Cinema
Նամուս
Hamo Beknazarian · 1926
Synopsis
In Shamakhi, a small town in the Caucasus, Seyran, a potter's son, and Susan have been promised to each other since childhood. But custom forbids betrothed couples to see each other before the wedding, and their secret meetings are taken as an offence against honour. The girl's father, Barkhoudar, an inflexible man of honour, then gives her to another, and the breakdown of the understanding between the two families opens a series of acts of violence.
Context
With no screenplay judged worthy of a competition, the artistic council of Armenkino chose to adapt Shirvanzade's novel and entrusted the writing to the future director, who was then finishing his film Natella in Georgia; the studio shooting took place in Tiflis, with the Georgian Goskinprom, for lack of means in Yerevan. Its author said he had wanted to pillory “the power of custom”. Given a soundtrack in the sixties, it was restored in 2005 with an original score, shown at the Balzac in Paris and broadcast by Arte.
Who it is for
A one-hour silent film, with limited distribution, now viewable in its restored version. Its value is as much historical as cinematic.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first Armenian fiction feature film, it brought its author fame throughout the Soviet Union.