Levon Mkrtchyan
Levon Mkrtchyan (; ; born February 25, 1953, in
Leninakan (now
Gyumri) is an
Armenian director, known for his documentary films about Armenian culture and history, such as ''Davit Anhaght'', ''Charents: Known and Unknown Sides'', ''Jean Garzu'', ''Mesrop Mashtots'', ''My Komitas'', ''And There Was Light'', ''The Book of Independence''. He has received the highest award of the Soviet Union, the
Lenin Prize. He has earned numerous awards for his documentaries. His last prestigious award was received during the Golden Eagle film festival for his film ''The Book of Independence'', in the Best Documentary category. He studied in the Directing Department of the Yerevan Fine Arts and Theater Institute. In 1978, he released his debut short film ''The Muses''. In 1984, he graduated from the Directing Department of the
All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. Since 1978, he has shot thirty-three documentaries. He has made a number of films about well known Armenians, including the only film footage of
Hovhannes Shiraz, footage of
Charles Aznavour visiting Armenia after the
1988 earthquake, as well as the funeral of
William Saroyan. He was a close friend and film partner with the Armenian director
Sergei Parajanov, and has a rare footage of him, including the last days of his life.
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