Irina Patkanian

A 30 year old Egyptian man, hard working waiter without a green card, invites a Russian woman, newly arrived American dream chaser, to his house for dinner and tells her he is a virgin.

Armenian Lullaby is based on the verse of my great-great-grandfather, Rafael Patkanian (1830-1892) about a mother who is singing a lullaby to her child, calling on different birds who are associated with various professions. The baby falls asleep only to the song of Falcon, who is singing battle songs, in other words, chooses the profession of a soldier. Traditionally it's considered a patriotic song: in the country that survived genocide, Soviet regime and recent war with Azerbaijan, sons' primary vocation is to become soldiers. This interpretation is dedicated to Mothers of all soldiers.

Little Fiel is a short documentary with stop motion animation about unending civil war. It is based on childhood memories of a renowned Mozambican artist Fiel dos Santos who grew up during the 16-year civil war – another proxy war sustained by conflicting foreign powers. Fiel created eight figures representing his father, mother, five brothers and sister from decommissioned AK-47s. Three New York artists turned them into puppets and animated. Little Fiel tells a universal story of peaceful people who have been coerced, conscripted and enticed into killing each other. It is our desperate act of hope.

A documentary essay that reflects on complex modern identity, globalization, and moral values. Russian born filmmaker, Patkanian travels to France, Greece, Egypt, Italy and her native land, Russia, to interview the U.S. citizens who live there. She invites her interviewees and her audience to reflect about patriotism, freedom, the pursuit of happiness, and the importance of distance for our understanding of homeland.

"Three documentary poems" show Syrian refugees landing on Lesbos, Greece in the fall of 2015 while tourists gawk at them and aid workers assist them.