by Karine Armen
GLENDALE — “My Sweet Land,” a documentary by Sareen Hairabedian, was screened at Laemmle Theatre in Glendale from November 29 to December 5, with three different question-and-answer sessions scheduled. Friday night’s moderator was Abby Sun, the director of Artists Programs and editor of Documentary Magazine IDA. On Saturday, Armen Karaoghlanian, the founder and CEO of the Armenian Film Society (AFS), moderated the session, while Matt Carey, the documentary editor of Deadline, did it on Tuesday, December 3.
The documentary follows 11-year-old Vrej for four years, from 2019 to 2022. Vrej dreams of becoming a dentist in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). But the young boy has to deal with the 40-day War of 2020. His family is forced to flee. Later, they return to their village to find it has been razed.
The first time that Hairabedian traveled to Artsakh with her collaborator, Azza Hourani, was in 2018. They interviewed many families. Vrej’s family lived in Tsaghkashen in the Martakert region, a few kilometers from the Azerbaijani border. Vrej’s younger sister and brother have captivating parts in the film. Most of the camera angles are from children’s points of view. Hairabedian considered it essential to create a film from a children’s perspective. She returned to Artsakh several times.
“I chose Vrej because he was comfortable in front of the camera. He was curious and shared his thoughts,” she said on Friday night. She added, “Vrej’s grandmother gave me permission to join the family and capture their daily lives after developing a relationship and trust.”
During Saturday’s Q&A with Karaoghlanian, Hairabedian explained, “I was the only one with a camera. I didn’t want to take a big crew with me.” She followed them closely and did the cinematography to maintain intimacy. Hairabedian said, “The rules of going to Artsakh changed over the years. I faced many challenges to complete my project.”
Hairabedian graduated from the American University in Washington, DC, with a bachelor’s degree in filmmaking and a minor in dance. She was born into an Armenian family in Jordan, where music, dance and films were part of life. Hairabedian’s father is a doctor (his mother was Palestinian). Sareen’s mother is a theater director and a teacher. Hairabedian was enthusiastic about telling socially conscious stories, and therefore she founded HAI Creative, a media production company through which she collaborates with HBO, United Nations Women, United States Institute of Peace, among others. Sareen’s directorial debut, “We Are Not Done Yet,” is an HBO documentary that has won several awards.
“My Sweet Land” starts with footage from the mass wedding, which took place in Artsakh on October 16, 2008, and involved around 700 couples. Vrej’s parents were among the couples. Vrej shows his favorite wedding photo of them. There is a scene where the young Vrej makes a toast with water, expressing his wish for peace and for returning to his village after the 44-Day War. The five-year-old Arman misses his home and doesn’t like the temporary housing. The young boys sing along to Armenian songs and play with toy guns protecting their homeland. Upon returning to their home in Tsaghkashen, they see destruction, bullet holes on the walls, and possibilities of mine explosions. Teachers warn students to be careful and to notify authorities if they see any missiles on the ground.
“My Sweet Land” is a testament to poetic, symbolic and visual storytelling. It depicts war without horrific photos of blood and destruction. The transitions are smooth and symbolic. There are scenes of food, khatchkars (Armenian cross stones), and a cross hanging from the windshield mirror. There is a happy scene where the children, the mother, and the two grandmothers are playing a game with walnuts. The camera goes close on the carpet and follows the subjects with close-ups. The audience is in the scene. Suddenly, we hear an explosion sound. We learn there is danger and war.
“Every collaborator was hand-picked. I wanted to make sure they go into the project with the same heart and soul,” said Hairabedian.
The film is a co-production between Jordan, France, Ireland and the US. It won the Jury Award, Audience Award, and FIPRESCI Award at the Amman International Film Festival. It has also been nominated for three IDA Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Original Score. Tigran Hamasyan composed the music.
Jordan submitted the film for the 97th Academy Awards (the Oscars), but it was withdrawn due to pressures from the Azerbaijani government. Hairabedian and the Armenian Film Society teamed up to qualify the film for the Academy Awards’ Documentary Category. They followed the requirements, which was a certain number of days of screening in any movie theatre in the US.
Hairabedian lives in New York with her husband and 11-month-old son. Last summer, the couple baptized their son in Yerevan, and Vrej became his godfather.
“My Sweet Land” meets the requirements to be screened on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) next year.
To support this project: https://donorbox.org/my-sweet-land-oscar-campaign or https://www.mysweetlandfilm.com/
