Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

[Stark Evade]

http://www.danceswithfilms.com/10_list_f_sz.html

At a Dances With Films film festival happening at I guess the Sunset 5, a film from Armenia called "Yerek Yereko" was selected and is playing tomorrow. I don't know anything about it but it's probably a good idea to support if you can.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/YEREK-YEREKO-the-movie-EREK-EREKO/124999497511008

[One-Way]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

Thank you so much for posting this.

I have tickets to see To Catch a Thief tomorrow night, and now I feel guilty. I might end up going to this instead so I'll share my thoughts if I do.

[One-Way]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

So, I ended up seeing this film tonight and I'd like to share my thoughts. I want to thank you, Stark, for bringing this to my attention. It's weird to think how someone that I don't even know (in person) ended up changing my plans for the evening, as I was originally going to go to Pasadena to watch To Catch a Thief and ended up in Los Angeles to watch Yerek Yereko.

I decided to read up on the film before going, and discovered that the film was only 64 minutes in length, and was filmed with a consumer camera (HDV) with a budget of $2,500. This immediately changed my expectations because this was as independent as I could picture a film. It was made under the same circumstances as my own short projects, so it was interesting to see how the filmmakers would use their creativity to their advantage given their constraints.

Yerek Yereko is a film by Arshak Amirbekyan, and is his first feature film. It's set in the 1960s and tells the story of a lonely man, who is working on his doctoral thesis. As he works, he finds a young woman who is waiting outside his window and begins speaking to her. During their first meeting, he discovers that she has been following her husband, who seems to be having an affair. During their second meeting, the man invites the woman inside after seeing her standing out in the rain. As she comes in, she begins talking about her feelings and releases her emotions. She confides in him and tells him how she really feels about her life. She abruptly leaves, only to return the third evening... when she shows up unexpectedly. During their third meeting, she drops in to visit her friend, as they drink beer and eat rye bread. They laugh, reminisce, and even begin dancing. Their evening shifts into something much more intimate, as their relationship begins to evolve.

I don't want to go any further, but it's not really what you would expect. Instead, it's about finding a friend and establishing a compassionate relationship. In the end, the woman flees and tells him to think of their meeting as nothing more than a dream. Yerek Yereko was adapted from a short story that the filmmaker's father had originally written. It's quite, atmospheric, and gives way to emotions. Kristina Zaminyan and Georgi Amirago are impressive as the leads, never letting their character's vulnerbabilities get the better of them. Their chemistry is natural, as they add depth to the realism of the film.

Yerek Yereko has its flaws; its production value is what you would expect given the production information. Its cinematography is both beautiful and flawed - at times, we feel like we are in the room as the characters, whereas other times, we feel very much like we are watching a film. Arshak Amirbekyan was in attendance and mentioned that he was inspired by Italian neorealism films, which prompted him to go ahead with such a low budget. As a result, the film is often heavy handed, with noticeable flaws in many regards; framing and sound design (I had to read the subtitles to keep up because I couldn't make out what they were saying most of the time). Despite this, it's a beautiful film that speaks to our hearts. It presents us with an usual encounter between a man and a woman and makes room for an hopeless love story. I spoke to Mr. Amirbekyan and he was a very generous man, who seems to have given his heart to the making of the film. In my opinion, that's all that matters.

I'm going to write about this film more in depth for my blog, but I just wanted to share this for now. I think we need more filmmakers like this because they will be contributing a lot to our cinema. Unlike East of Byzantium, it actually does something good for our country, and reaffirms a sense of the nation. It was beautiful seeing Armenian throughout the film - on the big screen - and seeing these actors speak in Armenian and have Armenian credits.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

I'm going to write about this film more in depth for my blog, but I just wanted to share this for now. I think we need more filmmakers like this because they will be contributing a lot to our cinema. Unlike East of Byzantium, it actually does something good for our country, and reaffirms a sense of the nation. It was beautiful seeing Armenian throughout the film - on the big screen - and seeing these actors speak in Armenian and have Armenian credits.

I'm going to put in my $0.02 here since both you and Stark are advocats of theatre and film. Although what you say may be true to someone who understands film and art, the target audience for movies like 300, Gladiator, and East of Byzantium (if it ever gets developed) can't appreciate film in the same sense that you do. In that sense, a better film doesn't necessarily become more popular because the audience is molded to expect CGIs, sound effects, predictable storyline and poor acting.

[One-Way]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

I loved Gladiator and hated 300. This was before I "appreciated" film. Honestly, it's common sense. I can't understand how people like these type of films, and that's not coming from the film side of me. That's how I have always felt.

[ara87]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

I'm going to put in my $0.02 here since both you and Stark are advocats of theatre and film. Although what you say may be true to someone who understands film and art, the target audience for movies like 300, Gladiator....

??????????


How can you even group these two films together, one is a work of art and the other is just crass.

[Mamgun]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

Hey Stark is this film playing again? I would love to check it out... sadly I was shooting on the 8th.

Best

[Muhaha]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

I'm going to put in my $0.02 here since both you and Stark are advocats of theatre and film. Although what you say may be true to someone who understands film and art, the target audience for movies like 300, Gladiator, and East of Byzantium (if it ever gets developed) can't appreciate film in the same sense that you do. In that sense, a better film doesn't necessarily become more popular because the audience is molded to expect CGIs, sound effects, predictable storyline and poor acting.

Oh Heeeeeeeeeeeellll Naaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwww. You did not just put 300 into the same group as Gladiator.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

Oh Heeeeeeeeeeeellll Naaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwww. You did not just put 300 into the same group as Gladiator.

Yeah, all the same crap to me.... Gladiator, 300, Braveheart... the list goes on and on.

Some people like 300 better because of the effects and others liked Gladiator because it was more genuine... just matters how you prefer wasting 2 hours of your time.

http://thetossup.wordpress.com/2008/...diator-or-300/

[Mamgun]

Re: Armenian Indy Film playing tomorrow in L.A.

mmmmmmm Gladiator is a far superior film, made by the great Riddley Scott... 300 lacks soul.... lots of it... you guys should watch Mongol... brilliant film a lot better than Gladiator in my opinion.... well in that case you guys should watch Antichrist by Lars Von Trier and of course El Secreto de sus Ojos de Juan Jose Campanella WINNER of Best Foreign Film at teh Academy Awards this year ... very proud of my guys!