WEST NEWTON, Mass. — The West Newton Cinema Foundation will present a special screening of the internationally acclaimed documentary “There Was, There Was Not,” on Friday, November 7, at 7 p.m., at the West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington St.
Following the screening, the film’s writer and director Emily Mkrtichian will participate in the Director’s Spotlight, a program of the West Newton Cinema Foundation. The question-and-answer discussion will be moderated by Paul Boghosian, President of Harbor Side Films. The film company produces documentaries (PBS), public affairs programming as well as major television and cable and streaming projects for networks and private clients. Presently in development is an adaption of Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet, Peter Balakian’s memoir, Black Dog of Fate.
A reception follows the Q&A, hosted by anoush’ella.
For tickets, $20/person are available at westnewtoncinema.com
“West Newton Cinema is continually looking for films that engage our community in interesting and important topics. This documentary captures the determination and beauty of daily living in a part of the world that deserves more attention”, comments JB Sloan, who serves on the Board of Directors of the West Newton Cinema Foundation and its Programming Committee
In 2018, 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.
