THE FILM ARARAT OPENS IN THEATERS IN THE LA AREA WELL AS IN NEW YORK TOMORROW. HAVING PLAYED IN YEREVAN FOR OVER A MONTH–ARARAT HAS BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT FOR ITSELF…
— "I am not tired of watching the film even though I’ve watched it a 150 times. I find something new in it every time I watch it; I discover new shades I had not noticed before. I often look into the eyes of people leaving the hall. Their eyes are full of sorrow but also full of dignity."
BY HOVHANNES ERANYAN
YEREVAN (Yerkir Weekly on-line)–Atom Egoyan’s "Ararat" has been playing at the "Moscow" cinema in Yerevan for over 40 days now.
During this time–the film has had significant success on the international arena and has caused more debate in the international press than any other film produced recently.
In Armenia–people of different ages from different groups of the society with various educational backgrounds have watched the film. People from Yerevan as well as regions of Armenia have come to watch it. Many foreigners and foreign diplomats have been present at the English-language showings. Manager of the "Moscow" cinema Martin Adoyan said that the turnout has exceeded both the expectations of Atom Egoyan and the administration of the movie theater.
"Advertising can only have an impact for three to four days–one week at most. In this case–the film itself is the best advertisement. Those who watch it share their impressions with relatives and neighbors. There can be no better advertisement than this," stated Adoyan.
Adoyan advised talking to Sergush Babayan–who reads the Armenian text of the film for the voice-over and who has watched Ararat a 150 times.
"I watch the film from behind a glass screen–but even then I can feel the audience breath–I can feel their hearts beating. I can feel it best of all when there are children and young people among the audience. I decided to write a letter to Atom Egoyan and tell him that children comprise his best audience–"Babayan said.
"I am not tired of watching the film even though I’ve watched it for 150 times. I find something new in it every time I watch it; I discover new shades I had not noticed before. I often look into the eyes of people leaving the hall. Their eyes are full of sorrow but also full of dignity."
Babayan said that a waitress from a nearby cafe remarked: "Usually when the film is over and people leave the building–the cafe gets very noisy. After "Ararat" people leave in silence–even the children seem to be deep in their thoughts. That is very impressive."