TRAILER
Check out the trailer to our Documentary Feature Film
About the Film
Synopsis
Meet Mariam Avetisyan, a brave young filmmaker from Artsakh with her no-commentary-style documentary feature film to show post-war life in Artsakh called #TheDesireToLive.
The aftermath of the 2020 war on the Indigenous population living in Artsakh and the how their livelihood has been affected and threatened until today, living in a world of uncertainty with very little resolve in the horizon.
Also available, three seasons of The Desire to Live ~ Web Series ~ 38 episodes, short documentary film format, are on youtube free to watch. Season 4 has been greenly and will start production in November 2022, two years after ended.
If you want to learn more about Artsakh and the people that live in it, follow our story and donate to this project!
Our feature documentary is presently competing in festivals around the world since October 2021.
#thedesiretolive documentary films will bring awareness to the people who live in Artsakh and work to bring #peacetoArmenians,
If you want to support our project with a donation, please visit our gofundme page.
Director & Cast
Written, Directed and Edited
by Mariam Avetisyan
Produced by Peter Bahlawanian
Cinematographer Tigran Gasparyan
Music by Alan Derian
Translations by Knarik Avetisyan
Voice Over by Anne Bedian
Animation and credits by Zookeeper
Violins by Armen Anassian
Duduk by Ruben Harutyunyan
Production Coordinators
Taline Harmandian
Jacqueline Vartanian
Poster Design by
Steve Artinian
Jan 2nd, 2023 update
“The Desire to Live” the feature documentary detailing the stories of the survivors of the war in the Republic of Artsakh, directed/edited by Mariam Avetisyan, produced by Peter Bahlawanian, cinematography by Tigran Gasparyan, Music by Alan Derian, has 142 official selections in film festivals worldwide, has won 135 awards from 70 festivals, including 2 awards at the Cannes World Film Festival for Best Director Documentary Feature and Best Indigenous/Native People’s Film, as well as awards at the Toronto International Women Film Festival, the Arpa International Film Festival in Los Angeles, the WRPN Women’s International Film Festival, the London New Wave Film Festival, the Mykonos International Film Festival in Greece, two at the Accolade Global Film Competition, two from the LA Independent Film Channel Festival, the Golden Lemur International Film Festival in Lisbon, the Halo International Film Festival in St. Petersburg, four awards at the TEKKA International Film Festival in Singapore and has won six awards including Best Original Score at the Indo Malaysia Film Festival. Just in the past week, the film won at the Madras Independent Film Festival in India, won at the Hollywood on the Tiber Film Awards in Rome and on Armenian Christmas, won two awards at the Anatolian Film Awards in Istanbul, Turkey, which included Best Christian Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature Film. It also won Best Original Score at the Florence Film Awards in Italy and received the Silver Award for Best Documentary Film at The Hollywood Gold Awards. At the Docs Without Borders Film Festival, we won four awards, Best Human Spirit Film, Best Original Score, Best Docu-Drama Feature & Best Cinematography. At the Luleå International Film Festival in Sweden, film won Best First Time Director & Best Women Filmmaker. Best Documentary Feature at the Colombo Independent Film Festival in Sri Lanka and Golden Mount Film Festival in India. The film has five Honorable Mentions from the Santa Monica International Film Festival, London Movie Awards, the Florence Film Awards, Colombo Independent Film Festival and a finalist at Stafford Film Festival in England.
It is presently "in consideration" for 8 festivals worldwide.
The message continues to spread through our film and will bring positive outcome to the people of Artsakh and Armenia.
