In the aftermath of the brutal 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, a group of brave volunteers risk everything to enter the Lachin region, racing against time to rescue sacred ancient Armenian stone inscriptions, known as “khachkars,” before they are destroyed.
LANGUAGE : Armenian COUNTRY : Armenia YEAR : 2022 DURATION : 17m DIRECTOR, DOP, EDITOR : Arman Ayvazyan PRODUCER : Vardan Hovhannisyan
Director Statement : My purpose as a documentarian is to bear witness to the reality of my surroundings and share this reality with my audience. This story about Khachkars — “Stones” — first came to me in Yerevan, when Armenia’s latest conflict with Azerbaijan was at its most dire stage. Enemy forces had surrounded the ethnically Armenian region of Artsakh and were quickly approaching the only roadway connecting its tiny population to the outside world. This was taking place only a few miles away from me, practically in my own backyard. Despite the dire conditions and the countless people fleeing the war zone, I discovered that a group of my fellow countrymen were on their way to the conflict zone.
It may seem crazy to the average person: people going to the frontlines of an all-but lost war, putting their own lives at risk — for what? Just for the sake of preserving some old rocks? Yet dive deeper and you see that these stones symbolized a national identity, a shared history, ancient cultural artifacts that could not simply be abandoned. These individuals did not ask “why?” They were fulfilling a duty. So when the opportunity presented itself to join them on their journey, I did not ask “why?” These brave souls needed to preserve these stones, and it was my own duty to preserve their story.
For us Armenians, preserving our past has turned into a moral imperative — a necessity to protect ourselves from a future of total destruction. The old adage that “it is important to remember where one comes from to better understand where one is going” rings true for Armenians, especially those of the modern era.
“Khachkars” or “Cross Stones” are intricately chiseled pieces of bedrock recognized by UNESCO as a cultural relic from the Middle Ages. These have remained an important part of the Armenian national fabric — a symbol of our nation’s continued existence immortalized in ancient stone.
These Khachkars have been repeatedly subjected to acts of vandalism by Armenia’s neighbors during times of armed conflict in an attempt to eradicate traces of our culture from the highlands of the South Caucasus. The bitter lessons of the past thus compelled this small group of Armenians to act decisively. Showing this expedition — a noble one, but fraught with danger — was the main purpose of my film.
Thus my film portrays an existential issue, and not just a desire to preserve abstract historical monuments. As heavy as the subject matter may be, it was important for me not to interfere with the natural narrative, to merely observe, to give my audience a small slice of the reality that many Armenians now face and will continue to face.
We live in a time where war is a reality in Europe and international relations around the globe are strained. Modern-day Armenia itself is no stranger to armed conflict — it is a landlocked post-Soviet country in a region of few friendly neighbors. Therefore, this film is now unfortunately more relevant than ever not just for the Armenians, but for a global audience that faces an uncertain world order.
Bio : Arman Ayvazyan is a director, documentarian, and film editor based in Armenia. He studied directing at the Armenian State Pedagogical University and later enrolled at VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography), where he spent five years specializing in documentary filmmaking.
His student films, “The Gull” and “Stones,” achieved great success and received multiple international awards.
His films have been screened and awarded at numerous international film festivals, including: Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (Armenia), Artdocfest/Riga (Latvia), DOC NYC – America’s Largest Documentary Festival (USA), Trento Film Festival (Italy) and many others.
During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, he joined the Bars Media studio team as a war journalist, director, and cameraman, documenting the events of the conflict.
While studying in Moscow, he worked as a film editor, assembling films and TV programs for RT Documentary, Pyatnitsa (ПЯТНИЦА), Kultura (КУЛЬТУРА), Spas (СПАС), Zvezda (ЗВЕЗДА), STAR, and Premier TV channels and platforms.
Arman Ayvazyan’s work is distinguished by deep observation, visual poetry, and unique directing and editing techniques.
Pebbles Underground is focused on showcasing and promoting experimental, avant-garde, underground, and no-to-low budget projects by artist-humans from all over the world. Absurd, uncanny, witty, humorous, slow-video – all are welcomed, and loved.
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