"If No One Documents It, It Basically Doesn't Exist": Emily Mkrtichian on Her DOC NYC-Screening Feature Debut There Was, There Was Not

When she first started filming in the Republic of Artsakh--a small "breakaway" state where most residents were ethnically Armenian, but lived under the control of Azerbaijan--Emily Mkrtichian was planning to portray the pivotal roles local women play 30 years after experiencing a violent war. But her project was thrust in a completely different direction when the small sovereign state became besieged by sudden conflict once again. Taking its title from the opening line of most Armenian fairy tal...