

I was born in Armenia, in Yerevan, and moved to Moscow right after graduating from school. My way to filmmaking was a logical step -- actually I did it all my life, although I didn't know that it was directing. I made some shows at school even when I was in a kindergarten. We had a special part of class time that we called "Fairy Tales From Anna." All the children would sit in the circle and I was in the center of it, telling fairy tales. Now I'm doing the same thing, I'm telling fairy tales.

"Mermaid" is a very personal film. I can't say that it's absolutely autobiographical, it wouldn't be true, but it's still much related to me. The themes in "Mermaid" -- wish fulfillment, destiny, accidents and mystical happiness in our everyday life -- all of them are interesting for me. This is probably because these things actually happen. For example, I was in the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai (I was presenting "Mermaid" at the festival there), and I decided to change my plane tickets and come back home earlier. I just arrived in Moscow, and I turned on the TV and saw the terrible images of the hotel on fire, and how it was taken by terrorists. If I didn't change my tickets, I would have been there. Life is full of mystical coincidences.

The process of production on my film was complicated. "Mermaid" was stopped because of lack of financing. It was stopped for a half a year. But during that half-year I didn't waste my time, so when we began to shoot I was already pregnant -- and this was the greatest challenge.
Mermaid (Russia)
Jan 7, 2009, 10:49 PM ET

Jump to film
The Lion's Den
Jerusalema
Departures
The Color of Fame
Tony Manero
A young woman lives in a world of her own making after she decides to stop speaking in this bittersweet, whimsical tale from writer-director Anna Melikyan.

I was born in Armenia, in Yerevan, and moved to Moscow right after graduating from school. My way to filmmaking was a logical step -- actually I did it all my life, although I didn't know that it was directing. I made some shows at school even when I was in a kindergarten. We had a special part of class time that we called "Fairy Tales From Anna." All the children would sit in the circle and I was in the center of it, telling fairy tales. Now I'm doing the same thing, I'm telling fairy tales.

"Mermaid" is a very personal film. I can't say that it's absolutely autobiographical, it wouldn't be true, but it's still much related to me. The themes in "Mermaid" -- wish fulfillment, destiny, accidents and mystical happiness in our everyday life -- all of them are interesting for me. This is probably because these things actually happen. For example, I was in the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai (I was presenting "Mermaid" at the festival there), and I decided to change my plane tickets and come back home earlier. I just arrived in Moscow, and I turned on the TV and saw the terrible images of the hotel on fire, and how it was taken by terrorists. If I didn't change my tickets, I would have been there. Life is full of mystical coincidences.

The process of production on my film was complicated. "Mermaid" was stopped because of lack of financing. It was stopped for a half a year. But during that half-year I didn't waste my time, so when we began to shoot I was already pregnant -- and this was the greatest challenge.

http://unzipped.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-russia-based-armenian-film-director.html

[FrostBITE]

Re: Anna Melikyan: Film Director to watch.

I met her.

I was revisiting Brigham Young University early last year when I ran into a group of college friends from back in the day. They were very much into independent cinema (one of them was an assistant film editor working on a major production) decided we should attend the Sundance Film Festival. I ran into Anna, and asked her if she was Armenian, to which she replied "Shto?" I forgot that English was probably her third or fourth language, so I asked her in Armenian. She was enthused to meet a fellow Armenian and we both went out for a night on the town. Being in Utah, a decent place was hard to come by, but a young actor suggested a fine restaurant which we both really enjoyed. We had Russian caviar with Chardonnay and discussed Armenian art, Fellini's La dolce vita, philosophy, and the significance of Sartre's opposition to the French war in Algeria. One thing led to another and several hours later, as we lay in post-coital bliss at the Ogden Best Western Inn, Anna whispered, in broken English, "I never forget tonight."

I never saw or heard from her again.