Newspaper > Meeting Corner

Our guests:

• Jason Demirdjyan, Chairman of AVC
• Stephan Andranikyan, cartoonist

Interview with Jason Demirdjyan, Chairman of AVC

Q: When was AVC founded?

J: The Armenian Volunteer Corps was founded in 2001.

Q: How many volunteers have you had since then?

J: Nineteen, all in all: 13 this year and 6 last year.

Q: How do you enroll volunteers and from which countries?

J: The main and the cheapest source is the Internet. We have volunteers from all over the world.

Q: How do volunteers learn about AVC?

J: I was in America for two months recently and informed people about our corps in all possible ways: I used newspapers to place announcements; I talked about the AVC in universities, churches and the Armenian community. We are also thinking about shooting a15 minute film about the corps. Besides, our volunteers go back and tell others about us.

Q: What do volunteers do in Armenia?

J: One works in a documentary film studio, helping with marketing. We have volunteers teaching English. Some do translations, or help to establish internet connection in Armenian marzes. We have an artist working in Spitak. In a word, people do different kinds of things here. Volunteers have two types of work to do: the first is related to their specialization, the second to their interests. For example, we have volunteers who help people sell their honey or art works.

Q: Have you had cases of volunteers giving up their work or vice versa?

J: We haven’t had cases of leaving the work half finished. It was difficult in the winter here, but they got used to it. There are volunteers who want to stay longer. Seven of thirteen volunteers want to continue working in their motherland. We have a person who is going to work in Vanadzor after volunteering a year in Yerevan.

Q: What do you think makes youth leave more well to do countries for Armenia?

J: First of all, I would like to mention that not only youth turn to us. We have a volunteer who is 50 years old.
Different things bring volunteers to Armenia, like patriotism or the desire to try something new, to be useful. Some people find Armenia interesting. They come for two to three weeks and then decide to stay longer.

Q: What are your future plans?

J: We hope to enlarge the scope of our activities, to invite more members of the Armenian Diaspora.

Q: What does one need to be a volunteer?

J: A volunteer needs a ticket, a visa, a hospitable family, ability to cover one’s daily expenses and house rent, plus medical insurance. The most important thing that one needs to become a volunteer is the great willingness to work.

Q: Jason, we know you are an American. How long have you been in Armenia? What makes you stay here? Have you ever thought of leaving for America?

J: It has been four and a half years that I have been in Armenia. I cannot say that something makes me stay here. Just that I don’t want to leave. Armenia is a free country now. It has a long way to go, it needs a lot and I want to do what I can to help it develop.

“Animation with no limits” -
Interview with Stephan Andranikyan, cartoonist

Today's guest at “Manana” Youth Educational-Cultural Center is Stephan Andranikyan, the cartoonist of many of our favourite cartoons (“Vin Penguin”, “The Magic Lavash”, “Lilit,” and others) as well as the stage manager of a number of beloved feature films (“The Color of Pomegranates”, “We and Our Mountains”).

When did you start making cartoons? Which was your first cartoon?

My first cartoon was “The Bride of the Sun”, which was based on a legend, or a tale. It got the second prize in the pan-Soviet film festival. I was also awarded the Stalin Prize for this piece.

When did you decide to become a cartoonist? How did you decide you wanted to make cartoons and not films?

It did not take me much time to decide to commit to making cartoons, I just found myself in the process of making them. For many years I have been working in the film industry as a producer. I have worked on about thirty to thirty-two films. When Valentine Patpamogov left the animation sphere, we were left without a shooting crew and had to invite experts form Moscow. Many great cartoonists came but they had to leave after the work was done and we had no professionals to choose from in our country. The director of “ArmFilm” suggested that I make cartoons. I should say that I have been painting since my studies in university. I graduated from Moscow Film Institute where we had animation classes, and so I knew how they were made. My father-in-law, Alexander Ivanov, is a well-known cartoonist. He has been making films since the 1930’s. “Quartette”, “The Colored Fox” and “Kukuruznica” are some of his films. This last film was ordered by Nikita Khrushchev. My father-in-law always tried to pull me over to his side; he wanted me to stay in Moscow after graduation and make cartoons. So when “ArmFilm” suggested that I make cartoons, I agreed. This was how I made “The Bride of the Sun”. My next works came soon: “Vin Penguin”, “The Magic Lavash”, “Lilit” (based on A. Isahakyan’s poem) and others. They rarely show these films now since the TV channels overflow with foreign productions, which our children do not always understood. Our films are better; they teach the young audience to be kind; they portray the struggle of good and evil--with good always winning.

How did the idea of “Magic Lavash” come?

There is a very interesting writer, Ashot Sahradyan, who is also my friend. He lives in Moscow. Once, when he came to Armenia, we were speaking and he said he had a story about lavash (Armenian flat bread) and told me what he was thinking. We wrote the scenario together. The plot is clear. Naghash, who is the main hero, has lost his father to war. His mother makes lavash, which she sells, and she is paid one lavash per day for her living. When Naghash is born, his mother wraps him with lavash instead of swaddling clothes. It is symbolic: Naghash is wrapped in bread as though bred from bread. Naghash is traveling all over the world in search of his fortune but will not find it. To be happy you need to live in your motherland, to create things there, to bake bread for it be useful for you and the people around you. Pilgrimage was then a plague and many people left Armenia. In this respect this cartoon was very up to date. There are many children like Naghash who leave their motherland, never return, and forget their roots. The moral of the cartoon is as follows: people should live in their motherland rather than leave for foreign countries. The life in your motherland may be full of hardships and losses but it is still sweeter than the life abroad. I do not know if the audience fully caught the idea behind the images but our main aim was to explain that fortune can be more just in the motherland.

