Artavazd Peleshyan retrospective  

All movies

II programme (Our Century/The End/Life)

Our Century

“Our Century” concerns itself with some astronauts preparing themselves for a space flight. In no other Peleshyan film has the ecstasy over human achievement mingled with the agony of existence in such an intricate fashion. The point is not the establishment of a simple irony, but of an exploration of what makes humanity go on, against all odds. “Our Century” is a film about us, about me. It’s about what I’m striving for, what we’re all striving for- every person, humanity. But the wishes and desires of the people to ascend, to transcend, are literally carried out by the cosmonauts” - Artavazd Peleshyan.

The End

“The End” is a series of shots inside a speeding train, the passengers of which are of diverse age groups, ethnicities and emotional statuses. The train itself feels like a microcosm of the whole world, each of whose inhabitants is moving towards an individual destination but the totality of them going in the same direction. From time to time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Life

Running for a mere seven minute time span, A. Peleshyan, for most part of the film, presents us extreme close-ups of a woman delivering a baby. Probably the most moving Peleshian film, “Life” is also the most overt manifestation of the ever-present Peleshian-ian conversation between human pain and ecstasy. In “Life” A. Peleshyan uses colour for the first time.

Artavazd Peleshyan

Born in Giumri 1938 in, Armenia, Artavazd Peleshyan is a director and film theorist. He studied at VGIK, the oldest film school in Moscow. He is renowned for developing a style of cinematographic perspective known as distance montage, combining the perception of depth with oncoming entities, such as running packs of antelopes or hordes of humans. He also uses archive footage alongside his own. His films, mostly black and white shorts without dialogue, are on the border between documentary and fiction. Artavazd Peleshyan is also the author of numerous theoretical works, such as “Moyo kino” (1988). In 2006 he was given “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Yerevan International Film Festival. In 2015 he won a prize for the contribution to world cinema at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival.

Selected Filmography

Life (Kyanq, 1993)
The End (Verj, 1992)
Our Century (Mer Dare, 1983)
The Seasons (Vremena goda, 1975)
Inhabitants (Obitateli, 1970)
We (Menq, 1969)
The Beginning (Skizbe, 1967)
Earth of People (Zemlya lyudey, 1966)

Film sessions

09.23 Saturday
  • Skalvija (Vilnius) 18:20 Presentation

09.26 Tuesday
  • Skalvija (Vilnius) 17:00


Information

Our Century

Director: Artavazd Peleshyan
Cinematography: Laert Poghosyan, O. Savin, R. Voronov, A. Shumilov
Editing: Artavazd Peleshyan
Sound: O. Polisonov
Production: Yerevan Film Studio
Armenia SSR, 1983, without tekst, 50'


The End

Director: Artavazd Peleshyan
Editing: Artavazd Peleshyan
Cinematography: Vahagn Ter-Hakobyan
Production: Hayk Film Studio
Armenia, 1992, without tekst, 10'

 
Life

Director: Artavazd Peleshyan
Cinematography: Vahagn Ter-Hakobyan
Editing: Artavazd Peleshyan
Sound: O. Polisonov
Production: Armenian Film Studios
Armenia, 1993, without tekst, 7'