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Four women living in the Republic of Artsakh each fight in their own way for the homeland they love but risk losing - an unrecognised country which has long been the subject of a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Beginning in 2018, after three decades of fragile peace, There Was, There Was Not is a rich and lyrical portrait of life in a country reckoning with the aftermath of one war, while on the precipice of another.
In the midst of this uncertainty, four women build a life with the hope of making their home a better place. When war breaks out again, what began as an observational meditation on rebuilding after conflict becomes an urgent and intimate record of lives interrupted once again by war.
From taking up arms on the front lines to fleeing their homes as refugees, each woman’s life changes irrevocably. Their journey becomes the myth of a homeland lost forever and the power of story to keep it alive.
The screening on Friday the 7th of November was followed by a Zoom Q&A with director Emily Mkrtichian and film participant Siranush Sargsyan. Hosted by co-head of the London Armenian Film Society, Tatevik Ayvazyan.
