ARTsakh Arts and Cultural Foundation Presents the Theatrical Release of GATE TO HEAVEN, a film by Jivan Avetisyan.
AMC Theatres, October 21, 2022 – ARTsakh Arts and Cultural Foundation (US) is proud to announce that GATE TO HEAVEN – «Դրախտի դարպասը», a film by Jivan Avetisyan, is included in this year’s AMC’s independent programming schedule. This is a highly competitive program, which accepts only 4-8 titles every year.
GATE TO HEAVEN will see its theatrical release starting October 21, 2022, at the following locations:
Glendale, Americana at Brand 18
Detroit, Forum 30
Las Vegas, Town Square 18
Orange, Orange 30
Boston, Methuen 20
GATE TO HEAVEN is an international war drama starring Richard Sammel, Tatiana Spivakova, Sos Janibekyan, Leo Pobedonoscevas, Naira Zakarian, and directed by Jivan Avetisyan.
The story, haunted by his past, German journalist Robert Sternvall returns to Artsakh after 22 years when the Nagorno-Karabakh war reignites to cover the conflict. In the result of his journalistic investigation, Robert meets Sophia Marti, a young opera singer, who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1992. As their romance develops, Robert’s guilty conscience catches up and he must face the truth of his past actions. Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of Berlin Post is preparing a grand exhibition to showcase Robert’s talent and celebrate his accomplishments, which is set to take place soon. Sophia is eager to attend the prestigious event not knowing what awaits her…
See the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/0lhm6paGM74
GATE TO HEAVEN was recently included in Be Epic! London International Film Festival held on September 2-3, as the festival’s opening film. GATE TO HEAVEN won in the category of “Best Cinematography”.
GATE TO HEAVEN won “Best Production Design” and “Best Sound Mixer” on April 15, 2022, at the third Anahit Film Awards held by Armenian National Film Academy.
GATE TO HEAVEN also won four awards at the Ontario International Film Festival (ONIFF) in Canada on October 24, 2021: “Best Sound”, “Best Music”, “Best Script for the International Feature”, and “Best International Feature Film”. (link)
The composer of the film GATE TO HEAVEN, Michele Josia of Italy, swept two incredible awards for his beautifully composed soundtrack. Silver Medal – Outstanding Achievement – “Soundtrack for Film and Television” at the Global Music Awards, California, (U.S.A.). Michele’s second recognition comes as a finalist for “Best Score of the Month” at the TMA – American Tracks Music Award.
GATE TO HEAVEN was selected at Moscow International Film Festival/Non- Competition…
The film’s creative team teamed up with MPM Premium International Sales of France in early Spring of 2020 to participate in the Virtual Screening of Cannes Marché du Film. MPM Premium has received numerous leads across the globe, including the United States.
Quickly after that, GATE TO HEAVEN was selected at Moscow International Film Festival Non-Competition Category. The creators of the film received an official letter by Festival Director six hours after the Artsakh War began and stated that “to avoid clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Moscow as a “precautionary measure linked directly to Karabakh,” the film will be removed from the Festival.”
The team also received conflicting information that the screening had been canceled “as the film is being removed from the official program due to the political pressures received by Azerbaijani government officials.” Link
Within a few weeks of the Moscow International Film Festival, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival took place in Yerevan, Armenia. During the festival, the program called “Dedication to Artsakh” was launched, and GATE TO HEAVEN was screened during the program. All proceeds of the program were donated to Artsakh.
December 2020 – Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin hosted a unique Virtual Screening of GATE TO HEAVEN and Conference for Peace on Nagorno Karabakh. Lead actor – Richard Sammel from Germany, Producer Kestutis Drazdauskas from Lithuania, and Executive Producer Adrineh Mirzayan from the USA served as panelists and discussed topics such as the response of the international community, the role of civil society organizations in peacekeeping, and the role of filmmakers, human rights experts and EU politicians. Link
Jivan Avetisyan spent 38 days of his life in the September 2020 Artsakh War, which began end of September and ceased on November 9, 2020. Jivan Avetisyan spent a substantial amount of time documenting all the atrocities and war crimes committed against the Armenian population of Artsakh including his family. He will integrate these photos and videos in his future film projects.
Jivan Avetisyan’s quest is to continue to tell these stories, bring awareness on Artsakh, and promote peace through the art of filmmaking.
