MosJan

CUSTOMS OFFICERS PREVENT SMUGGLING ATTEMPTS The Armenian customs departments said it had prevented smuggling of diamonds and hard currency into the country. A passenger of Beirut-Yerevan flight Melkon Khayan was trying to smuggle in diamonds worth 6.5 million Armenian Drams and another passenger of Yerevan-Istanbul flight Arthur Simonian did not declare $3,500 out of a total $13,500. Other cases of goods smuggling were reported in the border market of Bagratashen. Customs officers prevented smuggling of huge batches of Italian socks, worth nearly $3,000, tires worth more than $3,000 and 50 leather coats. A press release by the customs department says that the presented cases are the direct result of an uncontrolled atmosphere in the market, which proves the necessity of a set of austerity measures by the government to regulate flow of goods in it. However, the press release says nothing about when the smuggling attempts were made and whether they are the result of the uncontrollable market or the “implemented measures.” By Ara Martirosian © Copyright AZG

ARMENIAN INTERNET HAS LONG WAY TO GO In 1999, on the first day of NATO strikes on Kosovo, the Serbs attacked the NATO Internet web server by thousands of e-mails and the latter, being unable to withstand their inrush, broke down. Earlier, in 1998 a student from Israel penetrated into the Pentagon Internet network. Interestingly, it was the Pentagon that was funding the building of the first computerized networks. Examples can be continued, and thus, the network that was viewed some thirty years ago as worldwide information means, has turned today into a unique virtual world, able to collapse the real one. Now let us see what is the situation with Armenian on-line editions. All in all, there are one radio station, seven dailies and four information agencies in addition to two portals and minor information sources, available in Internet. Out of newspapers the semi-weekly Golos Armenii has Russian language online edition with a daily 250 visitors, who read a total of 750 stories. The daily Haykakan Zhamanak has some 150 visitors a day, who read 700 stories. The daily Aravot, which posts stories in Armenian and Russian, has about 370 visitors a day who read 600 stories. Also weeklies Chorrord Ishkhanutyun and Eter post their materials in the Internet, the first in Armenian, the latter in Armenian, Russian and English. The daily Azg posts stories in four languages: Armenian, Russian, English and Turkish. The Russian page has most visitors, then come the Armenian, English and Turkish pages. About 1,000 people visit it a day reading some 6,000 stories. According to a Russian rumbler.ru rating program, from 2000 January 27 up to now some 137,000 people visited the daily Azg reading a total of 610,000 stories. Regarding radio stations, Radio Hay is so far the only Armenian radio stations, available in the Internet. The radio station’s director says that they are trying to create a live Armenian environment. These are purely figures. What are the assessments? Hrach Badalian, chairman of a public organization, called Fund of Information Technologies, says the role of Armenian web sites, which contain information in Armenian and other languages, does not play a tangible role in the social or cultural life. Badalian says the national www resources are not politicized and as an information means they do not have any impact on the inner-political developments. He also says that Armenian Internet is not yet commercialized, describing the current stage as “a continued process of assimilation of new information technologies, which has not yet brought in any tangible outcome.” Valery Makarian, the webmaster of the daily Azg disagrees, maintaining that what ha been achieved is already a great progress, having in mind that the value and weight of Internet is not appropriately comprehended by people able to take crucial decisions in this sector. “Development of the Armenian Internet is a political issue,” Mr. Makarian claimed, and added that the daily Azg would soon its own search engine. We can agree with Mr. Makarian that this is really a political issue, as it demands regulation of issues arising from the monopoly the sole company Armentel enjoys in this sector. By Lilit Grigorian © Copyright AZG

AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY CLAIM ARMENIA IS A TERRORIST HARBORING COUNTRY Armenia is considered a terrorist harboring country in the ruling circles of Azerbaijan. The spokesman of Azeri foreign ministry Metin Mirza even expressed confidence that the Azeri diplomacy will achieve a point when the UN Security Council will recognize Armenia as a terrorist harboring country. The above-mentioned diplomat, as well as many other Azeri officials find that Armenia ‘deserves to be included into the list of terrorist harboring countries’. And the two victims of this policy of Armenia - Azerbaijan and Turkey, can prove it. For this they must unite their efforts. According to Azeri politologist Mubariz Ghurbanmli works aimed at this purpose are activated both between the governments, and the political parties of the two ‘victim’ countries. ‘I think that in near future we’ll see the results of it’,- said Ghurbanli. As Novruz Mamedov, chief of staff of the Azeri president, said, the international society does not recognize Armenia a terrorist harboring country for it is not well informed and because the activity of the Diaspora-Armenians veil the truth. © Copyright AZG

