Women Make Waves International Film Festival

Program

1489

Shoghakat VARDANYAN 2023 Armenia color 76min DCP
When the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out, 21 year old Soghomon’s mandatory military service was nearing its end, but he was still called up to the frontline. When a week into the war he goes missing in action, his sister Shoghakat picked up her phone and started filming. The resulting film, 1489, traces Shoghakat and her parents’ agonizing journey over the next two years to make sense of what has happened to their beloved brother. Refusing to look away and unflinching in the face of intense grief, Shoghakat crafts a raw and rare piece of first-person cinema, laying bare the human cost of geopolitics. A powerful and vulnerable film that speaks to the depths of the camera’s ability to not only capture trauma but also to process it.

Director

Shoghakat VARDANYAN

Born in 1993, Shoghakat comes from a family of artists. She is a professional musician and pianist who has never studied filmmaking. Her debut documentary 1489 won Best Film in International Competition and FIPRESCI Awards at the 2023 IDFA.

Director's Statement ▾

Shoghakat VARDANYAN

2023 1489

Producer, Cinematographer: Shoghakat VARDANYAN

Creative Producer: Marina RAZBEZHKINA

Editor: Tigran BAGHINYAN, Armen PAPYAN

Shoghakat Vardanyan
shoghakatvardanyan@gmail.com