VIGEN, BERLIN AND THE COLD WAR
Germany
66 MIN
2023
Visiting historic locations in contemporary Berlin, Aviva Barkhourdarian retells the many stories surrounding her father, Vigen, against the backdrop of the divided German capital during the Cold War. As an Armenian with socialist ideals, Vigen comes to Berlin from Iran with nothing but a hand-knotted carpet and a tin of caviar. Settling in, he finds himself caught up between ideologies, various intelligence agencies, and the Shah of Persia, while navigating the strange German language and daughters on both sides of the Berlin Wall. Weaving together personal memories, archival footage, and animation into a cheerful collage, Barkhourdarian’s essay film offers a deeply personal view of her father and his entanglement in the dramatic events of world history in the 1960s and early 1970s. After the Wall fell and Vigen moved back to Berlin, what happened to his dreams and ideals? And what does this have to do with pomegranates?
Cast & Crew
Producers: Norik Keshishian, Aviva Barkhourdarian
Director: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Script: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Director of Photography: Günther Breden
Production Design: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Sound: Günther Breden, Lorenz Fischer
Editing: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Production: nurfilm
Cast & Crew
Producers: Norik Keshishian, Aviva Barkhourdarian
Director: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Script: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Director of Photography: Günther Breden
Production Design: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Sound: Günther Breden, Lorenz Fischer
Editing: Aviva Barkhourdarian
Production: nurfilm
Aviva Barkhourdarian
Aviva Barkhourdarian (born in West Berlin in 1969) moved with her parents first to Iran, later to California and finally ended up back in Berlin, which no longer had a wall. She studied film directing and then she spent a lot of time developing film projects and trying to raise the money to realize them. In 2008, she founded nurfilm with Norik Keshishian, together they are stronger. With Vigen, Berlin and the Cold War Aviva Barkhourdarian discovered animation as a means of artistic expression. It is her first feature film as a director.
Filmography
Tipsy Cake (short, 1998), A Dog's Hideaway (short, 2001), It's Cold Tonight (short, 2001), Banana and Lemon (short, 2008), Vai, Kikos, vai... (short, 2009), Da Capo (short, 2010), Traffic Light (short, 2011), The School (short, 2012), Working (short, 2013), Kaum mehr erhoffte Tage (short, 2014), Einsermädchen (short, 2014), Ella (short, 2014), Vigen, Berlin and the Cold War (doc., 2023).
Aviva Barkhourdarian (born in West Berlin in 1969) moved with her parents first to Iran, later to California and finally ended up back in Berlin, which no longer had a wall. She studied film directing and then she spent a lot of time developing film projects and trying to raise the money to realize them. In 2008, she founded nurfilm with Norik Keshishian, together they are stronger. With Vigen, Berlin and the Cold War Aviva Barkhourdarian discovered animation as a means of artistic expression. It is her first feature film as a director.
Filmography
Tipsy Cake (short, 1998), A Dog's Hideaway (short, 2001), It's Cold Tonight (short, 2001), Banana and Lemon (short, 2008), Vai, Kikos, vai... (short, 2009), Da Capo (short, 2010), Traffic Light (short, 2011), The School (short, 2012), Working (short, 2013), Kaum mehr erhoffte Tage (short, 2014), Einsermädchen (short, 2014), Ella (short, 2014), Vigen, Berlin and the Cold War (doc., 2023).
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