Uomini, anni, vita

For their meditative story of the fate of the Armenians – for a long time a stateless people – Gianikian and Ricchi Lucchi made use of Soviet-era Russian archival footage.

These saved images cover the period 1914-1940; the filmmakers place them in the context of the diaries kept by Gianikian’s father, a survivor of the Turkish genocide against the Armenians.

We see the demise of Tsarist Russia, the violence in the Caucasus during World War I and the Armenian exodus from Azerbaijan in 1918.

Gianikian and Ricci Lucchi manipulated the material by changing the frame speed, adding colour and music and zooming in on various sections of the images. These manipulations give rise to an oppressive impression of people having to endure the weight of exile, mourning and expropriation.

With an introduction by former Eye Filmmuseum curator Mark Paul Meyer. Screening of a 16mm copy from the Eye Collection with some German intertitles.

About the director

Yervant Gianikian (1942-2026) grew up in Italy, where his father took refuge following the Armenian genocide, and Gianikian’s life and work are heavily influenced by this family background. Themes such as persecution, suffering and history as a form of tragedy make a strong contribution to Gianikian’s vision.

Half way through the seventies – by which time Gianikian had met his life partner and co-director Angela Ricchi Lucchi (1942-2018) – he became fascinated by the possibilities of working as an experimental filmmaker with archival images. Together with Ricchi Lucchi, he made nine films that examine re-use, re-interpretation and visual processing of documentary material in a mix of historical research, anthropological reflection and formal experimentation.

Gianikian and Ricchi Lucchi’s work has screened at countless film festivals. Their works have also been shown in leading international museums, including a retrospective of their entire oeuvre in Hangar Bicocca in Milan (2012) and a presentation at documenta 14 in Kassel (2017).