GIVE UP YOUR ILLUSIONS! The anti-Armenian propaganda that is being carried out in Azerbaijan not only took a very wide swing recently, but also gained an open racist character. Many famous in this country figures, who were in near past holding high posts in Azerbaijan, started to openly and impudently announce that they see the solution of Karabagh conflict in ‘deporting the whole Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabagh out of the territory’. This is nothing else but an attempt by Azerbaijan to adopt the bloody ‘experience’ of its ‘elder brother’ Turkey, which carried out a genocide against the Armenian nation, and a cannibalistic program of carrying out another genocide of the Karabagh-Armenians. Why a genocide? Because, according to international law, expatriation and deportation of a certain ethnic group is also considered a genocide, and moreover, we Armenians well know what the words ‘deportation’ and ‘expatriation’ mean in the vocabulary of Turks- a full extermination. Of course this ‘program’ is not proposed by the leader of the country. It is uttered by the ex-advisor of Heydar Aliyev on foreign issues Vafa Guluzade. But of course one can gather that this kind of idea was discussed at the highest instances of the country, and most probably approved, otherwise Aliyev would hold Guluzade back from saying such words. Or maybe the experienced Aliyev does not realize that this kind of announcements: a. give rise to nationalistic and revanchist passions in Azerbaijan b. discredit Azerbaijan in from of international society and first of all in front of OSCE Minsk group, from which Azeris expect the desirable for them solution of Karabagh conflict c. deepen the distrust of Armenia towards Azerbaijan’s intentions to solve the Karabagh issue in a peaceful way, making the Armenian nation to take a tougher position in the issue of demanding security guarantees for Armenia and Karabagh against returning the ‘occupied’ territories to Azerbaijan d. strengthen the position of Armenia in the negotiation process, giving the latter a chance to point out the real dangerous intentions of Azerbaijan in future, and ground why immediate means are necessary for eliminating the threat. And despite all this Aliyev doesn’t ban such announcements. Why? Because: 1. he thinks in this way, too 2. by his silent agreement Aliyev wants to show the Azeri nation that as though he also is as ‘decisive’ in the issue as the other Azeri political figures for he needs the support of Azeri people in the coming presidential elections 3. Aliyev realizes that the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen will not take this kind of announcements seriously 4. he needs this kinds of announcements when negotiating with Minsk group co-chairmen for showing that the his nation lost its patience – thus blackmailing the co-chairmen, which, by the way, Aliyev did already couple of times 5. wants to ‘scare’ Armenia and Karabagh- thus making them to go to desired concessions The political bankruptcy of each of these points is so obvious that there is even no need of rejection. But one thing is really alerting here- what aim then Aliyev and his ex-advisor pursue by making such announcements? Although it may seem odd, but there is an answer to this question as well. The answer is given by the present foreign minister of Azerbaijan Vilayat Gliyev. The Azeri foreign minister, commenting on the geopolitical situation created after the September 11 terrorist acts, noted that ‘on the background of Russian-American rapprochement Armenia will gradually lose its importance for Russia as a potential barrier against Turkey’. Amazingly this announcement, judging form publications of several Armenian analysts, excited many people in Armenia. It could then well be thought, coming from the same logic, that in this case Turkey also loses its importance for USA – as being a barrier against the threat coming from Russia. The proof of this is the recent announcement of the head of the Russian Duma’s (parliament) foreign relations’ committee Dmitry Ragozin addressed to Turkey, saying that ‘Armenia’s security is as important as Azerbaijan’s’. So the sooner people in Baku understand that the Russian-American rapprochement is not going to give life to their silly ‘illusions’, the better for them. By Rafik Hovhannisian © Copyright AZG

