The project
The Restoration of Animated Films by Great Armenian Masters is an ambitious film heritage project led by the Cinémathèque française, in collaboration with the Armenian Cinema Foundation, Kissani Productions and producer Ani Hamel.
This approximately 80-minute programme brings together a selection of Armenian wordless animated films directed by three major figures in animation: Robert Sahakyants, Stepan Kaloustyan and Alexandre Antranikyan. Through their visual power, formal freedom and universal appeal, these works represent a valuable artistic heritage that remains largely unknown to wider audiences.
The Cinémathèque française is carrying out this restoration in close collaboration with Armenian and French partners. In Armenia, the Armenian Cinema Foundation has been instrumental in locating, assessing and digitising the films on site. In France, the laboratory TransPerfect will carry out the next stages of the technical restoration, under the supervision of the Cinémathèque française’s restoration team and Ani Hamel.
The films will be digitised in ultra-high definition and restored in 4K, enabling them to be screened in cinemas and at festivals, as well as through the Institut français network and the international network of film archives. Colour grading will also help recover the original colours of the works, restoring as faithfully as possible their graphic power and visual richness.
The restoration has a twofold objective: to bring these films to new audiences and to ensure their long-term preservation. The project will result in the production of screening files as well as preservation masters, helping to safeguard the films for future generations in both France and Armenia.
A special screening will be organised at the Armenian Cinematheque and at the Cinémathèque française, bringing this restored heritage to a wider audience and paying tribute to the creativity of the great masters of Armenian animation.
By supporting the Restoration of Animated Films by Great Armenian Masters, the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund is contributing to the preservation and transmission of a rare cinematic heritage. It supports a project rooted in memory, access and cultural exchange, allowing these deeply visual and universal wordless works to regain their original brilliance and reach new audiences.
Ani Hamel est productrice et réalisatrice, notamment du film Le Dernier collage de Sergueï Paradjanov. Engagée dans la valorisation du patrimoine cinématographique arménien, elle accompagne ce projet de restauration aux côtés de la Cinémathèque française, de la Fondation du cinéma arménien et de Kissani Productions, afin de faire redécouvrir des œuvres majeures de l’animation arménienne. Artiste indépendante, elle fonde très tôt sa propre troupe de théâtre, pour laquelle elle conçoit, met en scène et interprète plusieurs créations d’auteurs contemporains. Elle collabore ensuite pendant quinze ans avec Robert Hossein, comme assistante à la mise en scène et coach d’acteurs. Depuis 2008, elle développe également des stages et ateliers de perfectionnement autour du jeu de l’acteur, pensés comme des espaces de liberté, d’expérimentation et d’approfondissement artistique.