SECTION: Close Up: Armenia

Armenia is fascinating - because of its location at the geographical crossroads of various cultures, because of its position between the Silk Road and Christianity, because of its centuries-old culture, because of its landscapes and traditions. And because of its films. We showcase a very diverse selection of current feature films, animations and documentaries - from melodrama from the Stalinist era to a transgender sports documentary, from a remarkable animated film about the traumatic events of the Armenian genocide in 1915/16 to explorations of devastated soulscapes after the many wars fought over Nagorno-Karabakh, and from the conflicts of an artist with himself and a young woman with tradition. Not always unfamiliar perspectives from a country that seems so far away and yet could be so close.