Amerikatsi
- This is a past program
Presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
In-person: Q&A filmmaker and actor Michael Goorjian, introduction by Dr. Eric Esrailian.
Part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive screening series Archive Preview. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.
Amerikatsi (2023)
Torn from his ancestral home as a child and raised in America, Charlie Bakhchinyan (Michael Goorjian) returns to Armenia in 1947 in a repatriation program promising a new life for ethnic Armenians. Like many of the estimated 90,000 repatriates who returned following World War II, Charlie encounters a country ruled by Soviet communism, unrecognizable from the opportunities promised upon his arrival. Amerikatsi navigates this stark world with whimsy as Charlie stumbles through his lost language and culture with child-like wonder, landing him imprisoned after a series of missteps. With his world further narrowed when placed in solitary confinement, Charlie’s field of vision focuses on watching his neighbors in a nearby apartment building. Initially drawn into the ostensibly free lives of his new fellow compatriots, Charlie’s world expands as he encounters complex parallels between his experience and those beyond his prison cell. A universal tale about one’s search for a homeland, Amerikatsi is a remarkable story of the will to find connection and humor in the darkest of circumstances.
DCP, color, 116 min. Director: Michael Goorjian. Screenwriter: Michael Goorjian. With: Michael Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova.
Special thanks to our community partners: UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, Armenian Film Foundation, Wende Museum, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies, UCLA International Institute.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a division of UCLA Library, and presents its public programs in the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer, among other venues. For more information about the Archive, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
ATTENDING THIS PROGRAM?
Ticketing: Admission to Archive screenings at the Hammer is free. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. Box office opens one hour before the event. Questions should be directed to the Archive at programming@cinema.ucla.edu or 310-206-8013.
Member Benefit: Subject to availability, Hammer Members can choose their preferred seats. Members receive priority ticketing until 15 minutes before the program. Learn more about membership.
Parking: Valet parking is available on Lindbrook Drive for $15 cash only. Self-parking is available under the museum. Rates are $8 for the first three hours with museum validation, and $3 for each additional 20 minutes, with a $22 daily maximum. There is an $8 flat rate after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on weekends.
Read our food, bag check, and photo policies.
Read our COVID-19 safety guidelines.