Vigen Chaldranian has directed 15 feature films, yet nobody knows who he is. Or rather, nobody who isn’t Armenian. Which is a little odd considering he isn’t merely a part of Armenian cinema; he
is Armenian cinema. Furthermore, If you watch the credits roll on any of his films, you'll find that, beyond writing and directing, he manages to assume nearly every level of production. For
The Priestess premiered in January at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood to a sold-out crowd of nearly 1000 enthusiastic Armenians, with some regular Americans thrown in for good measure. It had two more showings in Glendale, a.k.a. Little Armenia, to, as you might guess, equally excited sold-out crowds of Armenians. But if this film was meant to be seen by American audiences, you wouldn't know it. Those who called ahead for tickets were met with Armenian instructions. Furthermore, the filmmakers who spoke before the film did so almost exclusively in their native tongue.
The Priestess is about a mysterious woman who was indirectly responsible for the dissemination of Christianity throughout Armenia, by way of feeding the first High Priest, Gregory the Illuminator, while he was imprisoned in a pit for over 10 years. While the historical text which inspired the film only mentions this woman once in a single sentence, Vigen and co-scribe, Anahit Aghasaryan, use her mysterious existence to create an entire film of what-ifs, in order to answer some of Armenia's oldest questions.
After the movie, Vigen was gleefully mobbed by his Armenian admirers. As the film plays in cities across the country, vying for a distribution deal, I have no doubt that it will continue to attract the same enthusiastic Armenian-Americans. As for the general American movie-going public, it seems unlikely that this film will be the breakthrough Chaldranian has been looking for. At least I hope he's looking for it. A one-man show like this deserves to be seen by more than one man.
The Priestess, his 15th film, he is credited as writer, director, producer, actor (one of two leads), art designer, and costume designer. Chaldranian is literally a one man show, with a personality that eclipses everything around him. A man fit for the Hollywood vacuum and trapped somewhere beyond its frosted glass borders. Teaming up with Mel Metcalfe III, a Hollywood bred producer,
The Priestess is the first ever Armenian-American cinematic collaboration and Chaldranian's finest opportunity to garner recognition this side of the Mediterranean.
# posted by Senator Murphy @ 4/11/2007 11:26:00 AM
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