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Katia Guiragossian (Claude Almodovar photo)
Arts & CultureInternational

Katia Guiragossian: Dreaming on Dreamhouse of Manouchians

by
Artsvi Bakhchinyan
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YEREVAN/MARSEILLE — Born in Paris, Katia Guiragossian has long worked in the French cultural field, combining her interests and training in literature, cinema and journalism. With a master’s degree in audiovisual production, she served as an editorial manager at OCS, a television platform specialized in films and series. Her personal commitment is expressed through her first feature film, “Missak et Mélinée Manouchian,” which tells the story of her great-uncle and great-aunt, emblematic figures of the Resistance in France.

As a member of the Elysée select committee for the pantheonization of these heroes, Katia is actively involved in the preservation of historical heritage.

Recently, she re-edited the testimony of her great-aunt, Mélinée, enriched with new documents, including unpublished notebooks found in Armenia. Passionate about the transmission of knowledge, she participates in research, conferences and exhibitions, and gives talks in schools to raise young people’s awareness of memory and the essential values of our society. Katia was honored to take on the role of godmother of the Fonds Arménien de France’s Phonéthon 2023, placed under the banner of Resistance. Deeply attached to her two home countries, she is firmly committed to mobilizing efforts on behalf of Artsakh refugees and promoting solidarity in response to current crises.

Dear Katia, French-Armenian community life is quite vibrant and you are one of its activists. What are your success stories and what should be still done?

Dear Artsvi, first of all, I am grateful to you for highlighting the vitality of the Franco-Armenian community. I completely agree with this vision. I have visited Armenia very regularly for many years, and I can feel the current cultural evolution and vibrancy. More and more initiatives and partnerships are emerging in France and Armenia, and I am delighted about this. I believe that we need to build connections between initiatives that focus on the same topics to pool our active resources. I just had a conversation with a filmmaker friend, Niagara Tonolli, who is currently in Yerevan, and I shared with her my desire to create portraits of artists and artisans as part of my Haylights project, and she mentioned that she had a similar idea.

I also have, through my association Hokisslab, the project of creating an artist residency: the Missak and Mélinée Yerazatoun (Dream House). And, of course, other writing projects. From my perspective, as long as there are men and women who resist, work, and fight for freedom, there will be heroes.

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You are the great-niece of Mélinée Manouchian, an iconic figure, about whom you made a documentary. Do you have memories of her?

My grandmother, Armene Cuiragossian, was Mélinée’s sister. Yes, I have many memories. My grandmother and I would regularly visit Aunt Mélinée in Paris. We would go to the Belleville market, a long walk with a rolling shopping cart, to buy groceries that we would bring to Aunt Mélinée’s home. And, since I loved sole meunière, I would always have my favorite fish dish on market days. I loved observing her apartment, the scattered papers, the books, her entire world. In my documentary Missak et Mélinée Manouchian, I share even more memories.

How was the Manouchain family’s reaction when you heard about the governmental decision on entry of Manouchian couple’s into the pantheon? What do you think, why it happened? 

It is always delicate to speak on behalf of others, but for this particular question, I believe I can say that the Manouchian family felt especially proud and honored by this decision. Being admitted to the Panthéon is the highest distinction. It means joining, at the heart of the republican temple, those who have made history through their actions, and it means remaining among these great figures for eternity.

The emotion one feels during a ceremony like this is pure and intense. The reasons for a Panthéonization, beyond being entirely deserved, are closely tied to politics and history. Of course. And we all know that moments of crisis within a nation crystallize fears and resentments. It is important, in these challenging times, to come together and reconnect, united, around emblematic figures who carry humanist and universal messages, like Missak and Mélinée do.

Poster of “Missak et Mélinée Manouchian”

Documentaries usually do not reach large audiences. Your film has been done in a short time. How has the reaction been?

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Yes, documentaries are unique works, especially today when fictional series are spreading everywhere. But documentaries do find their audience, and in the end, people are often quite enthusiastic after a screening because they learn something, and their interest is rewarded in that way. All the documentaries made in the context of this Panthéonization complement each other in the end. Each one highlights a specific angle. As for the one I made, it offers access to history through the lens of personal, intimate stories, and I believe that is what resonates with viewers.

It was made in record time with very limited resources; it’s my first feature-length film, and it certainly has many flaws, but it was created with heart and soul. The feedback from the audience tells me that they feel this and are moved by it. Recently, in Los Angeles, two artists I greatly admire praised my work and expressed their appreciation. Knowing that this film touched them so deeply is the greatest reward for me.

You travel to Armenia frequently. What brings a third-generation Diasporan to the country with lots of issues?

Above all, for most people in the diaspora, and for me as well, Armenia represents the missing piece. I am French and proud to be so, and I am Armenian and proud to be so. These two cultures have always coexisted within me, enriching each other. I need both to feel balanced.

Yes, Armenia has problems — serious ones. France also has problems, as does the entire world today. In Armenia, there is a surge of vital energy, almost as if to say: we are alive, like in the poem by Hovhannes Shiraz: “Eternal we are, like our mountains, And you will pass like raging winds.” I like to think that the new generation will move beyond what divided us yesterday to focus on what unites us: our love for our culture and our homeland.

Is Manouchian an outdated topic? Do you have other “heroes” for your next projects?

In Armenian, there is a saying I am particularly fond of when someone passes away: “He is not dead; he has become eternal.” That is also how I feel. Missak and Mélinée are now in the Panthéon, surrounded by their peers. It is a gathering of the greatest souls, and I like to think that they watch over us and inspire us to be worthy of them, a little more each day.

You mention outdated topics—in my film, I talk about history as a symphony, with its abrupt movements and clear upheavals. A topic that was silenced yesterday can suddenly find itself in the spotlight… we never know. But what we do know is that we should never say never.

As I said, I also wish to create a house in Armenia: “Missak and Mélinée Yerazatoun,” a place that would hold Missak and Mélinée’s dream library and discography and serve as an artist residency for writers, musicians, painters… who would collaborate on major themes such as freedom, commitment, and resistance.

 

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