Armenian Producer Explains Why It’s Difficult to Secure Azeri Actor for his Film

Ashot Poghosyan, producer of the film on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations called “Interrupted Song” and filmed in Moscow, talked about the film with journalists in Yerevan today.

The idea for the film belongs to a group of youth living in Moscow led by film director Arik Manukyan and Ashot Poghosyan. The plot centers around an Armenian and Azerbaijani who have fallen into a pit during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

“The Armenian soldier’s line is that the people of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] self-determined in ’88, while the Azerbaijani [man] in response will try to insist that Armenians lived in harmony within Azerbaijan,” said Poghosyan.

“Initially an agreement was reached to get an actor of Azerbaijani origin; however at the end of December, Azerbaijani propaganda reached unprecedented heights and the actor, whose family lived in Azerbaijan, was scared to continue his participation in the project, considering the threats from Azerbaijan,” said the film’s producer, noting that, according to media reports, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bülbüloğlu meets with Azerbaijani actors and persuades them not to participate in this project.

Another Azerbaijani actor agreed to be in the film on the condition that he would receive enough compensation to pay for plastic surgery and go to Europe.

According to Poghosyan, the film’s creators are trying to show healthy debate between members of the two conflicting nations. Speaking on the interest for the film by the Armenian and Azerbaijani public, Poghosyan said, over a two-week period, about 100,200 people visited the film’s official website — 29,890 from Azerbaijan-based IP addresses.

Note, filming will resume on Feb. 7 in a theatre in Russia’s south with a new Azerbaijani actor whose name Poghosyan wouldn’t say. One of the main roles will go to former actor in Moscow’s Armenian theatre 28-year-old Karen Martirosyan. The film’s premier is set to take place in Moscow at the end of May.

In response to recent questions y Azerbaijani journalists, Poghosyan said, “We’ve repeatedly said that we’re ready to cooperate with all interested parties. That also includes Azerbaijanis. We don’t have anything to hide and if we look at the phenomena objectively, the truth is on our side.” Explaining, he said he’s talking about both creative and financial cooperation.

Poghosyan also addressed his statement on ethnic incompatibility of Armenians and Azeris, which, according to him, was taken out of context. “To deny that there are people in our societies who consider it so [i.e. ethnic incompatibility] would be a sin against justice. The number of such people is great. To speak truthfully of this stereotype and show that after the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence, normalizing relations between our peoples is possible doesn’t mean to make a film about ethnic incompatibility.”