Don Askarian

Don Askarian director& script writer & producer -CV

FILMOGRAPHY, AWARDS, RETROSPECTIVES, MASTER CLASSES, EXHIBITIONS

Don Askarian was born in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh, former SU. In 1967 he went to Moscow and studied history and art. He worked as an assistant-director and film critic for a year after his study. In 1975-1977 Don Askarian was imprisoned as dissident. In 1978 he emigrated from USSR to West Berlin. For the last 30 years he has lived and worked in Germany, The Netherlands and in Armenia, where he founded his own film companies. He is a prize-winner at several international film festivals, about 3 dozens personal retrospectives of the films by DA took place worldwide from Germany to Singapore. In 1996 Don Askarian published his book “The Dangerous Light”.

  SHORT FILMOGRAPHY - DIRECTOR& SCRIPT WRITER & PRODUCER

1984 The Bear, Feature Film, 60 min, 16 mm
1988 Komitas, Feature Film, 92 min, 35 mm
1988 Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian History Volumes IV and V, Documentary, 60 min 1992 Avetik, Feature Film, 84 min, 35 mm
1998 Paradjanov, Documentary, 60 min, Beta SP
2000 Musicians, Documentary, 76 min, DV
2001 On the old Roman Road, Feature Film, 76 min, 35 mm
2007 Ararat – 14 views, Feature Film, 76 min, HDV
2008 Father, Documentary, 2 min, HDV

More and more film festivals are honouring Don Askarian with retrospectives. TV stations like ARD, WDR, ZDF, Channel 4, 3 sat, Arte, Belgian, Greek, Swiss, Slovakian, Armenian and Austrian TVs are constant co-producers and buyers of all his films, which have been sold and broadcasted world wide about 100 times. Don Askarian, honoured with a Harvard Film Archive retrospective, is considered the greatest living Armenian filmmaker.It is becoming clearer what Hans-Werner Dannowski, President of INTERFILM, meant when, in 1992 he said:"Some time will pass until we recognize that Don Askarian is one of the most important filmmakers of our time. His movies will take the time they need. Finally the films will have their success not through lies and assimilation but with truth."
Don Askarian's retrospectives /Awards(a selection):
1. Philadelphia Film Festival of World Cinema, 1993, USA;
2.International Film Festival Figueira da Foz, 1993, Portugal;
(The Best Director Award)
3. International Film Festival Sao Paulo, 1993, Brazil;
4.ORB (Ostdeutscher Rundfunk), TV, 1993, Germany;
5.Kuenstlerhaus, Hannover, 1993, Germany;
(With seminar about the work of Don Askarian)
6. Potsdam Film Museum, 1994, Germany
(With photo exhibition)
7. Tokyo International Film Festival (in Kyoto), 1994, Japan
(With lecture)
8. Don Askarian Film Festival, Yerevan, 1996, Armenia
(With photo exhibition)
9. Cine World Festival Sarasota, 2001, USA;
10.Asiaticafilmmediale, Rome, 2001 Italy;
11.Harvard Film Archive, Boston, 2002 USA;
12. Cinema NAIRI, 2003, Armenia
(With photo exhibition)
13.Karlsruhe, Kinemathek, 2003, Germany.
14. 1st Armenian State TV-Channel, 2003, Armenia
15.Artfilm Festival, Trencianske Teplice, 2003, Slovakia;
(With photo exhibition)
(Golden Camera for Life Achievement)
16. National Gallery of Armenia (Exhibition of photographs), 2004, Armenia
17. Independent Film Festival of Barcelona, 2004, Spain
(With photo exhibition)
18.German Film Museum in Frankfurt, 2004, Germany
19. STV2 (state TV-Channel), 2005, Slovakia;
20. Singapore International Film Festival, 2006, Singapore
21. Split Int. Film Festival 2007, Croatia
(With master class)
22. Cinema MOSKVA, 2007, Armenia
(With photo exhibition)
23. Big Screen International Film Festival, 2007, Kunming, China

Awards:

1. 6 Gold-Medals from Mekhitaristen Ordens, during the Int. Film Festival Venice '88;
   (Best director, actor, producer, commissioning editor, scriptwriter, supportive actor).
   