How did cartoon production get started in Armenia?

Levon Atamanov made the first ever Armenian cartoon in 1937. He was Armenian but lived in Moscow. Hamo Begnazaryan, then the director of “ArmFilm”, invited Atamanov to make a cartoon. So his cartoon, “Cat and Dog”, was the first. The cartoon was black and white like other works of those days. The first Armenian color cartoon was made from 1940 to 1941. The producer of this color cartoon (“Magic Carpet”) was also Levon Atamanov. During the Great Patriotic War Atamanov left for the front and his work remained unfinished. Valentin Patpamogov, a very talented artist, started making cartoons (“Violin in the Jungles”, “Lurdalur”, and others) in 1956. I started making cartoons in the 1940’s. All in all I have about ten cartoons, all for children. My latest work is “The Unsung” based on V. Papazian’s work.

How can you describe modern Armenian cartoon production?

Now we don't have cartoon production studios. Modern cartoon production is in a kind of chaos. The director of “ArmFilm” has suggested that I restore the work in the studio, but we don't have the necessary conditions. It is difficult to work with nothing but your own enthusiasm. “You start the work, we will continue it,” he says. But I do not know how to start it at all. To start I also need the right conditions.

There were times when “ArmFilm” was producing10-15 cartoons per year. Now there is no production; there are separate producers who supply advertisements and musical clips for the market; these works are not works of art.

I must note that most of the workers in the modern film production studios are my students: Robert Sahakyants, Stephan Galstyan.

Now Arman Manaryan is working on “David from Sasoun”, which is quite a serious undertaking. But Manaryan is not a cartoonist, Vardan Galstyan is helping him in his work. Eight to nine people are necessary to complete this kind of large-scale work. Manaryan works all alone and it takes him a lot of time to handle the work.

How would you describe a professional, top cartoonist?

A cartoon director should be a painter. This is the first condition. A top cartoon director should draw and do the framing himself/herself. There is, of course, the profession of animator, cartoonist as such. For example, we have a group of ten students at the Theatrical and Film Institute this year. The youth is studying this profession. I'm teaching them. I understand that only the most skilled of these students will become cartoon directors in the future. Animation is a field which does not involve boundaries when it comes to execution. You can draw, animate and move anything in an animation piece. Everything depends on the cartoonist, his skillfulness and imagination. If his or her imagination is brilliant, he or she can work with anything from the simplest to the most complicated plot.

Are there potential future cartoonists among your students?

I have only been working for two months with these young people. I do not know them well enough to consider their future. There are some students full of vigor but I cannot say this about everyone. It is a very responsible and difficult task to prepare professionals.

What do you think about foreign cartoons? Are there those among them which you can single out?

There are many, of course. Cartoon production is developing progressively in other countries, especially in Japan. The Japanese use computer animation and mostly reject the old ways. Japan produces about eight hundred cartoons per year using modern technologies. There are great Disney cartoons: “Bambie”, “The Adventures of Mickey Mouse,” and others. Disney cartoons are really worthy of admiration; they are joyous and attractive for kids.

How are cartoons made? What do you start with in making cartoons?

They start making a cartoon as soon as the idea, the scenario is ready. The director does the framing, about 300-350 frames for a ten-minute cartoon. Then the cartoon producer magnifies each image and the frame starts moving. We get motion as we draw in phases. It is necessary to draw twenty-four frames to get motion one second long. Can you imagine how many frames are necessary for a ten-minute piece? Background is drawn first, then heroes are placed there and made to move. The painter creates images, heroes and the cartoonist makes these heroes and images move. Animal heroes are like men in cartoons. Even bushes and wind can be personified and animated. It is very difficult to make a hero move since the hero should walk and move without changing appearance. The hero's movements should be fluent.

Can you name some of the best animation schools?

There are many studios now and it is difficult to single out one. It is difficult to say which is better. French cartoons are good.

Who is your favorite cartoonist?

Vladimir Kushinirov is a top specialist. He has been working with me on the cartoon “The Bride of the Sun”. He did the part with horses, the part where fire flames drop off the sun, turn into horses and ride down. He is a very talented painter and did his part brilliantly. There are many cartoonists whom I do not know personally, with whom I have not worked but whose work I deeply admire. For example, Roman Kachanov; he has many complex films. He was good both as a director and a cartoonist. Khitrouk (“Winnie the Pooh”) was a good one in terms of its directing.

Is there a cartoon that you would like to have made? Is there anything about which you could say 'what a pity I was not the one to make this?'

It is a difficult question. I suppose no.

What unfinished plans do you have?

First of all I mentioned that I am teaching at the Theatrical and Film Institute. It is a very difficult task with many responsibilities. And also, I am a painter and work every day in my art studio. Recently, the Artists’ Union of Armenia organized an exhibition of my works, which were exclusively portraits. I am planning to organize another exhibition in the future.