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Invitation to Armenia

The screening is at a cinema quite near the hotel, and the screen itself is enormous. After introducing the film I am given a seat near the front, and I find myself studying almost scientifically, the slight shifts of focus in the huge image caused by the angle of the projector. Knowing the film so well it is hard to concentrate on its content any more; it is the subtle variations of projection from one cinema to another which take my attention, for these subtleties add up to a different experience each time. In that sense there is no ‘absolute’ film. It is a live event, and a mutable object. The audience is enthusiastic, there are the usual professional autograph collectors each with their request for multiple signatures; and immediately after the Q&A I receive in quick succession, invitations to take the film to festivals in Armenia, Israel, Turkey, and Norway. A film offers many such opportunities to travel, but sadly, the invitations often clash with each other. But the idea of returning to Armenia is tempting. My first and last experience was in 1984, when I went there as part of a ‘film tour’; we looked at film studios across the Soviet Union and I showed ‘Thriller’ to small groups of filmmakers. Jon Jost was in the group, making a film as we traveled. I remember a childrens art museum in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia – work by children rather than for them – each young artist treated with the utmost respect. It was thrilling.

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