Best Armenian drama movies

The Lighthouse (2006)

Lena returns to her home in a remote, war-ravaged Armenian village to try and persuade her grandparents to leave with her for safety in Moscow.

The Line (2016)

Tigran loses the girl he loves, then he participates in the war over Nagorno-Karabakh to overcome his inner fears.

If Only Everyone (2012)

A beautiful girl named Sasha from Russia comes to Armenia. Born between Russian father and Armenian mother, Sasha is searching for the grave of her father who died in the Karabakh War. Karabakh, which was the territory of the Azerbaijani Republic during the Soviet Union’s collapse, has many Armenian residents. At the time, Armenians demanded their independence from Azerbaijani Republic and the subsequent conflict caused heavy casualties. Many Russian soldiers also lost their lives in the war. The conflict is still going on. This film is a postscript to a historical event occurred in the early 1990s and about a still ongoing conflict. In the scene that camera quietly crosses the border from Armenia, the director presents an image of each side of the people communicating with one another despite their own wounds instead of one pointing a gun at the other side.

The Last Inhabitant (2016)

In an Armenian village, evicted as a result of the Armenian-Azeri conflict, Abgar stays behind all alone in a gradually shrinking enemy ring. He is waiting for his daughter, who became a witness to her husband's murder by an angry mob and was hospitalized with a mental disorder. An Azeri named Ibrahim offers Abgar to work on the construction of a mosque and promises to find and bring Abgar's daughter instead... A few days later, Ibrahim finds the girl, named Yurga, in one of the psychiatric hospitals of Baku and brings her to Abgar. Abgar wants to leave the village with his daughter, but his skills as a stonemason are still needed for the construction of a new mosque. Abgar realizes that this work in the Azerbaijani village will be endless and realizes that he's been trapped.

Tevanik (2014)

The film consists of three parts. The first one is about a harmonious family that will be separated because of the existing situation. Little Aram carries the tragedy of the separated family. In a day, his entire childhood ends. The reason is one thing only… In the second part of the film a feminine touch is evident by Astghik’s character. One step and peace turn to war in a day, that’s when she loses her friendship, her love, and the idol. The third film tells about a 14-year old Tevanik who becomes part of the war activities. During the fights and as a result of his inability to put an end to a beauty, moments become decisive for Tevanik

Enchained (2020)

In this lush historical drama set in 1916 Ethiopia, Gobeze is a timid, peace-loving literature student who has dedicated his life to studying Sem Ina Werq — riddles with dual meaning. After spending years searching for his first love, Aleme, who was abducted seven years earlier, he finally finds her married to Gonite, a wealthy judge and landlord. When Gonite catches the two reunited lovers, a fight ensues. Following tradition, the feuding men are bound together, and, side by side, must make the long journey to stand trial in the royal court.

Parajanov (2013)

Film director Sergei Parajanov creates brilliant films. His nonconformist behavior conflicts with Soviet System. He is committed to prison for being eccentric. His indestructible love for beauty allows him to withstand the years of imprisonment, isolation and oblivion.

Labyrinth (1996)

The main characters of the film are lost in a labyrinth of timelessness where they have to sort out the real from the imaginary.

The Last Sparapet (2025)

Based on true events, the film presents nearly all stages of national hero Sparapet Vazgen Sargsyan's life, intertwined with significant events in the modern history of our country.

The Earthquake (2016)

After the devastating Spitak earthquake of December 7th, Konstantin Berezhnoy, a 50-year-old Russian, and Robert Melkonyan, a 28-year-old Armenian, work together to rescue the desperate survivors.

Should the Wind Drop (2021)

International auditor Alain has arrived to appraise the airport of a small self-proclaimed republic in the Caucasus to green light its eventual reopening. Through Edgar, a local boy running a make-shift business in the airport, Alain will risk all to help this isolated territory to open up.

Luka (2023)

Luka, a young and ambitious soldier, embeds himself in the legendary Fort Kairos where heroic warriors defend the remains of civilization. His hopes to serve as an elite sniper are crushed when he is assigned to maintenance and must submit to the code of Kairos: obedience-endurance-sacrifice.

Harvest: 3,000 Years (1975)

In this meditative film the everyday lives of poor Ethiopian peasants are shown using documentary as well as storytelling techniques, with its drama arising out of the timeless yet persistent issues of their lives.

Garegin Nzhdeh (2013)

A film depicting the life and times of an armenian revolutionary and military strategist - Garegin Nzhdeh.

Songs of Solomon (2020)

Inspired by true events, this is a film about a childhood friendship, torn apart by the horrific Hamidian massacres infiltrated by the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1894-1896).

Avetik (1992)

Hovering between the realms of poetry and history, this stunningly photographed, elegiac work – shot mostly in long takes – mixes cryptic metaphor and fantastic symbolism to tell the story of Avetik, an Armenian filmmaker exiled in Berlin. In sensuous, lyric styling, Askarian employs dreamlike images to reflect the history of his homeland, tranquil childhood memories, images inspired by erotic medieval poetry, and autobiographical shades of his own exile in Germany.

Fig Tree (2018)

14 year old Jewish Mina, is trying to navigate between a surreal routine dictated by the civil war in Ethiopia and her last days of youth with her Christian boyfriend Eli. When she discovers that her family is planning to immigrate to Israel and escape the war, she weaves an alternate plan in order to save Eli. But in times of war, plans tend to go wrong. Marsha's coming of age film debut film is based on her childhood memories of a civil-war-torn Ethiopia.

Who Is Hirut's Father? (1964)

Ethiopia's first feature-length film was directed, written and produced by the local businessman Ilala Ibsa. It is about a woman that succumbs to prostitution. It was not popular with audiences and did not make its money back.

I'm Going to Change My Name (2012)

Based on the Armenian ‘Sharakan’, a nine-part song that brings us gradually closer to meaning, Maria Saakyan’s new film further develops the poetic invention apparent in her first feature, The Lighthouse. Focusing on the world of a 14-year-old girl, Evridika, who is experiencing the first extremes of adolescent emotion, it makes effective and imaginative use of her private world centred on internet chat rooms and mobile phone recordings.

Nowhere (2023)

In the city of Nowhere, shadows dream of a life without their human masters.

Symphony of Silence (2001)

A successful businessman with a terminal illness returns to Armenia and buys a mental institution.

Kyrie Eleison (1997)

The main character - an actor and film-director - tries to live, ignoring the everyday petty struggles for survival.

Трамвай «Желание» (1989)

Where Were You, Man of God? (1992)

Based on Zorayr Khalapyan's novel of the same name, a medical graduate is appointed as a doctor to a village, never losing his human image in spite of Stalinist repression.

The Song of the Old Days (1982)

The members of an amateur theater group share the losses and sorrows of war with Armenian provincial town's inhabitants.

Yearning (1990)

Real life tragic story of Arakel whose anguish towards lost homeland made him cross Soviet-Turkish border during Stalin era.