Directed by Maria Saakyan • Armenia • 2006

The debut feature from Maria Saakyan – made when she was just 27 – Mayak is a haunting account of conflict, displacement, and childhood. Anna Kapaleva plays Lena, a young woman who returns to her native village in war-torn Armenia in an attempt to convince her grandparents to flee with her back to Moscow. Plunged into childhood memories and the unchanging rhythms of village life, Lena begins to question whether escape is truly an option. Featuring the final screen performances from two icons of Caucasian film, Sos Sargasyan (Solaris) and Sofiko Chiaureli (The Colour of Pomegranates), Mayak was the first Armenian feature to be directed by a woman. Saakyan never got the chance to build on the poetic promise of her debut: her life was tragically cut short ten years after the film was released.

MAYAK • МАЯК
Directed by Maria Saakyan
Written by Givi Shavgulidze
Cinematography by Maxim Drozdov
Music by Kimmo Pohjonen
Starring: Anna Kapaleva, Sos Sargsyan, Sofiko Chiaureli

In Russian with English subtitles