Voices from Armenia
Video journalism and creative projects
At the end of 2022, a blockade of the road between Armenia and Azerbaijan was set up and Armenians living in the land Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) were closed off from the world. I interviewed Armenians from Artsakh living in Yerevan about how the blockade affected them . At the time of the interview, the interviewees were unable to reach their families at home, and unaware of what the future of Artsakh would be like.
In 2023, Artsakh was internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan despite the population of the region consisting mainly of Armenians just a few months prior to the blockade.
The 2023 blockade – how it affected Armenians
A neighborhood in the developing world
Kond is not a neighborhood that you will stumble upon in the streets of Yerevan, unless you know where it is. While apartment buildings and wide streets are crowding Yerevan, generations of families have lived in the town houses in the neighborhood of Kond peacefully. At least they have done so until now. The expansion of modern apartment building in Yerevan will eventually find its way to Kond. What will happen to their homes and where will they live in the future?
Interviews were conducted with locals living in Kond in the spring of 2023.
Angel – a diaspora story
During world war 1, the genocide against Armenians conducted by turks caused the death of between 600.000 and 1,5 million Armenians in addition to the deportations of millions of Armenians. The genocide was never internationally recognized as such, and there is no academic consensus on the issue.
Coming to Armenia in 2023, I noticed that I was the only international student without Armenian roots. I was surrounded by diaspora Armenians - Armenians that had grown up in other parts of the world who had come “home” to discover their roots. I met Angel, my roommate, whose grandparents grew up in Libanon and moved to the United States in their youth. Angel grew up with an Armenian dad and an Italian mum.
The interview opens up her story as a diaspora Armenian seeking to know her roots and getting closer to her Armenian identity far away from where she grew up.
Yelena making a change to her life
As part of a creative project in our film class in Armenia, I conducted an interview with my friend Yelena and tried to be creative with my camera and video editing.