A traditional stone estate – a fortress of the Basque rural life, which preserves mysterious and ancient wisdom inside its ancient walls. In a contemporary world, living in such a place seems isolated and cruel. The inhabitants of the house often feel trapped by the destiny where they have appeared from the day they were born. Each of the three sons of Thomas and Ishabel is fighting against this reality in their own way, hiding behind the humor and finding an escape in traveling, or as Amaya, trying to find a way out through the works of art. Amaya is trying not to break off the roots from her heritage, while Thomas who grew up according to iron tradition is unable to understand Amaya’s life otherwise than finally leaving the house where many generations of her family used to live. Amaya desperately is trying to combine the artistic activities with ancestral heritage, even acting against her father’s persistent disagreement. While, the grandmother, Amama, silently follows how the family’s destiny is evolved, even when the world begins to fade away in front of her eyes …
The Basque film director Asier Altuna’s “Amama” film was presented to the feature film competition of the “Golden Apricot” Yerevan International Film Festival-13. “I am very proud that films in the Basque language are screened in Armenia. During the ten years, 3-4 feature films were produced in the Basque language. We could not invest a lot of money in those film but we have given our hearts and souls and have worked hard to make them better,” – said Asier Altuna today at a meeting with journalists. “Amama” is of a special significance for the film director as it mirrors the rural life, “I was born and grew up in the village, and later like many others, I moved to town. In this film, I have tried to “recreate” the village where I have lived,” – said Asier Altuna.
Siranush HAYRAPETYAN
