Shoghakat Vardanyan says: “My younger brother Soghomon, 21, a musician, was close to completing his mandatory military service when the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) War flared up again on Sept. 27, 2020. He disappeared in the war zone without a trace on the 7th day. I had never studied filmmaking but the emotions overwhelming my family made me grab my phone and document our daily ordeal. We were just waiting for my brother, I had not planned to make a film. Hope and despair alternated over the 44 days of the War. I filmed my family for another 2 years, as we searched, waited, and wavered. Soghomon’s remains were coded 1489 – “Body of individual missing in action.” Although bitter, this number provided closure, which many families still lack.”

Cast & Crew
Producer: Shoghakat Vardanyan
Director: Shoghakat Vardanyan
Script: Shoghakat Vardanyan
Director of Photography: Shoghakat Vardanyan
Sound: Hayk Israyelyan
Editing: Tigran Baghinyan, Armen Papyan
Production: Shoghakat Vardanyan

Awards
Best film, FIPRESCI Award, IDFA, Netherlands, 2023; Best Documentary, Trieste FF, Italy, 2024; Special Mention - Documentary Competition, Sofia FF, Bulgaria, 2024; Grand Jury Special Award, Full Frame Fest, USA, 2024, Jury Special Mention, GoEast FF, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2024

Shoghakat Vardanyan
Shoghakat Vardanyan was born in 1993 into a family of artists in Yerevan. By the time she was six decided to study music and become a pianist. She completed her studies at Music School, continued her education at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Piano. Shoghakat Vardanyan has performed classical, academic, contemporary, and experimental collaborative work as a soloist, a part of chamber ensembles, and an accompanist in Armenia, the US, Canada, and Europe. Since 2017 she has been playing free improvisations and became a part of the Contemporary Sound Orchestra of Yerevan. In September 2020, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war erupted. When her family stopped hearing from her younger brother who was fighting on the front lines, she picked up her phone camera and started filming. This led to her debut film, 1489. Shoghakat Vardanyan never studied filmmaking. For 1489 she was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Award (which she refused because she believes the film should not have any political connections) in 2021; as well as the Work in Progress Grand Prix during the Golden Apricot FF in 2022.


Filmography
1489 (doc., 2023).