Yerevan`s Moscow Cinema hosts Mher Mkrtchyan`s film `Golden Double` 

ArmInfo.  The Moscow Cinema hosted the Yerevan premiere of Mher Mkrtchyan's film "Golden Double," dedicated to Soviet football legend Nikita Simonyan, a seven- time  USSR champion: four times as a player and three times as a coach. It  was under his leadership that the Ararat football club achieved  historic success in 1973, winning the USSR Cup and the USSR  championship. This triumph forever etched the team into the history  of both Armenian and Soviet football.

The Yerevan premiere began with a tribute to Nikita Simonyan, who  passed away in November 2025. The audience also gave a standing  ovation to the living legends of FC Ararat: Sergei Bondarenko  (defender and midfielder), Norayr Mesropyan (left back), and Eduard  Markarov (forward), who were present at the screening. Renowned  sports commentator Suren Baghdasaryan was also among the guests.

The USSR Cup, which was given to Spartak Moscow for permanent  safekeeping in 1992, was also brought to the Yerevan premiere. The  trophy is engraved with the names of all the teams that won the USSR  football tournaments from its inception until its final season.

Introducing the film to Yerevan audiences, director Mher Mkrtchyan  noted that any director can have both successful and less successful  works. However, according to him, taking on such a sacred place for  the Armenian people as the legendary Ararat under Nikita Simonyan and  allowing creative failure would be tantamount to suicide.

The film "Golden Double" tells the story of Nikita Simonyan's  difficult journey as head coach of FC Ararat, his internal conflict,  complex relationships with his players, as well as the resilience,  discipline, and high professionalism that helped him overcome  difficulties both within the team and on the football field.  Filming  took place in Armenia.

In a recent interview, Nikita Simonyan himself admitted that he was  genuinely surprised when he was approached about the film idea. "The  only thing I wanted was for it to be truthful, for people to truly  know this story. Knowledgeable people I trust are working on the  project. I hope this story will inspire and motivate young people,  young footballers who dream of great victories," he said.

After watching the film, legendary Ararat players Sergei Bondarenko  and Norayr Mesropyan agreed with this opinion. Speaking to  journalists on the day of the premiere, they noted that the film is  primarily aimed at the younger generation-to preserve the memory of  what Ararat-73 was like and what kind of head coach Nikita Simonyan  was.

At the same time, Sergei Bondarenko expressed regret that the feature  film doesn't sufficiently vividly depict the game moments that evoked  the delight and pride of the fans. "They could have at least shown  fragments of those magnificent matches." "Dynamo Kyiv fought us tooth  and nail. "Basically, the youth won't see the miracle this team  performed, and they had something to show," he noted.

According to Bondarenko, the film could have at least shown the faces  of the Ararat-73 players so that the younger generation would know  their heroes by sight. Asked about the actor who portrayed his  character on screen, he noted wryly that his name was mentioned only  once in the film - in the scene where the coach asks Bondarenko to  pass the ball faster. "And by the way, I made the cleanest passes,"  he added.

Norayr Mesropyan, in an interview with ArmInfo, emphasized that the  film is, first and foremost, a memento, intended not for them, but  for the youth. He declined to comment on modern football, noting that  as a footballer, he cannot speak either positively or negatively  about his colleagues. The only recommendation, he said, would be the  systematic retraining of young Armenian coaches-sending them abroad  for training and subsequent work with young footballers in their  homeland.

It's worth noting that after the premiere, audience opinions were  also divided. Some were inspired and nostalgic for the atmosphere of  Yerevan, that football, and the warm, almost familial atmosphere of  the Soviet era that Mkrtchyan attempted to convey in the film.  Others, however, expected more, given the exceptional significance of  the topic for the entire Armenian nation, as it touches on one of the  few, but truly stellar chapters of national football.

It's worth noting that "Golden Double" is a joint project between AP  Cinema and the START online cinema. The film stars Yegor Beroev,  Babken Chobanyan, Andranik Khachatryan, David Manoyan, Sofia  Doniants, Artsrun Chobanyan, and others. The director is Mher  Mkrtchyan, and the screenwriters are Eduard Ayanyan and Valery

Saaryan, who also served as the project's general producer. The  cinematography was done by Artur Karajan and Fyodor Lyass, and the  production designer was Anna Abolits. The film was produced with the  support of the Russian Ministry of Culture. As a reminder, the  decisive match between Ararat and Dynamo took place on October 10,  1973, at the Lenin Central Stadium in Moscow, in front of a sold-out  crowd (approximately 60,000 spectators). The 1973 USSR Cup final  ended with Ararat defeating Dynamo Kyiv 2- 1 after extra time.

In the 61st minute, Dynamo opened the scoring with a penalty kick  from Viktor Kolotov; Levon Ishtoyan equalized in the 89th minute. In  extra time, in the 103rd minute, Ishtoyan scored the second goal,  giving Ararat the victory.