2016 AIFF interviews with the filmmakers
Award-winnin
g director, Angelina Nikonova, is thrilled her latest film, Welkome Home, has garnered Best Feature Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay category nominations in the 2016 Arpa International Film Festival (AIFF). It’s the Moscow-based director’s second film and this time she chose comedy.
Filmed in New York, Welkome Home tells the tale of a group of immigrants—a former Russian model seeking a new job (played by the film’s co-writer Olga Dykhovichnaya), an Armenian carpet salesman and aspiring actor (Karren Karagulian), and his transvestite cousin (Ara Woland)—who are held captive by their own desires.
This film is a departure from Nikonova’s first feature film, Twilight Portrait, an emotionally gripping drama about a woman endeavoring to pull her life together after being raped by a police officer. Although Nikonova and Dykhovichnaya (actor, co-producer) took heat in Russia for the film’s controversial material, they received 11 wins (including Stockholm Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema) and 6 nominations.
Nikonova is proving to be a director to watch. She is developing quite a following, and now with two praised features, she is on a path to building a notable dossier of films.
The 19 Annual Arpa International Film Festival will screen Welkome Home on November 4 at 4:30pm in the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre. As a part of a series of interviews with 2016 AIFF category nominees, Nikonova answered the following questions.
Why did you choose to make your film?
I was always mesmerized by a fact that most of the people around strive for happiness instead of just appreciating what they have and being happy. So, I chose to make a film about “almost happy” people, who are trying to make the right choice, but some of them end up in a trap made of their conflicting desires.
Name a moment during shooting that made you proud.
The shooting was a big challenge. We didn’t have enough financing. So, it was quite difficult at many times. But the most gratifying thing for a director is to see actors transform into characters, forgetting about themselves. It happened in each scene we shot; and it is both a result of hard work and a miracle.
Was there an “Aha moment” while making your film?
Being an immigrant myself I felt my characters very well. The feeling of an outcast serves as a backdrop for all the situations on foreign ground. And this feeling was present even on the set of my film. So, it was inevitable for me to move the point across the story, to give it a sad tone even in the funny spots.
Was there a bizarre moment that happened while making your film?
I was surprised that sheep are such bad actors. Our sheep couldn’t act if its life depended on it, literally! The sheep was supposed to struggle and run from the Armenian dudes, but instead it just laid down in full submission. We applied many tricks to make it look as if the sheep was fighting for its life. Our actress and co-writer Olga Dihovichnaya stopped eating meat after shooting this scene.
What is your favorite scene?
Too many to point out.
What is your favorite line?
“Welkome home”
What does it mean to have your film selected as a category nominee by the Arpa International Film Festival?
It is a big honor and happy moment for all of us, who invested their talent into this film.
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2016 AIFF Best Screenplay Nominees
The powerful Welkome Home writing duo of director Angelina Nikonova and actor Olga Dihovichnaya penned a script that also included actor Karren Karagulian as a contributing writer. With less than one month away, their hopes are high for a best screenplay win at the 2016 AIFF Awards Ceremony on November 6. The following answers were provided by Nikonova on behalf of the writing team.
(l-r) Welkome Home writer-director Angelina Nikonova, actor-writer Olga Dihovichnaya
What was the writing process like for both of you?
I wrote all the drafts, and Olga incorporated her ideas and smart details into the script.
How did the subject matter of the film impact you while writing the screenplay?
I am an immigrant myself. So, I know most of the situations that are described in the film. A lot of them come from life, mine and the lives of people I know. When I came across situations that required precise details and was not familiar with them, I asked my colleagues to help me with those. Like the scenes in the carpet store with the interaction of a carpet salesman (Karren Karagulian) and the customers. Karagulian, who has vast experience in that field has helped write those scenes, as well as the scene with the sheep.
How long did it take you both to complete the script?
A script for a feature takes a year to be complete. So did ours. After a few drafts were done, the details started coming in – and this improvement process occurred up until the scenes are shot.
Welkome Home (2014 ) | 115 min. | Comedy | Russia
Be sure to check out the Welkome Home trailer and get tickets.
Written by Sharon Swainson
Communications & Development Director
2016 Arpa International Film Festival