Gate to Heaven
Gate to Heaven (Armenian: Դրախտի դարպասը, romanized: Drakhti darpasy) is a 2019 historical drama film directed by Jivan Avetisyan,[1] with scriptwriter Artavazd Yeghiazaryan, and co-scriptwriter Mko Malkhasyan. It is an international co-production by producers in Lithuania, Germany, and France and post-production producers in Czech Republic and Bulgaria along with the collaboration of the National Cinema Center of Armenia. Music composed by Michele Josia of Italy. Set in the 2016 four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucuses.
| Gate to Heaven | |
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 Film poster | |
| Armenian | Դրախտի դարպասը |
| Directed by | Jivan Avetisyan |
| Produced by | Masis Baghdasaryan |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Michele Josia |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
The story tells of a German journalist (Richard Sammel), who returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the Artsakh war, which has been reignited after a 22-year ceasefire. In the result of his journalistic investigation, Robert meets a young opera singer (Tatiana Spivakova), who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish in 1992. Robert and Sophia's frequent rendezvouses ignite a passionate romance... The film also features Sos Janibekyan, Naira Zakaryan, Leo Pobedonoscevas Benedict Freitag, Nina Kronjager, Armen Sargsyan, Aram Karakhanyan, and Elfik Zohrabyan in supporting roles.
Gate to Heaven held a private premiere in Yerevan, Armenia on October 17, 2019. Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan were also in attendance.[2][3] It was among 28 selected projects by the European Work in Progress Cologne which was held in October 2019.
Plot
April 2016. Robert Sternvall, a German journalist, learns about the resumption of military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and leaves Berlin to cover them. The articles on Operation "Koltso" (Ring) during the first war in Karabakh brought him great fame years ago. This time his car is bombed and he is taken to a hospital in Yerevan. While the local journalist Michael Movsisyan (37) is suspended from works for endangering Robert's life, Robert is invited to a charity opera concert in Yerevan with the participation of a young opera singer Sophia Marti (35) and French tenor Jean Milosh (30) who is courting her.
After the concert, Robert, fascinated by Sophia, suggests arranging a photo shooting and writing an article about her. Soon Robert and Sophia's relationship becomes warmer and takes a romantic turn thus triggering Jeans' fierce jealousy. Sophia suggests Robert visiting her favorite childhood place – the gorge Gate to Heaven, which she used to visit with her father, photographer Edgar Martirosyan, who was taken as a prisoner and killed during the war in 1992. Nevertheless, Robert fails to turn up at the agreed time; instead, he takes a flight to Germany. Meanwhile, during his private investigation, Michael finds out the dark side of Robert's life.
Robert is getting ready for his grand exhibition in Berlin. Sophia comes to the opening ceremony and urges Robert to tell the true reasons of his visit to Talish. It turns out that the photos, presenting the horrors of the Operation "Koltso" (Ring) in Talish, were taken by Edgar Martirosyan. Furthermore, Edgar and Robert met in Talish. On the very day of Talish fall, when defending his own house with a gun, Edgar passed all the photos to Robert for him to take them to Artsakhpress. Instead, Robert appropriated them and published under his name, while Edgar was taken as a prisoner and killed. Years later, when the military operations restart in Talish, Robert decides not only to cover the developments but also to find Edgar's relatives and extend his apologies to them. However, he falls in love with Sophia and learning about her origins accidentally, at the last moment, feels unable to confess.
Sophia leaves. Shortly after Robert publishes his book Confession at the Gate to Heaven, where he tells the whole truth about these events and publishes the photos of Karabakh war under the real author's – Edgar Martirosyan's name. Michael visits Sophia in her parental house in Talish to pass this book to her.[4][5]
Cast
- Richard Sammel (Germany) – as Robert Sternvall
- Tatiana Spivakova (France) – as Sophia Marti
- Sos Janibekyan (Armenia) –as Michael Movsisyan
- Naira Zakaryan (US) –as Tereza Poghosyan
- Leo Pobedonoscevas (Lithuania) – as Jean Milosh
- Benedict Freitag (Germany)- as Eduard Hoffman
- Nina Kronjager (Germany) – as Laura Sternvall
- Armen Sargsyan (Armenia) –as Edgar Martirosyan
- Roffi Petrossian (Armenia) – as young Robert Sternvall
- Arthur Manukyan (Armenia) – as Father Grigor
- Martin Aloyan (Armenia) – as Norayr Gharabekyan (Conductor)
- Mikayel Hajyan (Armenia) – as Hakob Varanosyan
- Arsen Ghazaryan (Armenia) – as Doctor Arakelyan
- Aram Karakhanyan (Armenia) – as James Colbert
- Elfik Zohrabyan (Armenia)- as German Journalist
Filmmaker
- Director - Jivan Avetisyan (Armenia)
- Scriptwriter - Artavazd Yeghiazaryan (Armenia)
- Co – Scriptwriter - Mko Malkhasyan (USA)
- Producers - Masis Baghdasaryan (Armenia), Kestutis Drazdauskas (Lithuania)
- Executive Producer: Adrineh Mirzayan (USA)
- Supervising Producers - Arthur Chalekian (USA), Garo Madenlian (USA)
- Co – Producers - Marco Gilles (Germany), Angelika Schouler (France)
- Associate Producers - Shushanik Mirzakhanyan (Armenia), Vahe Gabrache (Switzerland), Peter Baghdassarian (USA), Robert Hofferer (Austria), Philipp Egger (Switzerland), Orietta Trevisanato (Italy)
- Post - Production Producers - Teodora Andretsudi (Bulgaria), Daniel Delchunkov (Bulgaria), Martin Raiman (Czech Republic), Steve Reverand (Czech Republic)
- Line Producer - Narine Voskanyan (Armenia)
- Director of Photography - Rytis Kurkulis (Lithuania)
- Art Directors - Sevakn Baghdasaryan (Armenia), Jurgita Gerdvilaitė (Lithuania)
- Music - Michele Josia (Italy)
- Music Publisher - Giovanni Marolaa (Italy)
- Editing Director - Eimantas Belickas (Lithuania)
References
- https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt//talent/jivan-avetisyan/profile
- https://armenpress.am/eng/news/992029.html
- https://auroraforum.com/en/events/gate-to-heaven-a-film-by-jivan-avetisyan-movie-premiere
- https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gate-to-heaven-a-film-from-artsakh
- https://www.kinopark.am/en/films/gate-to-heaven.html