There Was There Was Not

In 2018, Emily Mkrtichian initially set out to make a film about the daily lives and hopes of women in Artsakh – an autonomous, disputed ethnically Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia with an enduring legacy of conflict. She followed a minesweeper, an aspiring politician, a women’s rights activist, and a judo champion as they navigated a precarious peace while building their lives and communities. In 2020, when Azerbaijan launched a surprise attack and war broke out again, Mkrtichian continued filming as shelling began around her, witnessing her subjects’ worlds and dreams immediately transform.

The documentary evolved from an observational meditation on strength into an urgent portrayal of survival, capturing the personal and cultural impacts of a homeland at risk of loss, and the power of story to keep it alive. THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT was directed, produced, and shot by Emily Mkrtichian in her feature documentary debut. The documentary features Siranush Sargsyan, Svetlana Harutunyan, Gayane Hambardzumyan, Sosè Balasanyan as its main subjects.

                   
"Mkrtichian often depicts heaven in a series of still life shots to document quotidian household objects and activities. War is not characterized with the usual sensational images so if you are afraid of seeing dead bodies, hearing accounts of sexual violence or other traumatizing events, you can set those worries aside. It is a quiet movie. The most that Mkrtichian offers is shaky cams and some explosions. Instead, she focuses on the separation of people from the people and activities that they love." — Sarah G. Vincent        

Emily Mkrtichian is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist from a displaced, diasporic family who explores alternative archives and visionary futures of the SWANA region. Her films include the first Armenian sci-fi film, Transmission, which premiered at the BFI Flare Film Festival, and the feature documentary THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT, which premiered at True/False and won several awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival and the Audience Award and Jury Award at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. In addition to her films, Emily's multimedia installation Luys i Luso, created in collaboration with Tigran Hamasyan, has been exhibited in museums, concert halls, and public spaces around the globe.

Emily has been an LA Arts Activation Fund recipient, A Locarno Film Festival Open Doors fellow, a UnionDocs Summer Lab Fellow, and participated in the Torino Film Creative Producing Lab. She is a recipient of the 2025 Creative Capital award, a DocX Fellow at Duke University, and an alumni of the Sundance Institute. She currently splits her time between the US and Armenia.