THE BLACK GARDEN
Belgium, France 2024 – Director: Alexis Pazoumian – Original language: Armenian – Subtitles: English – Length: 80 min.
The military opposition is less than two kilometres away as two boys leaf through the notebooks that cover the floor of a ruined classroom. THE BLACK GARDEN shows the urgency of life in Nagorno-Karabakh, where parents take photographs of their children with AK-47s. The war determines the past, present and future of the villagers whose identity is shaped by the battle for their homeland. Ludwig Kramer
Biography
Alexis Pazoumian works as a photographer and filmmaker in Paris. His photographs have been exhibited internationally in London, Los Angeles, Yerevan and Kuala Lumpur. Concerned with questions of identity, he is currently working on a project in Serbia. THE BLACK GARDEN premiered in Copenhagen. After two short formats for Canal+ and arte, this is his first feature-length film.
Filmography (selection)
BELLUS, FR 2022
NAGORNO-KARABAKH – DEUX ENFANTS DANS LA GUERRE, AM 2021, 24 min.
Nominated for the DOK.fest Award of SOS-Kinderdörfer weltweit
Nominated for the VIKTOR Main Competition DOK.international
Slices of life, insights and perspectives: The films of the International Competition open doors to new worlds for us. They compete for the award VIKTOR Main Competition, which is endowed with 10,000 euros. The award donor is Bayerischer Rundfunk.
No youth rating
English/Original Title: JARDIN NOIR. Camera: Alexis Pazoumian, Fabien Faure. Sound: Thibaut Darscotte, Roland Voglaire. Editing: Yannick Leroy. Production: Gump-Point du Jour-Les films du balibari. Producer: Clara Vuillermoz. International Sales: Syndicado