Ahead of its world premiere at DOC NYC on November 18, 2024, Emily Mkrtichian’s debut feature documentary, There Was, There Was Not unveiled its official trailer and poster.
The documentary presents an intimate portrait of four Armenian women on the brink and in the aftermath of a surprise invasion of Artsakh, as they resist the erasure of their homeland amidst renewed conflict.
There Was, There Was Not previously premiered at the True/False Film Festival earlier this year and went on to screen at other U.S. and international film festivals, earning critical acclaim and awards, including the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival in Armenia. The film is next set to screen at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina, the only ‘category A’ film festival in Latin America.
In 2018, Emily Mkrtichian initially set out to make a film about the daily lives and hopes of women in Artsakh – an autonomous, disputed ethnically Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia with an enduring legacy of conflict. She followed a minesweeper, an aspiring politician, a women’s rights activist, and a judo champion as they navigated a precarious peace while building their lives and communities. In 2020, when Azerbaijan launched a surprise attack and war broke out again, Mkrtichian continued filming as shelling began around her, witnessing her subjects’ worlds and dreams immediately transform. The documentary evolved from an observational meditation on strength into an urgent portrayal of survival, capturing the personal and cultural impacts of a homeland at risk of loss, and the power of story to keep it alive.
There Was, There Was Not will have its NYC premiere at DOC NYC in Fight The Power section on Monday, November 18 at 6:45 pm, followed by a second festival screening on Wednesday, November 20 at 9 pm, both taking place at Village East by Angelika with filmmaker Emily Mkrtichian in attendance. Filmmaker discussion following the premiere will be moderated by DOC NYC curator and journalist Bedatri Choudhury, while the second screening Q&A will be moderated by Hyperallergic editor/co-founder and Armenian community activist Hrag Vartanian. The film will be available to stream virtually nationwide on the DOC NYC platform starting November 19.
Watch the official trailer for There Was, There Was Not.
There Was, There Was Not was directed, produced, and shot by Emily Mkrtichian in her feature documentary debut. It was produced by Brock Williams (On Her Shoulders, It’s Only Life After All, The Body Politic), with Alexandria Bombach (On Her Shoulders, It’s Only Life After All) serving as an editor and executive producer. The documentary features Siranush Sargsyan, Svetlana Harutunyan, Gayane Hambardzumyan, Sosè Balasanyan as its main subjects.
The film was recently added to the slate of the non-fiction festival strategist INDOX, which is set to lead its UK and Ireland festival strategy. There Was, There Was Not was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, International Documentary Association Enterprise Fund, HotDocs Cross Currents Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, AGBU, Creative Armenia, True/False & Catapult Film Fund Rough Cut Retreat, IDFA, HotDocs Pitch Forum, and Visions Du Réel Works in Progress.
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