On April 30, 2017, the Galouste Gyulbenkyan Hall of the Hayartun Center at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia hosted the screening of the documentary film “Return of the Poet”. The film director, founder of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Harutyun Khachatryan, had eagerly anticipated the screening of his film and meeting with Armenian audience in Tbilisi. But, due to sickness, the stage director was unable to come to Tbilisi and attend the screening of the film dedicated to Ashug Jivani and Javakheti.

Following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, in the courtyard of the Saint Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, Matagh (Thanksgiving Animal Sacrifice), which Harutyun Khachatryan had once promised, was distributed to the faithful.

Later the public entered the Galouste Gyulbenkyan Hall of the Hayartun Center at the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, where the Diocesan Cultural Department Director, Levon Chidilyan, provided details about famous director Harutyun Khachatryan, who has directed many documentaries, and is a founder of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan.

National artist of the Republic of Armenia, Harutyun Khachatryan’s personal credo is living a life with eyes wide open and to see everything, to show an idea and with the help of the films help people find their own way.

Voting Member of European Film Academy Harutyun Khachatryan’s film “Return of the Poet” is dedicated to Ashugh Jivani, a late Romantic folk singer who spanned the 19th and 20th centuries, and to Javakheti region. Born in Akhalkalaki, the film director through the eyes of Jivani surveys the state of modern-day Armenia. The film is a documentary research of modern life. The film director evokes the presence of the poet first through the bare stone that a sculptor uses to create a statue of Jivani, then by following it back to the bard’s homeplace. The film reflects the crew’s impressions on the road to Javakheti.

The film “Return of the Poet”, which also presents the traditions of Javakheti, sparked great interest in the Armenian community of Tbilisi.