Vahagn Khachatryan, Aren Malakyan
Armenia / Germany, 82′ 2022

Melania, in her mid-sixties, works as a lift operator in a Yerevan hospital and longs for a late career as a cosmonaut. In a way, she seems to be an anachronistic remnant of the Soviet age. The deep country, still ruled by ancient traditions and ideas of happiness, is represented by the farmer Karen, who is looking for the best of all possible wives. And Amasia and Sona are part of a new generation awaiting the demonstrations and hopes of the revolution. What unites these characters is the dream of a self-determined life – a near-impossibility in a country where the government tries to control everything and everyone.

Vahagn Khachatryan was born in Yerevan, in 1991. He moved to China at the age of 17, and from 2008-2014 studied Filmmaking at the Beijing Film Academy, and started shooting documentaries. From 2014 to 2016 he was part of the DOC Nomads Program, and studied at the ULHT Lusófona University in Portugal, the SZFE University of Theatre and Film Arts in Hungary and the LUCA School of Arts / College Sint Lucas in Belgium.

Aren Malakyan was admitted to the Department of Film Art of Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinema. In 2013, he presented his film “Love Confession in Japanese Style” in Sofia Student Films Festival, Bulgaria, and won in the nomination of Best Film Editing. In 2013, Aren participated in the Polish documentary project “From Sunrise to Sunset” and within the scope of that project he directed the film “Grandpa and Grandma”.