WIR

Տժվժիկ (Tjvjik)
Armen Manaryan, Armenian SSR 1962, 22 min., Westarmenian original version with English subtitles, digital

Մենք ենք մեր սարերը (We Are Our Mountains)
Henrik Malyan, Armenian SSR 1969, 94 min., Armenian original version with English subtitles, digital

Tjvjik is a classic of Armenian cinema rarely screened in Germany and considered the first film in the Western Armenian dialect. The head of a poor family repeatedly tries to buy chicken liver to prepare the eponymous dish. We Are Our Mountains is one of the most popular films in Armenian film history, an Armenian cult movie, a tragic comedy which in a remarkable way highlights a melancholic humor particular to Armenia. Faced with a criminal case due to a supposedly abducted sheep, a group of shepherds (starring some of the most beloved Armenian actors) spend their evenings reciting Othello and philosophically musing. The screening of this film also commemorates the fate of the city of Stepanakert, which since September 2023 is no longer under Armenian administration, and whose landmark was a stone monument called “We and Our Mountains”.

Anna Aridzanjan was born in Armenia's capital Yerevan in 1987 and came to Germany at a young age. Today she works as a journalist and editor in Hamburg. With her friend and colleague Marianna Deinyan, she published “Yerevan – The Cookbook”, a cookbook about Armenian cuisine, in October 2023.

Marianna Deinyan is a freelance journalist and presenter from Cologne. In addition to her work as a radio presenter and podcast host, she moderates events and panels. As an author for radio, podcasts and social media, she works primarily on cultural and social policy topics. Her current passion project, Yerevan – The Cookbook, is a book about Armenian cuisine and cooking culture, together with Anna Aridzanjan.