“Artsakh can never be forgotten,” says Nairi Bandari.
Bandari is a storyteller, documentarian and photographer who uses her craft to bring attention to Artsakh. She currently works for the city of Glendale and produces videos for Glendale TV/Channel 6.
Bandari was born in Iran and lived there until she was 18. She comes from a strong and dedicated Armenian family. Her siblings include Njdeh, Garegin and Narineh. She moved to Armenia and later to the United States to continue her education in the visual arts. She is a television documentary major at California State University, Northridge.
Nairi Bandari
She developed an immense love for the homeland early on. Her early education in Iran was fueled by patriotism. She was mesmerized by Artsakh, its people and the land. In 2018, she volunteered for two months with a movie being made in Artsakh. She made amazing friends and fell in love with Artsakh, and after that tremendous experience, she went back every year.
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Bandari recalls the warmth and hospitality of Artsakh Armenians. “They know the value of the moment, the value of guests, the value of a piece of bread. I feel very close to Artsakh. My soul feels like it’s from Artsakh,” Bandari said.
Her final time in Artsakh was in December of 2020. She raised funds and traveled with a team including Dzia Vartabedian to distribute money to different villages in Artsakh after the war. She had a camera and took photos and film throughout the trip, but she did not intend to turn them into a movie.
“I wanted to document the essence of the people, the hope, the despair of the people. I wanted to remember. I didn’t originally do it to make a documentary,” Bandari said.
“After coming back, I put everything aside. Then the blockade happened. I am a member of the She Loves Collective, and we were working on a project called Shelter, where we displayed our fallen heroes’ names, hand-stamped on white fabric. The last night, we were supposed to display our art, and I started to edit the video,” she continued.
