Theatrical poster for “Houses Without Doors”
TURIN, Italy—Syrian-Armenian filmmaker Avo Kaprealian’s film Houses Without Doors was one of the two wins for the Best International Documentary award at the 34th Torino Film Festival in Italy, read Torino Film Festival’s official website.
The jury who assigns the awards stated the reasoning behind Kaprealian’s win. “Out of an impossible situation, he shows what is impossible to show – from the balcony of his family’s home he looks at the whole world. He makes us feel that Syrian and Armenian people are all humanity and makes us trust in the tools of cinema to help humanity to exist and resist in all times,” they said.
Houses Without Doors is a film about the life of an Armenian family amid clashes in Aleppo’s Armenian-populated Nor Gyugh district. The film shot from the balcony of Kaprealian’s home depicts local residents, both Armenians and Arabs, confronting hardship of the civil war. Parallels are drawn between the Armenian Genocide and the current sufferings of the Syrian people.
According to Syrian-Armenian newspaper Kantsasar, Kaprealian stated that “Aleppo bleeds in its mother–Syria’s–lap,” adding that the film competition is a simple step to reach the justice that the Armenian people have been enduring for over a hundred years.
Kaprealian was born in 1986 in Aleppo, who left his hometown to study theater at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus where he graduated in 2011. He took part in several film workshops organized by DocMed, Bidayyat for Audiovisual Arts and Screen Beirut. After returning to Aleppo, he began teaching at the Akkad Institute of Theatre and Arts.
Source: Asbarez
Link: Syrian Armenian Film Wins ‘Best International Documentary’ at Torino Film Festival