“I Dream” is the name of a short film by the young director Hrachya Zakaryan. The idea for the film was conceived when the director was serving in the Defense Ministry’s Department of Information. “I was working at the T.V. program “Armed Forces” and we frequently went to the military’s forward positions to photograph. That’s when the notion came to me to explore the psychological state of a soldier serving at the front, to see how one overcomes the fear,” recounts Hrachya.

The film’s director is also the screenwriter. “I wrote the screenplay along with two friends. It’s based on the tales told to us by the soldiers themselves. We’d talk to them at length and ask questions about their emotional state.” The film was filmed at the forward army positions in the record time of three days. “Nothing was done in an amateur fashion, even the music is original. We decided not to use material belonging to others and that everything should be done in a legal fashion,” Hrachya says.

He states that the film expresses that which grew inside him and became genuine. “I have reproduced my spiritual world on the screen. I cannot say how well it will be received since everyone expresses that which is collected internally through different means.” By means of a candid approach and through the monologue of the main hero, Hrachya lays bare the fear experienced by those defending these positions and the road they take to overcome it. “Our hero only speaks twice during the entire time and the film itself is an internal monologue in which the trepidation of going to the front is revealed. The hero, however, never confesses this fear to anyone, not even his closest friends.” For the director, the only way to overcome this fear is through internal fortitude. “I have approached this reality from a psychological perspective and with humor, even though the film is a drama.”

The twenty minute film was screened at the 2008 New York Independent Film and Video Festival and was chosen as the year’s Best Short Imaginary Film. In 2009, at a Los Angeles film festival it was named the best directorial debut film. The film’s success can be prolonged because there’s talk of entering it in the Cannes International Short Film Festival. “However, there are financial problems, $25,000 is needed,” Hrachya says and confesses that they haven’t approached anyone for the money.

“The world’s in a crisis and we don’t hold out much hope that anyone will donate the money,” the director argues. The film, shot on a shoestring budget, is the result of the joint collaboration of the Ministry of Defense and the production unit. “In the United States we were asked how much was spent on making the film. They didn’t believe us when we told them. Through the technical assistance of the Defense Ministry, some tanks were put under our disposal and needed film equipment. It was due to the efforts of the production crew, who all worked on a non-profit basis, that the film finally became a reality,” Hrachya states.

The financial problems perhaps could have been remedied because it was suggested that the film be marketed on a small-scale. “When we were shooting the film we never thought about making money, all we wanted to do was make something that was good,” the young director confesses.

The film also broaches the theme of the Karabakh conflict, and this is not by happenstance. “By serving in the national army certain things have become second-nature to me. I understand that the ceasefire is neither war nor peace. I also believe that the mental state of a soldier serving at the front is something different and that he carries out his responsibilities in a different fashion which in the end is true service,” explains Hrachya.

The film’s ending encompasses the desire of Armenian youth and every individual soldier defending the front lines. “It’s an anti-war film as depicted in the end of the film that was well received both here and overseas.

Everything ends with a tank blast, but what is fired out of the tank barrel is flower-shaped confetti. They told us that we were able to make the scene appear quite natural by means of computer graphics. But we toiled long and hard to get it just right, to transform the concept into reality.” Hrachya hasn’t made any money off the film, but he’s not complaining. “I really don’t like to talk about my problems. Even when they ask me how I expect to make a living in this profession, my answer is – quite nicely.” His desire to work at what he loves led him to the Faculty of Film Directing at Yerevan’s State Theater and Cinema Institute where he attended classes until 2005 with Albert Mkrtchyan. “Albert Mkrtchyan was always there to help me with an encouraging word.

Thus, I find the fact that young people and the elder generation often don’t understand one another is just a matter of time.” During his student years Hrachya shot five short films as well as ten “sketches”, but he believes that larger works are still ahead of him. Even his faith, as Hrachya himself points out, stems from the fact that he is satisfied with his lifestyle. He attends the theater, especially the Henrik Malyan Theater, where his mother, Karineh Voskanyan, appears as an actress. He also goes to the Mher Mkrtchyan Theater where his sister Knarik works. “I felt the desire to become a director after watching Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Stealing Beauty”,” Hrachya says.

The young director is convinced hat there are talented directors and actors in Armenia today as well as concepts and developments worthy of expression.

The only problem in the field is a lack of finances. “But this doesn’t mean you have to constantly harp on this fact at the expense of doing nothing. If you don’t have proper financing, you can always make a short film. True, I have no extra money this year but I still want to shoot a film. Rest assured, I’ll find a way to turn this desire of mine into a reality,” Hrachya confidently concludes.