Last month, Cinema Paradiso, Fort Lauderdale, FL, premiered “HERE,” an Armenian-American film, at Ft. Lauderdale’s International Film Festival (FLIFF).
Arsine Kaloustian-Rosenthal, Florida Armenians (FLArmenians) Communications Director, opened the program by introducing the Armenian culture and FLArmenians to the diverse audience in attendance. She explained that the Armenian community has been present in Florida for over 50 years and that St. David was the first Armenian Church in Florida.
She added, “Today we have 5 Churches and 2 mission parishes with approximately 30,000 Armenian-American across the great State of Florida.”
Kaloustian-Rosenthal then introduced renowned Armenian musician Joe Zeytoonian, who played Armenian melodies with the Oud.
Inspired by the Armenian scenery displayed in the film, Arsine Kaloustian-Rosenthal expressed, “The film provided us a very intimate window into the landscape of Armenia – something many of us had never seen before. For a few hours, director Braden King transported us from the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival to the land of our ancestors. It was a lovely escape.”
When asked why he chose Armenia as the landscape for this film, the director has explained, “As I explored further, Armenia – its history, landscape, location, people and culture – became another collaborator, a third co-writer. When I visited for the first time in 2004, it was instantly clear that Armenia was the most precise lens through which to focus in on HERE’s story and themes. Within the first few hours of that very first trip, there was no place else to go.”
