Kendall Tinston
It’s no surprise that I loved Michael Goorjian’s new film Amerikatsi, being a fan of SLC Punk and Goorjian’s past work. You can see my review here, and I was very honored and excited to discuss the touching piece with the man himself. As always, an interesting conversation is expected with a one-on-one interview such as this, but Goorjian provided Awards Radar with intimate details of why this movie is one of my favorites so far this year and so much more. Check it out below:
Kendall Tinston: I just wanted to start by thanking you for taking time to speak with me today, Michael. I loved Amerikatsi and am very excited to talk about it and promote it more.
Michael Goorjian: Thank you.
KT: Of course. You’ve been on screens for years and one thing I noticed when I watched Amerikatsi was that whenever you were on screen as Charlie it felt like you were very connected to him and you really showed your heart and emotions in this performance. The whole thing felt very personal and I know the story is loosely based on your grandfather’s experiences. So my first question is what was it like for you portraying Charlie and what similarities if any did you find between you and Charlie?
MG: Well, let’s see. So I dedicated Amerikatsi to my grandfather not so much that it’s based on his own story. I mean, there’s bits and pieces like the boy in the box at the beginning. That’s how my grandfather escaped the genocide. Actually, he escaped before the genocide in 1905, there were some massacres that were taking place. That’s how he escaped the village he was from: they had hidden him inside of a trunk that was snuck out of the village. I dedicated it to him more because of the essence of who he was as a person, or what I remember him as. Despite everything he went through—he never talked about what he went through—he was just a very, very happy guy, and would always encourage to make friends and smile. It wasn’t until later in life when I knew. He didn’t talk about what he went through but I heard stories, and it just blew my mind that somebody who’s gone through what he went through becoming this very positive, open person. So anyways that was kind of why I dedicated it to him. As far as for me with Charlie, sort of some of the driving force behind making the film was I wanted to make something for Armenians or about Armenians that was fun to watch. So many of the movies that have been made about Armenians or Armenian culture tend to focus on the genocide, which is incredibly important but just hard to watch and painful. And so for me, wanting to find a tone and a feel for a film that would be not just light and fluffy but about something meaningful but that had a feel that was enjoyable. So the character of Charlie sort of came out of the idea of there was a sense of American optimism especially in the 40’s and 50’s. There was the “American can-do” sort of spirit, and that confronted with the outright absurdity of the Soviet system to me felt like a good pairing. So as far as me personally, I feel strongly that I like making films and making projects that are—I wouldn’t say uplifting—but more that inspire people. You know, I love dark films as well, but I think there needs to be more of a balance and I miss movies that you walk away feeling inspired or uplifted or not like, a friend of mine used to say, “You know, it was pretty dark…I kind of feel like I need a shower now.” So I think we have a lot of that, and so to me it’s finding stories and films that balance that.
KT: And there was such a nice balance with the fact that Charlie is literally in an Armenian jail in solitary, but there were moments that make you laugh and a really nice spirit to the film that made you want to keep watching. And it didn’t leave you feeling like you needed to go cleanse yourself and go watch mindless light hearted content after, it leaves you with a good feeling. Speaking of Charlie, just as a side note, I did find that Heroin Bob from SLC Punk and Charlie felt similar to me with sharing the trope of being an outsider and not changing who they are regardless of what the world does to them. But anyways, you wore many hats on this film. You wrote, directed, edited, and acted in this film. You also did all of this in Armenia, so what was like that?
MG: Yeah, not easy, to be blunt about it. You know I didn’t go into it anticipating playing all these roles but a lot of things happened. We had shot in the beginning of 2020 so after I think about a week of shooting, COVID hit and we were in lockdown, and that was just one of many challenges. A war broke out right after we wrapped, a lot of our cast and crew actually had to go and fight. So many things happened. It’s not easy making an independent film for one, but making an independent film that is a heart driven project or something that you’re not doing necessarily for financial reasons, it’s always going to be a challenge. I think the only way I found where you can have what you’re trying to do end up close to what your intention was is you have to make personal sacrifices. Money isn’t going to solve the problem, so you have to do more or find people that are going to put their hearts into the project. I wore a lot of hats for sure, but I think every single person involved with the film, they did too. Our producers, the composer, the actors, everybody gave at least 10 times, maybe 100 times, what they were technically paid for, and that’s just the nature of making personal projects, I think. So yeah, it was a lot to do, but at the end of the day not many people get the chance or the opportunity to make personal films anymore. It was tough, but I’m happy I did it.
KT: Absolutely. Before production, you also wrote Amerikatsi. How long did it take you to write, and what initially inspired you to write this film? Was there an idea in your mind that was the catalyst for writing it?
