ROT54: ARMENIA'S FORGOTTEN SPACE GIANT
An Al Jazeera Witness commission (2022)
Armenian radio-engineer Arevik Sargsyan has struggled throughout her life to preserve ROT54, a giant telescope built by her uncle in the 1980s. But the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that ROT54 was left abandoned for 30 years.
Now, Arevik is attempting to take control of the telescope and prove it still works.In the face of personal and political difficulties, Arevik must overcome her biggest challenge yet.
Producer / Director - Marta Miskaryan
Director of Photography - Zareh Safaryan
Sound Recordist - Edgar Hakobyan
Editor - Domenico Favata
Original Soundtrack - Vache Sharafyan
Commissioning Producer - Horia El Hadad
Executive Producer - Fiona Lawson-Baker
ARQUIVO
An independent, crowdfunded production (2019)
On September 2nd 2018, the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro was destroyed by a tragic fire, which burnt its 20-million archive to the ground. Since then, a team of scientists and researchers has worked tirelessly to rescue and recover pieces from the ashes, while dealing with limited resources and psychological trauma.
This documentary explores the social impact of the event and the importance of cultural institutions in preserving childhood memories.
The film was showcased in festivals worldwide and was recently nominated in the 'Best Documentary' category in Rio.
Producer/ Director - Marta Miskaryan
Director of Photography and Sound Recordist - Jas Pitt
Editors - Marta Miskaryan and Alice Turnbull
Original Soundtrack - Flavia Tygel and Larissa Conforto