SITUATION ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER UNDER TOUGH CONTROL http://www.armenpress.am/top_pict/granica.jpg YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: General Pankov, the commander of the operative group of Russian frontier troops in Armenia, who patrol Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Iranian border along with Armenian border guards, said they have undertaken a range of measures to reinforce border protection, subsequent to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the USA. General Pankov said the Russian border troops coordinate their actions with Armenian national security and interior ministries. Pankov said no serious accidents were reported on the Armenian-Turkish border, but said the situation on this section of border is always tense and complicated. Pankov said last year the border guards prevented 63 cases of border trespassing. The border check points issued 181,708 visas, of which 99,000 to foreigners. Pankov said 300 persons were rejected visas and some 2,000 items of ammunition, explosives and cold steel were confiscated. Russian border troops have been patrolling Armenia's border, a total of 370 km, of which 328 km with Turkey and 45 km with Iran, since 1992 on the basis of a relevant agreement, which was prolonged by a 1994 agreement.

ARMENIA TO OPEN EMBASSIES IN JAPAN, UZBEKISTAN IN 2002 YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS: Armenia is planning to open embassies in Japan and Uzbekistan in the first half of 2002, Armenian foreign affairs minister Vartan Oskanian said today. Oskanian said the decision about opening Armenia's embassy in Tokyo would most probably be announced officially during president Robert Kocharian's visit to Japan, due in late December this year. Oskanian said Japan takes great interest in the region of the South Caucasus. It is implementing a number of both credit and grant-supported projects in Armenia. Meantime Armenian deputy finance and economy minister Pavel Safarian said today during discussions on 2002 draft state budget that a total of 4.6 billion Drams are earmarked by the next year's budget for the foreign affairs ministry. Expenses for management of the ministry's machinery were reduced by 10 million against 2001. Armenian embassies in France and Germany will get each additional 100 million Drams for maintenance of the embassies' buildings and another additional 20 million will go to cover the ministry's procedural expenses. As a result the 2002 budget of the ministry will get 110 million Drams more than in 2001, if approved by the parliament. Foreign affairs minister Oskanian citing the ministry's year by year expanding activity said that the 3 billion Drams, earmarked for maintenance of the Armenian representations abroad, would not be sufficient, especially that the assistance of Diaspora Armenian organizations to Armenian representations abroad has reduced by 70 percent. The state budget has also earmarked less money as membership fee for Armenia's participation in various international organizations, only $1.3 million instead of the required $17.3 million.

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION MAY DISCUSS Artsax SETTLEMENT 26.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan intends to seek inclusion of the item of the Artsax conflict settlement in the agenda of the regular 18-th sitting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the countries-members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, which is fixed for December 4. Representative of Azerbaijan in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Shaitdin Aliyev has stated this. The representatives of the Azeri delegation will also appear at the sitting concerning the measures directed towards fight against the international terrorism. Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

TENSION BETWEEN GREECE-TURKEY RELATIONS DOUBLED 26.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ A new turn of escalation of tension of Greece-Turkey relations is observed. Ankara accused Athens of provocation last week. Turkish sources claim the Greek air force pursuit plane had broken in Turkey's airspace and had made provocative maneuvers. Ankara stated about a similar incident November 15. Meanwhile, a day before, British citizens engaged in espionage information gathering were arrested at one of the Greece's military bases. As it is presumed the information was for Turkish special services. The new turn of aggravation of the relations between old enemies is taking place against the background of Turkey's idle attempts to join the European Union. Ankara's anxiety is doubled with the fact that European committee has included Cyprus in the list of the ten countries that have real basis to claim to the European Union membership. The matter concerns the united Cyprus i.e. the boarders recognized by the UNO. Turkey is categorically against the joining of Cyprus the European Union unless the territorial conflict is settled. As it is known Turkey has occupied the northern part of the island and proclaimed Turkish republic in that territory. Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

HATTAB TERRORIST WAS ON A VISIT IN AZERBAIJAN 26.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to the information of Russian RTR TV channel, famous terrorist Hattab, who had fought in Chechnya, spent several days in Azerbaijan. Hattab left Baku for Pakistan, from where he went to Kunduz Afghani town under siege of the Northern Alliance. ITAR-TASS agency reports, Usama bin Laden had personally asked Hattab to the defense of one of the last strongholds of "Taliban" movement. The information on Hattab's stay in Azerbaijan confirms there is a local cell of "El-Quaide" terrorist network in Baku. Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

