Harutyun Khachatryan (Akhalkalak, 1955) awarded the Benalmádena International Film (Spain) Prize at the Casa de la Cultura in Arroyo de la Miel. Previous editions of the prize have rewarded directors such as Ken Loach, Theo Angelopoulos and Guillermo del Toro. Portuguese actress and director María de Medeiros and German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff were also honored.
After receiving the “Niña de Benalmadena” trophy in the Arroyo de la Miel cultural center, he gave the following speech
‘Greetings to you all!
As you know, we are living through the most difficult days in Armenia and, consequently, in Armenian cinema. An entire nation has been attacked and forced to leave its homeland. 120,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh have fled to Armenia, leaving their homes behind. In this context, I think it’s pointless to talk about cinema: we have to film. A lot has been filmed since 1915, and a lot of cruel stories have been told.
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The painful reality is that genocides don’t stop, the truth doesn’t win and everything depends on oil, gas and the interests of the great powers.
In the meantime, it’s a pleasure for me to be here and to screen my films at your festival. I’ve taken part in various Spanish film festivals as president of the jury, and received awards for retrospective programs of my films. I had the honor of presenting one of my films at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. I’m proud that my films have aroused so much interest in Spain, and once again I’ve come here to salute and celebrate Spanish cinema.
Spanish cinema is one of my favorites. At the festival I founded in Yerevan, we have welcomed many leading Spanish filmmakers, such as Albert Serra, Victor Erice, Isaki Lacuesta, Pablo Garcia Conde, Ainara Verra, among others.
I look forward to the screenings and to hearing your reactions and sharing my thoughts with you all’
Khachatryan is a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, film producer, General Manager of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, Meritorious Artist of the Republic of Armenia and a voting member of the European Film Academy since 2006.
The Benalmádena International Film Festival, held since 1998, will devote a program to his works like the movies ‘Veradardz Avetyats Erkir’, ‘Poeti Veradardze’ and his latest film, ‘Three Graves of the Artist’.
