Filmmaker Eric Nazarian’s new film “Bolis” will have its North American premiere at the Arpa International Film Festival. The film will screen on Saturday, September 24 at 6 p.m. at the Egyptian Theater.
The film entirely shot in Turkey, focuses on Armenak, who is a successful oud player and travels to Istanbul for the first time for an important musical event. His feelings toward the city, which his Armenian grandfather fled at the tip of the sword in 1915, are very complex. Armenak arrives full of prejudice, expecting to hate the place, but instead finds it very familiar. The decision comes naturally to him to search for his grandfather’s old musical instrument shop with only an old photo and a street name. Is it destiny or coincidence that leads him to his destination?
“Bolis” had its world premiere at the European Capital of Cultures festival in Istanbul in 2010
In April, Asbarez’s Georges Adourian sat down with Nazarian to discuss the film and his experience in Istanbul.
GEORGES ADOURIAN: What is the European Capital of Cultures Istanbul 2010?
ERIC NAZARIAN: From what I’ve learned, the idea of the European Capital of Culture was envisioned by the great Greek actress Melina Mercouri. She was the Minister of Culture of Greece during the 80s and felt that every year a city should be designated as a “capital of culture” for one year. It’s such a great idea for cross-cultural literacy. Over the years several cities have joined the ranks including Athens, Madrid, Stockholm, Lisbon, among others. In 2010, three cities were selected as capitals of culture: Essen, Pecs and Istanbul.
G.A.: How did your involvement with the “Do Not Forget Me Istanbul” happen?
E.N.: My friend Cigdem Mater introduced the project to me. Huseyin Karabey the producer invited me to represent the Armenian story in the omnibus composed of short films about Istanbul by filmmakers from Greece, Serbia, Bosnia and Palestine. A few years ago, I wrote a feature called “Bolis” about a Diaspora Armenian who journeys to Istanbul to find his grandfather’s shop that was destroyed during the genocide. Since the theme of the project was not forgetting the past cultures that contributed to Istanbul, I felt a shorter version of my feature would fit thematically so I compressed my feature into a short. As long as I could make the film I saw in my head with no interference creatively, I was ready to embark on this journey. Shooting “Bolis” was a good experience and an interesting challenge to try and squeeze as much of the city’s diverse energy, music and landscapes into my piece. Istanbul is a complex city full of so much history. The city is like a massive onion. No matter how much you peel, you never quite get to the core. Every day I was peeling a new layer, discovering something new from the past and trying to capture it through images. I learned a lot about the history of Istanbul from Petros Markaris, our wonderful script godfather and veteran screenwriter who was born in Polis (the Greek name for Istanbul) to an Armenian father and a Greek mother.
G.A.: Your film is called “Bolis.” What is it about?
E.N.: As the lead character Armenak says in the film, “Armenians call Istanbul Bolis.” The story follows an Armenian oud player from the Diaspora who returns to Bolis to participate in an oud festiv