2. Interfilm-Jury-Award -Max-Ophuls-Price FilmFest.'89;
   
3. Prizewinner at Riga Film festival '90.
   
4. Special Prize of Int. Film Fest." in Mannheim'92
   5."Main Prize for best direction "Fugueira da Foz'93", Portugal
   
5. Golden Needle for Photographs - Artfilm Festival 2003, Slovakia
   
6. Golden Camera for Life Achievement - Artfilm Festival 2003, Slovakia

German film critic Peter W. Jansen writes about DA: "The images, full of associative poetics, are self-content and pursue no dramatic or epic purpose. They are the most beautiful and the most mysterious ones in the Cinema Icons Gallery".

Detailed filmography of Don Askarian
THE BEAR
16 MM, COLOR, 58 MIN, GERMANY, 1984. BASED ON CHEKHOV'S PLAY "THE BEAR"
Script & direction by Don Askarian
Broadcastings on German TV (ARD, SFB)
KOMITAS
35 mm, 96 min, color and b/w, Germany, England, US, Greece, Belgium, 1988
Script and Direction by Don Askarian
Produced by WDR, SFB, Channel Four, RTBF, RTSR, FFA, FKT, K.j.d.F
Alex Manugian Cultural Fund
Distributing and broadcasting in Germany, Japan, France, England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Armenia
Prizes: Interfilm-Jury-Price - Max-Ophuls-Price Fest.'89; 6 Gold-Medails from Mekhitaristen Orden, during the Int. Film Festival Venice '88; Prizewinner at Riga Filmfestival '90.
Prints in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch and Japan

Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian History IV and V Volumes
Documentary video film, 60 min, color and b/w, Germany, 1988
Script and Direction by Don Askarian
Broadcastings on German TV
AVETIK
35 mm, 1:1.66, 84 min, color. Armenia, Germany, 1992.
Script, Direction, Editing, Art Direction by Don Askarian
Produced by Margarita Woskanian in co-production with NDR, Germany and FIAF, Armenia with support by Filmbuero NW, Germany
Distributing and broadcasting in Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Armenia
Prizes: "Special Prize of Int. Filmfest." in Mannheim'92; "Hubert Bals
Fund's Support" -Rotterdam'93; "Main Prize for best direction "Fugueira da Foz'93"
Prints in Armenian, German, Italian, Dutch, Japan.
PARAJANOV
16 mm, BETA SP, 60 min, color, Armenia, Germany , 1998.
Script, Direction, Editing, Art Direction by Don Askarian
Produced by
Margarita Woskanian and ZDF-ARTE, 1998
TV broadcastings – in Germany, France, Armenia
THE MUSICIANS
BETA SP, DV, 76 min, Armenia, the Netherlands, Germany, 2000
Don Film Production in co-Production with Askarian Film, Film 21 and ZDF-3sat.
Script, Direction, Editing, Art Direction by Don Askarian
TV broadcastings – in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Armenia

On The Old Roman Road

35 mm, 76 min, Armenia, the Netherlands, Germany, 2001
Don Film Production in co-production with De Productie Rotterdam,
Askarian Film, Film 21, WDR.
Script, Direction, Editing, Art Direction by Don Askarian
TV broadcastings – in Germany, Armenia

ARARAT- FOURTEEN VIEWS

HD, 76 min, Armenia, the Netherlands, Germany, 2007
Don Film in co-production ZDF-3sat, Film21
US–Cafejian Family Fund(USA), Askarian Film
Script, Direction, Editing, Art Direction by Don Askarian
TV broadcastings – in Germany, Armenia

FATHER

DV, 2 min, Armenia, the Netherlands, Germany, 2008
Film 21 in co-production with Don Film,
Askarian Film.
Script, Direction, Editing by Don Askarian

BOOK “Dangerous Light” by Don Askarian.

Published in Armenian (Sahak Partev Publishers, Yerevan 1996),
represented during the Don Askarian’s Film Festival in Armenia,
contains the screenplays "In Noraduz", "Komitas", "Avetik" and essays "Chekhov and Cinema", "Dangerous Light", "An Open Letter" by Don Askarian, interviews and reviews from the world press as well as filmography and biographical sketch, with about 60 color and b/w photographs from the films and with an introduction by famous German film critic Peter W. Jansen "Icons Painter". He writes:
"The images, full of associative poetics, are self-content and pursue no dramatic or epic purpose. They are the most beautiful and the most mysterious ones in the Cinema Icons Gallery".

www.don-askarian.am
http://de.youtube.com/user/nunhov