“A deeply felt and beautifully made film.” – Atom Egoyan
Named after the first line every Armenian fairy tale, There Was, There Was Not tells the collective myth of a homeland lost forever—and four women’s resistance to that loss. In a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a painter invites four women into her studio: a politician, an Olympic-hopeful athlete, a domestic violence activist, and a woman who disarms land mines for a living. Through intimate conversations, each woman shares their personal hardships, as well as their imaginations, desires and dreams for the future. As their stories unfold, the artist begins work on a series of transformative portraits.
In Armenian and English, with English subtitles.
With an introduction by Atom Egoyan.
With eighteen feature films and related projects, Atom Egoyan has won numerous awards including five prizes at the Cannes Film Festival – the Grand Prix, International Critics Awards and Ecumenical Jury Prizes – two Academy Award® nominations, twenty-five Genie Awards – now Canadian Screen Awards – including three Best Film Awards – prizes from the National Board of Review and an award for Best International Adaptation at The Frankfurt Book Fair. Seven Veils, Egoyan’s most recent film, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2023, before its International Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and was Opening Night Gala at the Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia in 2024.
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