“Angels” and “Demons” of Film Director Hovhannes Galstyan

What kind of heroines does the national cinematography need?

Armenian cinema needs true heroines and honesty, in general. Not pseudo-honesty. This requires talent, experience and stagecraft. Otherwise, it is impossible to make a great movie.

What do you mean by saying a true heroine? Is she strong or weak? Is she a woman who fights for her happiness or the one that reconciles herself to her lot?

True means alive. If you watch a woman in the film and you can’t get her off your mind for a day, two, and five years, it means that she was a true heroine.

She can be both strong and weak at the same time. I mean the heroine, not the actress.

The heroines in your film “Bonded Parallels” are very interesting. They do not afraid of being criticized. They just strive for happiness.  Why did you choose such heroines? Was it a deliberate decision or happy coincidence? 

My heroines had real prototypes. That’s not the issue, however. Insincerity penetrates deep into the mind of the author and then into the characters he creates, if the author cares for such unnatural things as public opinion etc.  The author should discover himself, analyze his own angel and demon, and then create his like. Art is privacy, even such collective art is movie.

Have you already discovered your angel and demon?

Well, I am still discovering.

What about the heroine of your new film “Lucid Place?”

The principal character in “Lucid Place” is a man, but he is in the company of women, Marie and Janette. The other characters unveil him. That is why these two women are very important to me and to him. “Lucid Place” is my first film where I try to seriously research a male character. As strange as it may seem, these two women help me discover him. This shows how often we do not understand ourselves and how hard it is to discover your own ‘angels’ and ‘demons.’ My hero is Gabriel - a choreographer at 44 – I should have known him very well, inherently. However, I had worked on the character for 2 years until those two women helped me discover him.

Do you mean that only a woman can discover a man?

The character is revealed when he occurs in an unusual situation and has to make crucial decisions. His choice, not the set phrases that flooded the movie, is what demonstrates that he is a true and autonomous character.  The hero needs action, which is impossible unless he is not alone. He needs also other heroes. In my film, these are heroines.  However, if Gabriel were a football player or a miner, maybe, I would reveal him with help of other male heroes… In the “Lucid Place,” women reveal the hero. However, it is not an axiom.

Have you already decided where to shoot the film?

We have decided the place. However, it is very hard to decide when to start. Thanks to our partner, the location outside Armenia is found – it is the south of France, Languedoc. We have chosen the location inside Armenia too. We will start shooting as soon as the financial bag is full by 70%-80%. I will not dare to start, unless there is sufficient funding, like I did when making the “Bonded Parallels.” Then I sought to make my first film to prove to myself that I can do it. Now, I have different goals.

What are your goals now?

To be caution with compromises and do everything to the maximum.

You said the true image of a woman lives for years. Can you name the heroines you can’t get off your mind?

Julianna from The Red Desert. I am still in love with her.

How has she gained your heart?

She was full of life, impressive, huggable. I was 16 then, not older. I was at high school.

I cannot but ask you. What kind of honesty do you think the Armenian cinema needs?

I cannot say what is the honesty formula, but a man always strives for the truth. Lie, hypocrisy, falsehood are abhorrent to human beings. A spectator feels falsehood at once. He either leaves cinema or watches the film till the end with disgust. False films cannot enjoy popularity. When we learn to make films that will be screen internationally, we will realize what honesty we lacked. So far, we have nothing to do but pretend that we have what to be proud of. Some 15 films are screened in the country every year and very few of them enjoy popularity… To call it cinematography is self-deception.

A good film that will “break into Hollywood” requires good funding.

Georgian film “Corn Island” and the Georgian-Estonian film “Tangerines” broke into Hollywood, let alone Alejandro González Iñárritu. Integration process is not easy: it requires talent, luck, policy, cinematic environment… Many of the films made in Armenia lack this all.

You are very critical about the local cinematography…

Not me, but the professional cinematography society. I just try to look into the reasons of such situation. Our films have neither been presented at big festivals nor screened internationally for 25 years already. As long as we don’t care for that, we will continue to watch, not make, great films.