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Jivan Avetisyan () is an Armenian international award-winning film director, who was born in Gyumri, raised in Stepanakert, Artsakh and lives in Yerevan, Armenia.
In 2024, he became a member of the European Film Academy.
Avetisyan is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents 2020 and MIDPOINT Institute, a participant of CineLink Producers’ Lab 2024 and a member of the European Film Academy.
In 2020 he simultaneously selected to become a subject of a documentary by Deutsche Welle.
He created more than 10 documentaries and shorts as well as three feature films, Tevanik (streaming on Amazon Prime and Tube), The Last Inhabitant (acquired by HBO Eastern Europe, broadcast by PBS, and streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi) and Gate to Heaven (released on SBS Australia and theatrically released with AMC Theatres in the USA) have their own individual global success stories in the international cinematic world. The team’s fourth feature film, Revival, is in the post- production stage in parallel to which the team is developing their next feature film, Angels 2020.
Jivan has participated in multiple international film festivals including Golden Apricot and Shanghai International Film Festival. Jivan’s films have also won in “Best Feature Film” and “Best Director” categories.
Showreel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjkXK1iuh58
His filmography includes over ten documentaries including Karabakh a Hidden Treasure, short films including Broken Childhood.
His lifelong dream of storytelling, chronicling history and putting Artsakh on the world map has been realized through the art of filmmaking.
Jivan's fascination with film began when he was a little boy growing up in Khachmach, a village on the outskirts of Stepanakert. In fact, Jivan's lifelong dream of creating a film in Khachmach was realized in 2015, The Last Inhabitant, streamed on HBO Eastern Europe and now is streaming on Prime. The Last Inhabitant featured Houmayun Ershadi known for his debut role in Taste of Cherry and Hollywood movies The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty.The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
| 2002 – 2007 | Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinema, faculty of directing feature film |
| 1998 – 1999 | Public Television of Armenia, 3-month directing courses |
| 1993 – 1997 | The theater group of the Stepanakert Children's creative center |
| 1988 – 1998 | Stepanakert No.9 secondary school after Hovhannes Tumanyan |
Jivan Avetisyan serves as the executive director of The Fish eye Art Cultural Foundation. Since its inception in 2014, the foundation has created three feature films: Tevanik, The Last Inhabitant, and Gate to Heaven. In 2021, Jivan created the production company, LifeTree Pictures LLC.
The first feature film, Tevanik, has been recognized in over twenty international film festivals claiming over twenty awards including Best Feature Film. The film was translated into more than 25 languages and screened in more than 30 countries and 100 cities around the world. Tevanik is also streaming on multiple streaming platforms in the US including Amazon Prime and Tubi.
The second feature film, The Last Inhabitant, was screened at A-class international film festivals including Shanghai and Venice, and was considered for the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score in the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. It won Best Feature Film and Best Actor Award at the Scandinavian International Film Festival. It also won the Audience Award for "Best Independent Film". Finally, the film was licensed by HBO Europe and now is streaming on Amazon Prime. The Last Inhabitant featured Homayoun Ershadi known for his debut role in Taste of Cherry, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, and Hollywood movies like The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty.
The third feature film, Gate to Heaven, featured well-known actor, Richard Sammel known for Hollywood Films, Casino Royale, and Inglorious Basterds. He is best known for his role as Thomas Eichhorst on the FX television series The Strain (2014–2017). Gate to Heaven was selected for European Work in Progress Cologne. The film was also selected in the Official Program of Las Cruces IF, Salento IFF, and Ontario IFF; Global Music Award - Silver Medal /Outstanding Achievement “Regarding the Controversial and Critical Acclaimed Film.” Gate to Heaven's composer Michele Josia's second recognition comes as a finalist for "Best Score of the Month " at the TMA – American Tracks Music Award.
Selected at the Moscow IFF, however, later removed due to the Artsakh War, after the Armenian-Azerbaijani war began, the film was pulled from the official program due to the political pressures received from Azerbaijani officials.
On the other hand, the film was included as part of the Cinema for Peace Virtual Peace Conference held on December 12th 2020. Additionally, the film was screened in Guzzo Cinemas in Toronto in 2021 and at the Guzzo Mega-Plex Spheretech in Montreal. The film ran from October 16 through November 4, 2021. Gate to Heaven was also included in the 2022 AMC independent programming schedule, a highly competitive program that accepts only 4-8 titles every year. The film saw its theatrical release with AMC nationwide in the US in October of 2021. The film has also been available on EST/VOD on France's UniverCiné. Recently, it has also been available for the entire Australian audience via the SBS on Demand platform.
In December 2020, Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin hosted a unique Virtual Screening of Gate to Heaven and Conference for Peace on Nagorno Karabakh. Our creative team served as panelists and discussed topics such as the response of the international community, the role of civil society organizations in peacekeeping, and the role of filmmakers, human rights experts, and EU politicians.
Jivan has participated in multiple international film festivals including Golden Apricot and Shanghai International Film Festival. Jivan's films have also won in “Best Feature Film” category.
His fourth feature film Revival (release date 2025), Coproduction Armenia/Lithuania/ Cyprus, is an identity-quest drama with near-future Artificial Intelligence (AI). The film's is in the post production stage, features renowned actors like Armand Assante, Maia Morgenstern, and Heino Ferch.
Jivan is currently developing his next feature film, Angels 2020, the animated film Baa’bel and the 8-part mini TV series The Stateless Diplomat.
If you want to learn more about Jivan’s purpose and experience check out the documentary created by the reputable German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in the framework of Berlinale Talents 2020, where Jivan was selected amongst 3,400 applicants.
| 1999 | My first love |
| 2001 | Illusion |
| 2006 | Life Unobserved |
| 2007 | The Dawn is peaceful in Artsakh |
| 2010 | Dream Found |
| 2013 | Broken Childhood |
| 2014 | Tevanik |
| 2016 | The Last Inhabitant |
| 2019 | Gate to Heaven |
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