Don Askarian (Armenian: Դոն Ասկարյան; born Makedon Hovsepi Askarian (Armenian: Մակեդոն Հովսեփի Ասկարյան) on 10 July 1949 in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, USSR – died 6 October 2018 in Berlin, Germany)[1] was an international film director, producer, photographer and screenwriter of Armenian origin.[2]

Biography

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Don Askarian was born in Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (current-day de facto Republic of Artsakh, de jure Azerbaijan). In 1967 he moved to Moscow and studied history and art, and worked as an assistant director and film critic for a year after his graduation.[3] Askarian was imprisoned during 1975–1977, and in 1978 he emigrated from the Soviet Union to West Berlin.[4] He lived and worked in Germany, The Netherlands and in Armenia, where he founded his own film companies. He was awarded numerous prizes at several international film festivals.[1]

His films were co-produced and broadcast by ARD, WDR, ZDF, Channel 4, Arte, as well as Belgian, Greek, Swiss, Slovakian, Armenian TV Channels.

In 1996, Askarian published a book called The Dangerous Light. In 2002 he was honored with a Harvard Film Archive retrospective and two years later, in 2004, received the Golden Camera Award for Life Achievement at Int. ART Film Festival, Slovakia.[5] Askarian's brother is sculptor and painter Robert Askarian.[1]

Filmography

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Sources:[2][6]

  • 1984: The Bear
  • 1988: Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian History Volumes IV and V (Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ)
  • 1988: Komitas (Կոմիտաս)
  • 1992: Avetik (Ավետիք)
  • 1998: Paradjanov (Փարաջանով)
  • 2000: Musicians (Երաժիշտները)
  • 2001: On the Old Roman Road (Հին հռոմեական ճանապարհին)
  • 2007: Ararat: 14 Views (Արարատ. 14 տեսանկյուն)
  • 2008: Father (Հայրիկ)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Noted Artsakh filmmaker Don Askarian dies at 69". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Don Askarian - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Don Askarian - IFFR". IFFR. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Don Askarian - Tirana International Film Festival". TIFF. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Meeting with film director and photographer Don Askarian". Naregatsi Art Institute. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Don Askarian - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
The Harvard Film Archiv