Alexander Lapshin Depicted in upcoming Film about Azerbaijan’s Notorious Black List
Azerbaijan’s notorious “Black List” is well-known to many. Over 1,000 influential journalists, parliamentarians, politicians, and artists, including Anthony Bourdain, Tulsi Gabbard, and Alexander Lapshin, are among the foreign citizens from across the globe who have been “Black Listed” for simply visiting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) “illegally.”
It was an ordinary day in Minsk, Belarus, sometime in 2016 when well-known Russian-Israeli travel blogger Alexander Lapshin was arrested at the request of Azerbaijan’s Stalinist authoritarian regime.
Lapshin was later extradited to Baku, Azerbaijan, to stand trial in what can only be described as a legal farce. After an assassination attempt in prison, Lapshin fell into a coma, only to survive thanks to a miraculous recovery after he was released from jail and arrived in Israel.. In December 2021, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, found Baku authorities guilty of the illegal arrest, torture, and attempted murder of Lapshin.
A few years ago, Lapshin was introduced to Jivan Avetisyan because he believed Avetisyan was the right filmmaker to tell his story, given his background in Artsakh and deep understanding of the region’s complex challenges. Avetisyan feels a profound responsibility to bring this narrative to the screen — a story centered on fundamental human rights. Today, this commitment feels even more urgent and personal, as Avetisyan, along with the people of Artsakh, has lost their ancestral homeland to the same brutal authoritarian regime.
Avetisyan is now developing Black List through international collaboration, with a joint production involving Armenia, Lithuania, France, and Germany. The plan is to cast well-known international talent, whose participation will be pivotal to the film’s success.
Despite all the challenges, Avetisyan and his team are committed to the belief that films about human rights can make a significant contribution to the culture of human rights protection itself, promoting the right to live, move, and act freely across the world.
Avetisyan is an internationally acclaimed film director, a member of Berlinale Talents 2020, and on May 9, 2024, he had the distinct honor of being selected as a voting member of the esteemed European Film Academy, one of the most prestigious film institutions in Europe. Additionally, Avetisyan has been chosen as one of 15 participants in the highly competitive CineLink Producers’ Lab at the Sarajevo Film Festival, scheduled to take place August 17-20, 2024.
Over the past decade, Avetisyan has dedicated himself to capturing the essence of Artsakh through cinema, with projects like Tevanik and The Last Inhabitant (both streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi), and Gate to Heaven. His latest film projects also include Revival and Angels 2020.
Avetisyan spent 38 days documenting the war crimes against the Armenian population during the 2020 Artsakh War. His upcoming project, Angels 2020, is based on the real-life experiences and testimonies of over forty doctors, serving as a cinematic tribute to the medical professionals who participated in the 44-day war in Artsakh, recognizing their heroic and selfless contributions.
Work on Angels 2020 commenced in 2021, with Avetisyan and his team conducting in-depth interviews with these doctors, crafting the screenplay from their powerful and compelling narratives. The title, Angels 2020, was chosen with intent, symbolizing how each doctor became an Angel on earth for the soldiers and civilians during the conflict. In tandem with script development, the creative team is also actively raising the necessary funds for Angels 2020. On August 8, a crowdfunding campaign was launched on the reArmenia platform, marking a crucial step toward securing the Armenian portion of the budget.
Avetisyan’s latest film project, Revival, has successfully wrapped principal photography. The shoot took place on location in Armenia in August 2023 and in Cyprus in June 2024. The film has now entered the post-production phase.
Revival boasts a stellar lineup of acclaimed actors from Armenia and internationally, including Armand Assante (USA), Heino Ferch (Germany), Maia Morgenstern (Romania), Robin Hairabian and Clémence Baudouin (France), alongside prominent Armenian talent such as Babken Chobanyan, Narine Petrosyan, Vardan Mkrtchyan, Artur Karapetyan, Marine Gabrielyan, Samson Stepanyan, and other esteemed performers.
Jivan Avetisyan says, “We deeply need the support of Armenians—those who embody that profound philosophy, who possess the strength to stand by us and help make this film a reality. We believe that many will join us in carrying out this important mission.”
