Charents: In Search Of My Armenian Poet Facebook Page

Charents: In Search Of My Armenian Poet explores the life and works of one of Armenia's best-loved poets, Eghishe Charents, who was tragically killed in a Stalinist prison in 1937 under mysterious circumstances.

Who was this man, this poet? If you ask anyone today, without hesitation, they would say Charents was the poet of the people. A man who knew, in fact, lived through, his country's tumultuous history: witnessing a brutal genocide against his people, experiencing the loss of Armenia's historic homelands, and the despair and hunger that followed; civil war, and then revolution that brought a new hope, only to be followed by the gloom and terror of the Stalinist years. More than just a victim of the times, Charents became a martyr to his people and many consider him to be the father of modern Armenian literature.

This literary travelogue takes viewers on a journey from Armenia to the poet's birthplace in Kars, Turkey, with Grikor Babakhanyan - a poet in his own right - who, together with his friend and historian Volodia Arushanyan, set off to discover Charents' birth home in Kars. Traveling through Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey, Grikor and Volodya make new acquaintances that share their enthusiasm for Charents' poetry. Along their path, the inimitable beauty of the Transcaucasian mountainous landscape is revealed.

Weaving in between Grigor's journey to the poet's birthplace are stylized readings of Charents' poems and interviews with experts and ordinary people, creating a fascinating narrative of the poet's life and works.

Director/Writer - Shareen Anderson
Producers - Shareen Anderson and Tigran Nazaryan
Director of Photography - Shareen Anderson
Editor - Tigran Nazaryan
Field Producer - Sevan Naccashian
Executive Producers - Nareg Haroutunian and Nuno Gomes
Researcher - Sevan Naccashian
Consulting Producer - Lisa Henry
Komitas Piano Compositions Performed By Lucine Grigoryan
Untitled Piano Piece Composed and Performed By Tigran Mansurian
English Subtitle Translation - Noone Janjigian
Poems Translated By Diana Der-Hovhanessian
Additional Poems Translated by Noone Janjigian, Sevan Naccashian, and Shareen Anderson
Additional Editing - Shareen Anderson, Taku Kaskela, and Marina du Toit
Additional Camera - Tigran Nazaryan, Zareh Tjeknavorian, and Hayk Gasparyan
Boom Operators - Tigran Nazaryan, Artur Sukiasyan, Sarine Balaian, Ashot Gevorkyan, Gayane Khachatryan, and Andranik Aloiyan
Production Assistants - Artur Sukiasyan, Arevik Avanesyan, Naira Hayrapetyan, and Andranik Aloiyan
Post Production Assistants - Nina Khachatryan and Ivy Sithole
Animated Graphics - Tiran Karapetyan
Online Editor - Warwick Allen, Mushroom Media
Final Audio Mix - Shawn Smith

RELATED LINKS:

Charents: In Search Of My Armenian Poet Facebook Page
Naregatsi Art Institute