Support our projects by donating to our GoFundMe page, we are working on making a fourth season of our Doc Web Series
to release in February 2023
136 Awards
145 Official Selections from 87 cities - 41 countries
Festival Count
Officially competed and screened in
87 Cities from 41 Countries
Lisbon, Portugal
St. Petersburg, Russia
Montreal, Canada
Los Angeles, USA x9
Barcelona, Spain
Craiova, Romania
Budapest, Hungary
Cannes, France x2
Jaipur, India
La Jolla, USA x2
Nassau, USA x2
Vienna, Austria x2
Toronto, Canada x2
London, England x4
Mykonos, Greece
Miami, USA x3
Chicago, USA
Rocher, Singapore
New York, USA x4
Laula Lampur, Malaysia
Moscow, Russia x2
Stafford, England
Madras, India
Rome, Italy x2
Newport, USA
Naples, Italy
Sicily, Italy
Florence, Italy
Istanbul, Turkey x2
Hollywood, USA x4
Luleå, Sweden
Washington, USA
Buenos Ares, Argentina
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kolkata, India
Rancagua, Chile
Helsinki, Finland
Dallas, USA
Cairo, Egypt
Malacca, Malaysia
Manila, Philippines
Berlin, Germany x2
Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela
Athens, Greece
Milan, Italy
Amsterdam, Netherlands x3
Las Vegas, USA
Boston, USA
Makati, Philippines
Austin, USA x2
Singapore, Singapore
Paris, France x2
Dewas, India
Hong Kong, China
Manchester, England
Malibu, USA
Tokyo, Japan
Madrid, Spain x2
Bali, Indonesia
Stockholm, Sweden
San Paolo, Brazil x3
Angkor, Cambodia
Odessa, Ukraine
Hamburg, Germany
Reims, France
Santa Cruz, Argentina
Rangoon, Myanmar
Kansas, USA
Seattle, USA x2
Encino, USA
Houston, USA
New Jersey, USA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Portland, USA x2
Sofia, Bulgaria
Ticino, Switzerland
Seoul, South Korea
Punta del Este, Uruguay
Jounieh, Lebanon
Atlanta, USA
Porto, Portugal
Glendale, USA
Sydney, Australia
Mumbai, india
Erbil, Iraq
Dubai, UAE
Culver City, USA
Palm Springs, USA
Aubonne, Switzerland
WEB SERIES
The Desire To Live - Web Series - Season 1 Episode 1
I start this documentary series from Ariavan (Armenian: Արիավան), a new settlement in the Aghavno region of Kashatagh, Artsakh. It emerged as a new community of hope in Artsakh, built in 2014 for the locals, repatriated Armenians, large families, and newly married couples. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Independence of Artsakh, the Ariavan village has officially begun to become a viable community, which was now caught in war.
Filmmaker Mariam Avetisyan from Artsakh with her DOP Tigran are making a no-commentary-style documentary series to show post-war life in Artsakh called #TheDesireToLive. These short series are going to show the effects of the war on the regular people of Artsakh and their livelihood. If you want to learn more about Artsakh and the people that live in it, subscribe to the channel! And this is my first episode done from Ariavan (Aghavno), where villagers still live, in fear of the enemy, but determined to stay in their own homes. The village is located in the Lachin corridor. I will release more episodes as we go, we’re filming every week and are a 2-person team. You can also support me by subscribing to my YouTube Channel, turning on the notifications, liking, commenting & sharing the video help a lot as well!
The Desire To Live - Web Series - Season 2 Episode 1
We begin Season 2 with a visit to the village of Kert (Armenian: Քերթ) in Artsakh's Martuni region where we learned about a horrendous attack on an ambulance and trucks from an eye witness. More than 40 people died from this one drone strike by Azerbaijan; they burnt alive. Armed drones are a weapon of mass destruction and should be illegal. Another villager working in the field with her aching legs recalls the horror of bombardment by Azerbaijan. She tells us that her son is still suffering from PTSD and is not himself. She wishes "to be reunited with Armenia, and not be snatched by Azerbaijan again". We met with a family of a missing soldier. They had no contact with their son Arthur for the past 6 months and the evidence indicates that he is in captivity, but they can't get confirmation— Azerbaijan won't release the full list of POWs (prisoners of war). His bride-to-be and entire family pray for his return and hope that he's being treated well. Unfortunately, the recent @HumanRightsWatch report confirmes that Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan are subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. “The abuse, including torture of detained Armenian soldiers, is abhorrent and a war crime,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe & Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It is also deeply disturbing that a number of missing Armenian soldiers were last seen in Azerbaijan’s custody and it has failed to account for them.” Full report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/19/a... #FreeArmenianPOWs
The Desire To Live - Web Series - Season 3 Episode 1
Khnatsakh (Armenian: Խնածախ) is a village in the Tegh Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. Khnatsakh is known for being one of the ancient residences of the Kashatagh Meliks and contains the partially ruined palace of Melik Hakhnazar I․ After the agreement was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2020, the village of Khnatsakh became a border village. The Azerbaijani post is about 100 meters away, they monitor it every day. In this episode, we will show the destinies of two people. One of them is Gayane from Khnatsakh, who has always lived in Khnatsakh village and never remembers the Azerbaijanis being so close to their village. And another one is Voskehat, a refugee from Melikashen, who lost her house in one day and now lives in Khnatsakh while dreaming to return to Melikashen one day.
Faces of Artsakh
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The Desire To Live
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