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
SONGS OF OUR LIVES
Commissioned by Sheffield Docfest (2024)
This year, I was selected for the Sheffield Docfest Filmmaker Challenge alongside 5 talented directors! I was challenged to make a short documentary in just two days and share it with an audience during the festival.
My documentary tells the story of a 90-year-old male voice choir on the outskirts of Sheffield. It’s told through personal testaments of their oldest members who have travelled the world and have continued singing despite some of the darkest moments of their lives. Featuring Mick Siddall, Rob Firth, Frank Milnes and Alfred Pearson from the Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir.
Special thanks to the our mentor Julie Cohen, principal sponsor Amazon Prime as well as Canon UK, Sheffield Hallam University, Sticks and Glass post house in Leeds .
Producer, Director, Editor - Marta Miskaryan
Director of Photography - Johnny Ho
Sound Recordist - Rob Wingfield
Colourist - Summer Vasare Piscikaite
Sound Mix - Will Cart
Runner - Elliott Beeton
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