ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Script Development Fund
2024 Script Development Fund
LIST The Sickness of Yerevan
| Category | AFA / BAFA Project |
|---|---|
| Project | The Sickness of Yerevan |
| Director | Ovsanna GEVORGYAN |
| Country | Armenia |
| Director's Profile | Ovsanna Gevorgyan is an Armenian writer and director with an MFA in film directing from Columbia University. Her short film, Tale of the Anguished Gardener (2019), premiered internationally at the Raindance International Film Festival 2019 and her feature film script My Heart Is Like Those Ruined Houses won Grand Prix at the Pro Industry Platform of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival 2022, as well as the Industry Platform’s Pitch Competition at Tbilisi International Film Festival 2023. Ovsanna′s short film, Orphanhood (2021), received the best cinematography award for a short film from the Cinematographers’ Guild of Armenia in 2021. She was among 20 filmmakers selected for the prestigious Chanel X Busan International Film Festival Asian Film Academy 2022. Her TV series project Land of Nairi was part of the Torino Film Lab Next - TV Series 2022, and the Doha Film Institute Series Lab 2022 and Qumra 2023. Ovsanna’s latest short film, Headless Horsemen (2023), had its world premiere at Busan International Film Festival 2023. |
- Synopsis
-
NANOR, mid-30s’, suffers from a genetic condition known as Familial Mediterranean Fever. It is so common among Armenians that inside the country the illness is referred to as “Yerevanyan” (Eng.- “The Sickness of Yerevan”). Commonly, only people of certain ethnicities suffer from this disorder, and it manifests in attacks of extreme abdominal and muscle pain that can last up to several days. The strangest thing about this incurable disease is that for Armenians the attacks may stop if the patient moves away from Armenia.
Nanor escaped the suffocating Armenian environment, and her sickness, and moved away to America, where she led a seemingly perfect life. But, after her visa renewal is denied, she must return to Yerevan, to her patriarchal family, a nosy community, the weight of her historical heritage, and her illness. She must take back onto her shoulders the burden of her identity.
- Director’s Note / Intention
-
I see many spiritual problems in Armenian society, which only such an all-encompassing and influential medium as filmmaking can address. The protagonist′s incurable disorder is a metaphor for the Armenian identity that pains Nanor so much, and makes her life so burdensome. This takes her on a journey of self-discovery and eventual realization that, though heavy, painful, and almost unbearable, this crushing weight is the essence of her identity. Without it, she is empty and lost.
I want to take my audience on a journey of discovery, revealing who contemporary Armenians are, what made us who we are now, and what problems we face as a people.