ANOTHER MISINFORMATION REGARDING ARMENIAN-BIN LADEN RELATIONS COOKED UP IN BAKU 26.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Baku "political scientist" Rowshan Nowruzoghlu has published a new "work" to prove that Armenians helped Usama din Laden to get nuclear weapon. The main argument to support the crazy version on the relations of Armenians and "El Qaide" is that several Armenian worked in the scientific city Dubna, from where a group of physicists left for Afghanistan. "27 out of 48 experts working in Dubna at that time were Armenians", writes Nowruzoghlu, thinking that this is enough to make conclusions that exactly Armenians helped the top terrorist to create nuclear bomb. The fact that the nuclear physics is quite developed in Armenia is well known but only Baku "political scientists" consider this as a base for the conclusions that there are relations between Armenian and Ben Laden. Though, Nowruzoghlu has some other arguments. For example: "Armenian experts together with Chinese colleagues participated in the construction of the cement factory in Kandagar and also in the explorations of gas fields in Jilalabad, Bamiian and Gunduz". "The political scientist" does not accuse Chinese of anything, but Armenians were introduced as if they were engaged in development and producing of nuclear weapon. (By the way, it is known that during the years of Soviet military presence in Afghanistan a few experts of Azerbaijan as well as Georgia, Russia, etc. also worked there). In order to make the version believable, the author of the "work" introduces more detailed data about citizens of Armenia working for "Al Qaide". A Santrosyan, living in Yerevan, at 1 Manukyan str is mentioned. This street really exists in Yerevan. But the matter is that a bookstore was and a trade center is situated to that address. Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

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US EMBASSY STATEMENT REGARDING BAKU MILLI MEJLIS ELECTION FALSIFICATION CONSIDERED AS MEDDLING IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS 27.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan's Central election committee chairman Mazahir Panakhov has expressed regrets for the US Embassy statement declaring the parliament additional elections are falsified. "These elections do not meet the international standards for holding of free and fair elections", is stated in the US Embassy statement. Panakhow stated that the assessments in that document "are too harsh and do not reveal the reality". He expressed regrets regarding the fact that the foreign Embassy without introducing its remarks to the Central election committee had made a statement about the falsification of the elections. Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

AZERBAIJANI LEADERSHIP WITHHOLD COMMENTS REGARDING INFORMATION ABOUT TERRORIST KHATTAB'S VISIT TO BAKU 27.11.2001 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan political leadership representatives refuse to comment the statements of Russian media, particularly RTR TV channel, that well-known terrorist Khattab who fought in Chechnya, stated in Azerbaijan for several days and illegally left for Pakistan and then to Afghanistan. According to ITAR-TASS agency information, Usama bin Laden has personally asked Khattab to lead the defense of Kunduz that is one of the last bulwarks of "Taliban" movement. The leaders of the law-enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan that were afraid of spreading of the information about the second top terrorist's visit to Baku state the information of the world news agencies does not correspond to the reality and they "purpose one aim, that is to promote worsening of Azerbaijan-Russia relations". Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

