“Elegy in Light”, shot on super 8mm film at the funeral of Catholicos Vazgen I, Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, depicts an ancient and rarely seen rite of the Armenian Church with the sound of monastic ritual chant: an experience described by one viewer as “a psychedelic trip into medieval times.”

The film is an impressionistic meditation on death, life and the fragmentary way we remember the past. The quality of 8mm film is a metaphor for memory and for the soul itself; a cinematic memorial made from the substances of time and light.

Shot on 8mm film, the cinematic medium most closely associated with memory, the work depicts the ancient burial rite of the spiritual head of the Armenian Church. It is a rarely seen, deeply mystical and esoteric ceremony that symbolizes the spiritual metamorphosis of the soul from this world to the next. The work is meant to express the arcane essence of a Near Eastern religious tradition dating back to the early 4th century.

Zareh Tjeknavorian: Director
Zareh Tjeknavorian: Producer
Zareh Tjeknavorian: Camera
Alina Tjeknavorian: Editor
Loris Tjeknavorian: Music

Film Type: Documentary, Experimental, Short, Other
Genres: lyrical, ethnographic
Runtime: 10 minutes
Completion Date: April 15, 2016
Country of Origin: Armenia
Country of Filming: Armenia
Film Language: English
Shooting Format: Super 8 mm reversal
Film Color: Black & White and Color

© Elegy in Light – All rights reserved.