Michael A. Goorjian (‘Amerikatsi’) on showcasing ‘what’s possible in Armenia’ through film [Exclusive Video Interview]
“Going into making the film, I always had in my head that it would be great to get to represent the country and help it have more of a voice in terms of world cinema,” says Michael A. Goorjian, the writer, director and star of “Amerikatsi,” Armenia’s submission for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. “Not a lot of films have been made in Armenia, partially because it’s a post-Soviet country, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, a lot of the infrastructure for film fell away. It was one of our goals with the film to help showcase what’s possible in Armenia. I’m very excited about it.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The film follows Charlie (Goorjian), who escapes the Armenian genocide as a boy by fleeing to the United States. When he returns as an adult and is arrested, he watches an Armenian couple from his prison cell, finally learning about his homeland. “Amerikatsi” is among the 15 international films shortlisted for the Oscars.
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Despite the dark themes, the story is told with optimism and humor. “I wouldn’t call it historic fiction, it’s more of a fable,” Goorjian explains. “There’s a concept called the ‘Holy Fool’ in dramaturgy, and Charlie is a bit of that. It’s like, if you remember the film ‘Being There’ with Peter Sellers, it’s similar sort of. You need a clown, someone who is not really part of the world that he’s in, to be able to reflect and show what’s going on. And so Charlie, as a character, being this optimist and despite everything that’s going on and how terrible it is, is always just trying to find a way to make it okay. It’s a way of reflecting and showing the circumstances.”
Goorjian was just 23 years old when he won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries (“David’s Mother” in 1994). He was considered an underdog as he faced off against veteran actors Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Richard Gere and Ian McKellan. “I felt like, ‘What am I doing here?,'” he admits. “I think a lot of people thought that as well, which may be why I won. They were like, ‘Wait a minute, who’s that guy?’ And maybe, I don’t know, hopefully if we get nominated, maybe Armenia will be the same thing. We’ll be like, ‘Wait a minute. Okay, yeah, France, England, of course. Armenia, what are they doing here?’ Yeah, I was a bit of the dark horse then, and hopefully Armenia will be the dark horse this year.”
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