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Documentary Filmmaker Roger Kupelian From: "Pedro Zarokian" Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 22:00:17 PST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Producer Magazine November, 2001 Documentary Filmmaker Roger Kupelian by John B. Virata The advent of the Internet coupled with less expensive but very effective digital media creation tools, has opened the doors for a new era of documentary filmmaker. Roger Kupelian is one such filmmaker. Kupelian is an accomplished digital matte painter for studio films, but his passion is documentary filmmaking. When Kupelian isn't contributing his art to such films as The Devil's Advocate, The Truman Show, Mission to Mars, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and the as yet released The Lord of the Rings, Kupelian is wearing the hat of documentary filmmaker, one of his true passions. His most notable documentary film to date is Dark Forest in the Mountains, with principal photography (in this case the use of Hi8 video) completed in 1994, and final finishing and distribution occurring just this year. Dark Forest in the Mountains chronicles the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the fate of the 170,000 Armenians living in a small mountainous region of Nagorno-Artsax. Kupelian, an American of Armenian descent, began shooting his story in 1994 with Hi8 video, conducting exhaustive interviews, and mixing it with animation and live footage to create Dark Forest in the Mountains. Kupelian chose to make the film in part because of views that the mainstream media didn't pay much attention to the conflict. Documentary filmmakers have several things working for them and several things working against them as they try to bring their visions to wide audiences. Advertising and production costs, while important to studio projects to keep under control, are bigger factors to the documentary filmmaker. Equipment costs alone can balloon to the stratosphere for those on limited budgets. While a mainstream studio project has the backing of the studio, which can deliver resources in an attempt to make a film successful, documentary filmmakers oftentimes make movies in their spare time while they hold down more traditional jobs that pay them. The documentary filmmaker concentrates on making a film that makes you think, as opposed to studio-backed films, which for the most part, are made to make tons of money, and to entertain. For many who make documentary filmmaking their passion, developing the resources to not only make the film, but to distribute it as well, can be challenging. The power and functionality of desktop digital filmmaking tools have grown exponentially during just the last five years alone. Many of the digital tools that were used to create the likes of Jurassic Park and Lawnmower Man, have become widely available in varying forms from a variety of manufacturers. For Kupelian, his toolchest consists of Power Mac G3s and G4s running Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop, and Apple's Final Cut Pro. His primary acquistion device is a 3CCD Sony DV camera. In the correct hands, these tools can be used to help communicate a message just as effectively as the traditional big iron and proprietary tools. Oftentimes the price of a single big iron tool exceeds the entire budget of a docuemntary film. With the advent of these tools running on Windows and Macintosh and Linux based computers, documentary filmmakers have a more level playing field when it comes to telling great stories. While traditional films have the power of the studio behind them, the documentary filmmaker has the worldwide distribution power of the Internet. The Internet has become a vast distribution medium for these films, which range from just a few minutes in length to 10, 20 and 30 minutes and longer. Studios have huge budgets to market a film, documentary filmmakers have the power of the Internet to market their films. In this Q&A, Roger Kupelian discusses his passion--making documentary films with DMN senior producer John Virata. JV: You have worked on so many films that are full of digital effects. What particular film(s) that you worked on do you feel is the best representation of how digital effects best serves the story? RK: Although there are two films in recent memory that I would point to, Final Fantasy being one and Lord of the Rings being the other, I would have to say that Lord of the Rings would have to be it-just in terms of the sheer scale of re-creating Middle Earth and the fantastic events that transpired there. Final Fantasy was all about special effects, in that the story seemed even secondary to the innovation that was taking place in making the film. In a sense, the effects WERE the story. You were supposed to go to this film and be wowed by an entirely realistic CG environment. In LOTR you've got a lot of live action and a terrific ensemble cast, and the effects are there to accentuate their performances, not overshadow them. Although it boasts a lot of innovative effects work, LOTR is based on a famous series of books with a tremendous following, at a time when audiences have already started growing weary of effects-driven films. I guess in the end it is a maturity issue. JV: What are some of the issues that impact today's documentary filmmakers with regard to the dearth of technology available to them today? Are we seeing better use of technology to get the message out? RK: It seems so, although some very practical issues are still in the way. Documentaries are a great way of not only informing an audience but encouraging that audience to action...whether it be environmental conservation, humanitarian issues on a global scale, abuses in the penal system, whatever. One assumes that the availability of the internet would allow easier