Armenian movies have played an important role in the artistic growth of Armenia. However, Armenian cinema has gone through great hurdles with the individual Armenian artists struggling to express their ideas and thoughts on the celluloid. National cinematography gradually established itself with the formation of the state.
The Armenian State Committee on Cinema also known as the “Goskino” was set up in 1923 under a Sovient Government decree. This is considered to be the year of the birth of Armenian movies . Two significant founders of Armenian cinema are Daniel Dznuni and Hamo Bek-Nazarov.
The first Armenian film was a documentary named as “Soviet Armenia”, which was released in 1924. “Namus” directed by Hamo Bek-Nazarov was the first Armenian feature film . The Armenian film studio, Haykino started functioning in Yerevan in 1924. Armen Film, the Armenian film studio has been named after Hamo Bek-Nazarov.
Gradually by latter half of 1920's Armenia had a well furnished film studio with the necessary lighting arrangements. The release of “Pepo”, the first sound film was a landmark in the history of Armenian movies. The film received rave reviews from the international film critics and established Armenian movies abroad.
Some other noteworthy Armenian movies are:
- Ararat
- After Freedom
- Mayrig
- The Color of Pomegranate
Armenian movies have made a place for themselves among the national and international audience and have come to encompass a wide variety of documentaries and features. With the growing popularity of Armenian movies , Yerevan International Film Festival Golden Apricot was founded in 2004.
