There Was, There Was Not

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Legend
OCOpen Captioned
Special Content
35mm
SFSensory Friendly

There Was, There Was Not

followed by a Q&A with Director Emily Mkrtichian

In the aftermath of one war and on the precipice of another, four women build a life with the hope of making their home a better place. They live in the Republic of Artsakh, an unrecognized country in the south Caucasus that is home to ethnic Armenians yet violently contested by Azerbaijan. Director Emily Mkrtichian’s loving and meditative multigenerational portrait of Artsakh womanhood takes a turn when war breaks out again. From taking up arms on the front lines to fleeing their homes as refugees, we watch as each woman’s life changes irrevocably. Their journey becomes the myth of a homeland lost forever, and the power of story to keep it alive.

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"There Was, There Was Not is a powerful tribute to a former country, and a frustrating illustration of a people’s dream turned nightmare."
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
"Taking its title from the opening line from most Armenian fairy tales, Emily Mkrtichian’s feature documentary debut focuses on a land that is, sadly, just as ephemeral as the magic of childhood"
Natalia Keogan, Filmmaker Magazine

PAST EVENTS

Q&A with director Emily Mkrtichian
Tuesday, Oct. 14 2025, 7:00
This event is over. View all of our upcoming events.

  • Emily Mkrtichian is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary collaborator whose artistic practice reflects her upbringing in a displaced, diasporic family, and explores radically personal, alternative archives of places and people, especially from the SWANA region, and a deep commitment to the healing power of relational, ethical, collaborative storytelling. Her films include the sci-fi short Transmission, which premiered at the BFI Flare Film Festival, the short documentary Motherland, which premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival and won Best Short Documentary at the Copenhagen International Film Festival, and her debut feature documentary There Was, There Was Not, which has been supported by the Sundance Institute, IDA, Chicken & Egg Pictures and HotDocs.

This film is part of the Docs Without Borders series.



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