A stylised look at the life of Armen Ra, the eccentric Iranian theremin player. Ra, nephew of an opera singer and son of a world citizen, grows up in a house full of women. This blesses him with a feminine, artistic and cultural upbringing. During a holiday in the United States, revolution breaks out in his home country. He is forced to attend school in Boston, where he is seriously bullied. Wanting to get away as soon as possible, he moves to New York where he ends up in the world of drag. Here, drink and drugs finally take their toll. Then he discovers the theremin. Filmmaker Robert Nazar Arjoyan allows the extravagant Ra to tell his life story in a dreamy way through interviews, archive and concert footage. The magical, haunting sound of the theremin provides an appropriate soundtrack to melancholy, glorious and intense moments in the film. A dynamic documentary about the trials and tribulations of a wounded artist.
Film details
Country of production
USA
Year
2014
Festival edition
IFFR 2015
Length
85'
Medium/Format
BluRay
Language
English
Premiere status
International premiere
Director
Robert Nazar Arjoyan
Producer
Matt Huffman
Editing
Robert Nazar Arjoyan
Production company
The Gilded Perch LLC
Sales / World rights holder
The Gilded Perch LLC
Cinematography
Gevorg Sarkisian
Production design
Armen Ra
Sound design
Elias Issa
Music
James Chapple, Graeme Cornies, David Brian Kelly, Brian L. Pickett