Resurrection Myth (2020, United States)
Short Film, Experimental
Running Time: 4 minutes 16 seconds
Director: Ara Oshagan
Writer: Christopher Atamian
Producer: Ara Oshagan, Christopher Atamian
Cast: Shahan and Aren Oshagan
Translation: Ani Boyadjian
Narration: Sako Berberian
Logline: Echoing Armenian mythology and the darkness of the current-day pandemic, Resurrection Myth is a poetic meditation on alienation, dread and the possibility of (un)imagined futures.
Synopsis:
Responding to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Resurrection Myth is a poetic meditation on alienation, dread and the possibility of (un)imagined futures. Weaving darkness and light, in both word and imagery, the film’s foreboding and hypnotic rhythm explores questions of history, current-day societal crises, love of another (man), technology, indigenous rights, good/evil and apocalyptic ends. Echoes of cataclysms, extinctions and resurrections recur throughout the film like a silent dialogue.
The film also considers possible redemptions in another trance-like recurring narrative, that of Pokr Mher. This mythological anti-hero of the Armenian National Epic, David of Sassoon, has retreated to a sealed cave on Raven’s Rock, where he awaits to one day return and, prophet-like, judge humanity.
Resurrection Myth is written in English but narrated in Western Armenian, a language currently on the UN endangered language list and perhaps on the brink of extinction. The film’s use of Western Armenian temporarily resurrects the language, but could also point to its inevitable end.