MG: I wrote the film in 2018, and there were a few elements that came together. One was, I had another project that I had been working on and I’m still working on. A script I had written and have been trying to get made for 20 years or something like that. Once again, it almost got made in Hollywood, we were close and then funding fell through, whatever. So I was kind of in a place of, you know I had the luxury of, as an actor in the 90’s there were a lot of independent films that were made. We don’t have that anymore, I mean, SLC Punk, a lot of actors got to do a lot of crazy, weird movies and projects that were not so just rooted in financing. And I missed that, so the idea of making a film in Armenia partially came from the frustration of how hard it has become to make independent film in the US. You can, if you fit into a specific sort of slice of what’s popular now or what’s considered good indie filmmaking, which becomes a genre of itself. Anyways, I was looking to be able to make a film myself, and shooting in Armenia has always been something that I had been interested in. In 2018, a couple of things came together. There was a revolution taking place in the country, the Velvet Revolution, where the current Prime Minister was a journalist and there was a big uprising against the regime at the time, which was very corrupt. So a lot of young people were going to Armenia, and I was following the news and there were all these people basically moving to Armenia from the Diaspora. And that somehow brought me to an article about repatriation and learning about the different periods, there have been many sort of waves of Armenians moving back to what is currently the country of Armenia. And this period right after World War II when Stalin had literally invited Armenians to come back and promised them with all these things, in learning about that I was like, wow, that was quite an interesting and terrible phase or part of our history that I didn’t know about and I don’t think many Armenians really even. It was one of those things nobody really talked about. I mean, we had the genocide, so this was just another terrible thing that happened. Anyways, so that interested me, and then along with that, there was a story. A Ukrainian friend of mine had told me a story about a friend who was in prison and for years he could see into an apartment building from his cell. There was a man living there, and he would watch this guy all the time and learned everything about him. So that particular story always struck me as there’s something very poetic about it, and there’s a lot of potential for exploring some deeper ideas about the human condition. That and the revolution together kind of is what inspired the writing of the script.
KT: That’s amazing. I found that throughout watching, I was enamored with a lot of the cinematography. Namely the shots of the apartment, the aspects of Armenian culture, the beautiful birds that were shown. I’m curious what you took away from your time in Armenia and what you hope viewers take away from Armenia after seeing all of that gorgeous imagery?
MG: So, Armenia as a country has been through quite a lot. And as a culture and a people there’s this kind of this endless, “How many terrible things have taken place and continue to take place even today?” I think so much of the problem—or what the frustration that many Armenians have—is the rest of the world doesn’t care. And I go, “Well, why don’t they care?” I mean, just recently with what’s happened in Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh, where 250,000 Armenians were ethnically cleansed from an area. And most of the world doesn’t know or hear anything about it. And it’s not the world’s fault, because there’s so much else going on. To me, part of the problem is not being seen, and I feel like, this is sort of the theme of the film: the more we see someone else, the more we learn about another person or another culture, it’s human nature to start caring. That, for Armenians at least, has been the big problem, is that people don’t really know much about the country or the people. And that’s partially our fault, because we as a culture have been a bit insular, and because of the genocide inparticular have focused on one central thing, which is incredibly important, but it’s one part of our history, and it’s a 5,000 year old culture. There is so much to what Armenian culture is, and so for me finding a way to through a film help share that, and share it in a way that’s not hitting you over the head with, “Hey, care about Armenia!” or, “My big fat Armenian wedding!” or whatever. This vehicle of voyeurism, of with the main character looking through a window into an apartment and catching glimpses of like, “What are they eating? What’s the music they’re playing?” and I felt it was a way of kind of pulling people in and sharing a bit more about what Armenian culture is in an interesting way and in a way that would be cinematic.
KT: I will admit I do not know much of anything about Armenia, but the film does inspire empathy and caring about Armenia and its people. Frankly, it makes you want to explore more about that culture after you watch it.
MG: That’s great! Thank you, that means a lot.
KT: Of course. One last question that I think everyone else is wondering: what is next for Michael Goorjian? Are you looking to pursue directing and writing more? As a fan, I hope you’ll continue acting?
MG: Thank you very much. Yeah, a bit of everything. I’m working on other projects. I’d like to make more films in Armenia. Not necessarily Armenian films, but using Armenia as a beautiful place to shoot. I’d love to bring some American projects there. And then yes, I’ll probably be doing some more acting. I have things here and there, but right now the main focus is really the Academy Awards and pushing as much as we can to help bring awareness to the project. I’ve said this before, you know, “What’s an award?” well, for a country like France or Spain or South Korea that have won many Best International Films, you know it’s a great honor but what does it do for the country? Not a whole lot. It would literally change Armenia to be nominated for an award like this, in regards to what we were talking about before of just having positive attention towards Armenia and towards the country. It would literally make a huge difference in terms of the country itself. So, for me that has become more of my mission right now. Everything I can do to help make something like that happen, it helps in a big way.
KT: And I sincerely hope that you reach a wide audience and do receive that nomination. I also hope this interview helps spread the word further. It’s so refreshing to see an original idea that’s also important that is executed beautifully. And thank you again so much for your time today.
MG: Have a good day, thanks a lot!
Thank you to Michael for gifting me your time and kindness, as well as your insight into what makes this film so special. Not only is this picture captivating with a fluid, concise flow, it is also symbolic of so much for the country it takes place in. Thank you Michael for allowing everyone the privilege to see and absorb what Armenia is at its roots, beyond its history. You can rent Amerikatsi on various streaming platforms now. Please comment your thoughts and feelings on this powerful movie below, and be sure to keep an eye out for potential acclaim.
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