2016 AIFF interviews with the filmmakers
The pain and courage it takes to stay in your beloved country — where you have lost so much and are at an ever-present risk of losing it all — has become a demoralizing reality for many throughout the world. Resident Forever d
elivers an unadulterated view of being confined to live at the Armenian border amid continuing conflict. Director-producer Lyang Kim documents the story that must be told.
Maria, an Armenian living in a border village, opens the documentary with an gripping glimpse into her traumatic and arduous life. Throughout the film, she interviews six other people who too are surrounded by the constant threat of a purposeful or stray bullet. Resident Forever jolts you with the rawness of inhumanity, and soothes you with the beauty that’s Armenia. The film’s interviewees candidly reveal their way of life, depth of love and will to survive. According to Kim, the film “addresses the current state of the world and humanity, under the thrust of violence, especially powerful in these border areas.”
Deservingly so, Kim has received a 2016 Annual Arpa International Film Festival (AIFF) Best Documentary Film nomination. The 19th Annual AIFF will screen Resident Forever on November 4 at 2:00pm at the Egyptian Theatre. As a part of a series of interviews with 2016 AIFF category nominees, Kim answered the following questions.
Why did you choose to make your film?
I always dreamed of making movies. I know that human beings are tied to a certain place. I observed kind of attachment with my father, who came from North Korea and could never return to his birthplace after 1950. This attachment is a universal instinct, which deeply interests me and inspires me to make my films. Thus, for Resident Forever, I was especially fascinated by the border landscapes, and the attachment of the inhabitants to their place.
Name a moment during shooting that made you proud.
I’m proud of all of the moments during shooting; because my crew and I have succeeded in making our film in spite of the difficult environment — particularly the constant rifle shooting in the border villages. The conditions were really uncomfortable, and I’m proud that we were not afraid.
Was there an “Aha moment” while making your film?
It was the very first moment, when I discovered these sublime border landscapes in Armenia, and above all, when I felt that I had won the trust of the people who live there. It gave me an enormous momentum.
Was there a bizarre moment that happened while making your film?
The most striking was, when we accidentally discovered the corpse of a jackal by the lake at the border. I then had a premonition that death was waiting for us somewhere. Shortly after that, we encountered the death of a man. He was an innocent villager, kidnapped and murdered in a horrible way (beaten like a dog). Then we went to his funeral. You can see this scene in the film.
What is your favorite scene?
My favorite scene is “the movie theater under the bullets.” Life at the Armenian-Azeri border, with its permanent military tension is not a happy one. Yet the children do not look unhappy. We even felt a true joy in them. Upon learning that there was a unused movie theater in a village, I made the scene where the kids were watching a silent movie in this theater. The viewers get to see the children really enjoying life.
What is your favorite line?
“We hear reports every day, but we don’t care.”
What does it mean to have your film selected as a category nominee by the Arpa International Film Festival?
My work being recognized means something extremely important to me. I am South Korean and cannot speak Armenian well. It was not easy to make a film about a country that is not mine. Many people expressed their surprise that a Korean director was filming in Armenia. So this nomination is very symbolic, the festival acknowledges my challenges and my work. It’s great!
Resident Forever (2015) | 89 min. | Documentary | Armenia, France, South Korea
Be sure to check out the trailer for get tickets!
Written by Sharon Swainson
Communications & Development Director
2016 Arpa International Film Festival