and more widespread access to audiences that would be interested in documentaries. However, the bandwidth issue, and the fact that the Internet is still available only to a relatively small percentage of the population are both obstacles to getting the word out on one's project. Also, word of mouth is still by far the best way of getting your work advertised, since a lot of competition already exists when it comes to getting noticed via a search engine. Some have resorted to using optimization companies to get their projects ranked higher on the results page when using a search engine. That way when an interested party types in "pipeline politics" they'll most likely have my documentary (which is partly about pipeline politics in Trans-Caucasia) come up on that first page. People are still people and most don't have as much time to look through pages and pages of textual information, so you have to get the info to them quickly and with minimum effort. Unfortunately, most companies still have to advertise in more traditional mediums to direct people to their websites. JV: For those of us who are unaware, what does a digital matte painter do? RK: Well basically matte painting and its digital counterpart are descendants of scenic painting. By that I mean backdrops for live plays, etc. Matte painting for film was first done on very large pieces of glass, and filled in the areas of background that would have been too expensive or too difficult to film. The areas that were to be painted were covered over by black matte board, placed directly in front of the camera (hence the name). Then the live footage was projected onto the glass painting and refilmed, putting the two images together. Some of the great names of early matte painting are the late Albert Whitlock (Hitchcock movies, The Hindenberg) and Chesley Bonestell (When Worlds Collide, The Conquest of Space). Whitlock actually pioneered the 'held take', where he would convince directors not to develop their takes until they had also been re-exposed to the painting. That way the paintings worked with the live footage better. Later on live actors were rotoscoped manually and placed over backgrounds via optical printers. When digital hit, all that was replaced by paintings executed or at least completed using computer software, like Matador and Adobe Photoshop (the latter being the more popular). This allowed digital matte painters greater flexibility in their approaches, and the incorporation of projected matte paintings (a painting mapped onto simple geometry to give a better illusion of movement and depth, as pioneered by Yusei Uesugi of ILM). JV: How has the availability of desktop digital tools opened the doors for filmmakers who don't have the budgets for big iron tools to share their ideas on film? RK: Filmmakers are now able to buy or lease higher processor speeds and versatile software at a fraction of the cost of doing the same thing a few years ago. This allows an independent the option of putting together a small experienced crew in a small rented space or someone's souped up basement and banging the imagery out without the standard Hollywood bureaucratic red tape in the way. The line from Storyteller to product gets shorter, and that is usually much more efficient in terms of budget and creativity. JV: How about your own personal digital studio? What hardware and applications are you using to craft your documentaries together? RK: I'm basically a Mac-head and have been since I got into this line of work. I'm using G3's and G4's with Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. Once my footage is together I'll capture it from a 3-chip Sony digital video camera into Apple's Final Cut Pro 2. I'm even using Adobe GoLive to get my websites going as the projects start nearing completion. JV: How is making the documentary different from working on a big studio project like Final Fantasy or Lord of the Rings? RK: Again, less red tape and the message is much more personal. I don't have to worry about making someone else's vision come to life because it is my own vision and it can evolve if it needs to. that's the greatest asset. Versatility--the option to change my mind midstream if I need to change it, and sometimes you do. Some people will stick to storyboards if it kills them. I wont. That happens on mega-budget films. If a Mega Budge director changes his mind, everyone pays for it both in time, money and brain cells. JV: Dark Forest in the Mountains-Tell me about this film. Why did you make it? RK: At the time there was a little known war raging in the Caucasus between the newly independent former Soviet states of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was a Bosnia situation, with an Azeri government trying to either drive out or suppress an Armenian enclave placed within their borders by Stalin ages ago. The news media was doing some reporting on it but very rarely anything substantial. Having ancestral links to that part of the world (really distant ones) I realized this was a chance to go and film a very real story. I sold equipment, put the rest on credit cards and went over. Having ended up with Super 8 video, it was a process of editing and re-editing using available tools at the time, usually Toaster or some like. I was never really happy with the edit I ended up with, and after a few years in digital effects, I applied what I had learned and redid the project, adding historic animation and more precision editing. JV: What are you working on now? RK: I've got a couple of things on the burner but one of them is an historic documentary, a man-hunt if you will of an enigmatic Chinese prince who had ties to the Persian Empire and possibly a lot more. The others are short subjects that will be shot in New Zealand. To view clips of Dark Forest in the Mountains, please visit www.archfilm.net/index2.htm

