November 9, 2012 - 16:05 AMT
“Sunrise over Lake Van” film screened in Ukraine

Artak Igityan and Vahan Stepanyan’s Sunrise over Lake Van was screened in Kyiv, with the initiative supported by the Ukrainian capital’s Armenian community, according to Analitika.at ua.

In the film, an 80-year-old Garabed, whose mother miraculously survived the 1915 Armenian Genocide, tries to preserve the memory of lost Motherland in his Americanized offsprings to save the family from mutual alienation.

Garabed believes it his duty to publicly burn the Turkish flag in front of the Turkish Embassy every year on April 24. This is the only form of protest accessible to him.

Such stunts irritate Garabed’s son Dikran and arise disagreement with his 17-year-old grandson, who’s in love with his female classmate of Turkish origin. Garabed’s stubborn and uncompromising character comes at a cost for his family.

The film, starring Jean Pierre Nshanyan, Aren Vatyan, Arevik Martirosayn, Günışığı Zan, Karen Jangiryan, won Sevastopol International Film Festival prize for the best full-length film debut.