Armenian Documentary ‘There Was, There Was Not’ Acquired in U.S. by Suncatcher, Watermelon

Suncatcher Productions and Watermelon Pictures are partnering up for the U.S. release this fall of “There Was, There Was Not,” Emily Mkrtichian’s feature documentary debut.

Suncatcher will oversee the U.S. theatrical release, kicking off on Oct. 10 with a week-long run in New York’s DCTV Firehouse Cinema, followed by Los Angeles’ Leammle Glendale Theater starting Oct. 17, and other cities to be announced. Watermelon has acquired the North American digital and ancillary rights for the film, which will be available across all digital platforms, including Watermelon+.
The film will have a preview screening in New York as part of Rooftop Films Summer Series on Wednesday at Brooklyn Commons Park.

In her film, Mkrtichian “poetically weaves myth and harsh reality,” offering an intimate portrait of four Armenian women caught on the brink and in the aftermath of a surprise invasion of Artsakh, as they resist the erasure of their homeland amidst renewed conflict.

Following its world premiere at True/False last year, the film toured numerous U.S. and international festivals. The film won both the Audience Award and First Honorable Mention Jury Award in the International Competition at Argentina’s Mar del Plata Film Festival, as well as the FIPRESCI International Film Critics’ Award at Armenia’s Golden Apricot Film Festival.

In 2018, Mkrtichian initially set out to make a film about the daily lives and hopes of women in Artsakh – an autonomous, disputed ethnically Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia with an enduring legacy of conflict. She followed a minesweeper, an aspiring politician, a women’s rights activist, and a judo champion as they navigated a precarious peace while building their lives and communities.

In 2020, when Azerbaijan launched a surprise attack and war broke out again, Mkrtichian continued filming as shelling began around her, witnessing her subjects’ worlds and dreams immediately transform. The documentary evolved from an observational meditation on strength into an urgent portrayal of survival, capturing the personal and cultural impacts of a homeland at risk of loss.

Filmmaker Atom Egoyan has praised the documentary as “a deeply felt and beautifully made film.” IndieWire commended it as “poetically constructed,” emphasizing the film’s powerful depiction of resilience. RogerEbert.com highlighted it as a “powerful tribute to a former country.”

The film was directed, produced and shot by Mkrtichian. It was produced by Brock Williams, with Alexandria Bombach serving as an editor and executive producer, and D.D. Wigley serving as executive producer.

The film was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, International Documentary Assn. Enterprise Fund, HotDocs Cross Currents Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, AGBU, Creative Armenia, True/False & Catapult Film Fund Rough Cut Retreat, IDFA, HotDocs Pitch Forum, and Visions Du Réel Works in Progress.