Facing Resistance Becomes More Unbearable: Director Proposes Two Solutions

Currently, I am facing unprecedented pressure from family, friends, strangers, and even opponents to halt my hunger strike. This was stated by filmmaker Hovhannes Galstyan on his Facebook page, emphasizing that he will not stop his hunger strike until the necessary funding for the film "Grandma's Hair" is secured.

"Facing resistance becomes more unbearable than hunger or exhaustion. I remind once and for all that there are two ways to end the hunger strike:

• A. The government acknowledges the illegality of discontinuing funding for my film and resumes its obligations to the film.
• B. Through public support, the necessary funds for the planned work in March and April are raised," he mentioned.

The director has requested to stop being urged to end the hunger strike. "To all concerned parties, I suggest simply supporting the film with the specified account details. This is a struggle between a state entity illegally operating in cinema and the filmmaker. The web of illegal actions committed by this entity is unraveling day by day. This is a war, and those who leave the battlefield are called deserters," he stated in his post.

It should be remembered that Hovhannes Galstyan announced in February that he was going on a hunger strike again. This is the director's second hunger strike; the first took place from December 2 to 12. After meeting with former Minister of Culture Lilit Makunts and receiving guarantees, the director ended his first hunger strike, but, according to him, the issue was not resolved.

It’s worth noting that the filming of "Grandma's Hair" began in 2015, and Hovhannes Galstyan signed a contract with the National Cinema Center, which stipulated that it would allocate up to 30% of the film’s budget, approximately 88 million drams, between 2016 and 2018. However, in 2018, the cinema center rejected the funding request. Consequently, the filming process has been halted. The director reported that only 40 minutes have been filmed. Additionally, it should be mentioned that part of the funding for this Armenian-German-Bulgarian co-production film is provided by Bulgarian and German companies.