Underplayed Gems

Gate to Heaven (2019)

Gate to Heaven poster
Directed by
Jivan Avetisyan
Genre
drama film
Country
Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany
Runtime
1h 31m
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A German journalist returns to the Nagorno-Karabakh region to cover a war in 2016. He meets a young opera singer whose father was a photojournalist the journalist left behind during an earlier conflict. They begin a romantic relationship.

poignantsomberslow-burnromanticwar-tornreflectivesomberintimate

What happens

Gate to Heaven (Armenian: Դրախտի դարպասը, romanized: Drakhti darpasy) is a 2019 historical drama film directed by Jivan Avetisyan, with scriptwriter Artavazd Yeghiazaryan, and co-scriptwriter Mko Malkhasyan. It is an international co-production by producers in Lithuania, Germany, and France and post-production producers in Czech Republic and Bulgaria along with the collaboration of the National Cinema Center of Armenia, with musical composition by Italian composer Michele Josia. Set during the 2016 four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus Mountains, the story centers around Robert Sternvall (Richard Sammel), a German journalist who returns to the region to cover the armed conflict. During his journalistic investigation, Robert meets a young opera singer (Tatiana Spivakova), who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert had previously abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish in 1992. Robert and Sophia's frequent rendezvouses ignite a passionate romance. The film also features Sos Janibekyan, Naira Zakaryan, Leo Pobedonoscevas Benedict Freitag, Nina Kronjager, Armen Sargsyan, Aram Karakhanyan, and Elfik Zohrabyan in supporting roles. Hrachya Danielyan was one of the sponsors of the film. Gate to Heaven held a private premiere in Yerevan, Armenia on 17 October 2019. Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan were also in attendance. It was among 28 selected projects by the European Work in Progress Cologne which was held in October 2019. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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