On March 10 and 11, a retrospective program “Hamo Beknazaryan - Pioneer of Armenian Cinema” was held under the patronage of the Cinematheque of France within the framework of the 10th International Anniversary Festival of Restored and Archival Films “Memory of the World”.

As part of the program, international premieres of restored versions of the films “The House on the Volcano” (1928), “Land of Nairi” (1930) and “Daughter” (1942) were screened.

This screening launched the program of state events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Armenian cinema, which is carried out with the assistance of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.

The Oscar-winning director, President of Cinematheque Costa Gavras delivered an introductory speech. The Ambassador of Armenia to France Hasmik Tolmajyan attended the event. In her speech, the Ambassador expressed gratitude for the attention and appreciation given to the Armenian cinema. She highly appreciated the cooperation between the French Cinematheque and the National Cinema Center of Armenia, highlighting the importance of further expansion of cooperation. The Armenian delegation headed by the Director of the National Cinema Center of Armenia Shushanik Mirzakhanyan attended the exhibition.

The festival program this year displays 85 films of the great masters of the cinema world, including films by Leo Carax, Dziga Vertov, and Otar Iosseliani.

It should be noted that it is the first time Armenia has been participating in this prestigious film festival of restored and archival films “Memory of the World”, which is scheduled on March 8-12 under the patronage of the French Cinematheque. According to this program dedicated to Hamo Beknazaryan, the work of the famous director is published for the first time in France after the retrospective program of Armenian cinema held at the “Pompidou” Center in 1993.

The restoration of the three films by Hamo Beknazaryan was realized with the assistance of the RA ESCS Ministry through the National Cinema Center of Armenia. The digitization and professional restoration of films was carried out by “One Man Studio Production” specialists in Armenia with the participation of the National Archive of Armenia and the Public Television Company of Armenia.