Armenian Film IN THE LAND OF ARTO: East Coast premiere at Belmont World Film
In tribute to Armenian Heritage Month, Belmont World Film is screening the East Coast premiere of IN THE LAND OF ARTO, as part of its 24th International Film Series.
The screening will be followed immediately by a discussion led by Diana Hayrapetyan, Professor of Armenian at Harvard University and a PhD candidate at the Strassler Center for Holocaust Studies at Clark University.
The feature film debut of director Tamara Stepanyan is set in Armenia, including the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the site of the ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until their expulsion in 2023, and the seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The film stars Camille Cottin (Call My Agent, House of Gucci) as a wife who travels to Armenia to legalize her husband’s death, only to learn that he lied about his military service, that he fought in the war, usurped his identity, and that his former friends consider him a deserter.
Belmont World Film’s 24th International Film Series, “Thicker Than Water,” runs Mondays at 7:00 PM at the West Newton Cinema through May 18. After a two-week break, the series continues with the observance of Pride Month on June 1 and World Refugee Awareness Month on June 8 and 15. The films in this year’s series, which are followed by engaging discussions led by filmmakers and expert speakers, explore the ties that bind—and sometimes limit—through an intimate and far-reaching collection of stories about families in all their complexity. They span four continents and feature ten different languages, including Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Darija, Dutch, French, Greek, Greenlandic, Quechua, Spanish, and Ukrainian—reflecting the many voices and vantage points that shape our shared human story.. All of the selections were official entries at the world’s major film festivals, with several receiving top honors.