Food fair promises tastes to delight http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cupertino.courier/09.06.00/gifs/foodfair-0036.jpg By BARBARA DOHENY Even a church cookbook is getting a boost these days from the Internet. With a listing on Amazon.com, The New Armenian Kitchen published by the St. Andrew's Ladies Society in Cupertino, sold more than 1,000 copies in less than a year and generated orders from across the country. By midsummer the cookbook was ranked third most popular among Armenian books on Amazon.com's sales listings. Cooks across the country are discovering recipes that for 20 years have drawn hundreds to the annual Food Fair at St. Andrew Armenian Church in Cupertino. This year's Food Fair is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9, at the church's community hall at 11370 South Stelling Road. Homemade pastries, meat and vegetarian dishes will be offered, and admission is free. There is even a takeout menu. Many of the church's recipes are literally thousands of years old. As noted in the cookbook, Armenia was a crossroads of the ancient Middle East, and its cuisine incorporates staples from the Christian, Jewish and Moslem communities. Familiar dishes include lamb and chicken kebabs, savory rice and bulgar pilafs, and baklava dessert dripping with honey and nuts. Health food devotees will find hummus and tabbouleh fillings in pita bread. There will also be delicate pastries filled with meat, vegetables or cheese (boureg and choreg), cheese-free Armenian-style pizza (lahmejun) and tahn, a yogurt drink. The cookbook includes 450 recipes handed down through families in the church or borrowed from friends and relatives on the East Coast. In some cases, Ladies Society members took down recipes by observing older women preparing dishes at home. "I had recipes submitted to me on the backs of old envelopes," said cookbook editor Veronica Sarkissian. "I feel like we're writing history, in a way." Sharing the Armenian heritage is the major goal of the cookbook, which hails from the kitchen of a church established in Santa Clara Valley in 1962, but drawing on a religious tradition going back to the third century. The sanctuary near the corner of Stelling Road and Rainbow Drive incorporates elements of the one of the world's oldest cathedrals in its architecture. Its arched windows and airy rotunda frequently attract architectural students from San Jose State University. The site itself incorporates recent local history. When the church purchased it in 1974, after a dozen years of sharing worship space with others, there was only a small ranch house, a barn and some horses. Orchards extended down Stelling Road. H. "Ronnie" Henesian, a founding member and longtime Ladies Society leader, recalls renovating the house to include a sanctuary and community hall, where delicious meals were prepared and shared by all. The congregation's priest, Fr. Vazken Movsesian, was on his first assignment and initially stunned by the prospect of leading a community with a barn but no sanctuary, she said. He stayed for 14 years and led the community to build a beautiful church but keep the atmosphere of home, she added. "We were very happy there," she said. "The church is not just a religious edifice, it's a home for the Armenians in Santa Clara Valley." Even the evolution of the cookbook follows something of the Valley's current history. Sarkissian credits her computer-savvy son with providing the tools and the training she needed to design the book."He bought me the computer and put me on this 'DSL,' " Sarkissian said. "If it weren't for my husband and my son, that book wouldn't have gotten written." One of the hardest tasks was obtaining an ISBN number for the book so it could be sold commercially, Sarkissian added. Her perseverance paid off as the book scooted up Amazon.com's sales rankings, at one point breaking into the top 10,000 books selling through the online retailer. The recipes are all authentic, but have been altered to involve a little less butter, oil and salt. Several families' versions of the same dish are frequently included to honor different traditions, Sarkission said. Each cook's name is given with her recipe. "All of us have one thing we've done a lot of," said Henesian, shrugging off compliments. The collection of recipes is accented every few pages with pithy Armenian proverbs, geographical and language notes and quotes about the country. There is an index arranged conveniently by ingredients, such as lentils or eggs and types of food, such as casseroles or desserts. The spiral-bound volume lays flat easily and features a bright, glossy cover that can be wiped clean. At the back is a glossary of Armenian food terms, a page on the use of spices, charts of measurements and substitutions, even "Household Hints" and "99 Ways You Can Save the Planet." There is a complete section of meatless dishes. The ladies say they hope it will be a frequent gift for new brides and youngsters finding their way around their first kitchen away from mom's house. Many of the recipes involve a half-dozen ingredients and only basic cooking skills. Some of the more complicated projects include dolmas, or filled grape leaves, and phyllo dough, a many-layered, flaky pastry pocket used with a variety of fillings. "Look at the ingredients first," Sarkissian advised beginners. "Find simple things that you're used to working with." The cookbook can be purchased at the Food Fair and at The Armenian Gourmet restaurant in San Jose. Organizers estimate 500 people attended last year's Food Fair and advise arriving early for the best selection. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Armenian Food Fair 2000, Sept. 9, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., St. Andrew Armenian Church, 11370 S. Stelling Road, Cupertino. Call ahead for takeout orders at 408/ 246-6247, or fax orders to 408/257-1840. Wheelchair accessible. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------