Welcome to
ArmDoc – Armenian Documentary Association
website!

The Armenian Association of Documentarians – ArmDoc, aims to promote the production and dissemination of documentary cinema both in Armenia and on international platforms. As a newly established organization, we have developed a strategy for action, which you can find in the sections below.
Activities in Armenia

Our activities in Armenia are designed to strengthen the local documentary film community and increase the visibility of Armenian documentaries. Here’s what we’ll be doing:
● Community Meetings: We’ll organize four annual meetings for members of the documentary community to discuss our organization’s news and updates.
Screening Opportunities for Members: We’ll create opportunities for members to hold Focus screenings (for audience feedback) and Test screenings (for technical checks) of their films.
● Showcasing Armenian Documentaries on TV: We plan to arrange screenings of Armenian documentaries on Armenian TV channels, ensuring that authors are paid for their work.
● Collaborating with Streaming Platforms: We’ll secure agreements with Armenian streaming platforms to make Armenian documentaries more accessible to a wider audience.
● Workshops: We’ll organize and conduct workshops throughout Armenia to help filmmakers develop their skills. Partnerships: We’ll work with other state and private organizations and bodies to advance the documentary film sector. Nationwide
● Screenings: We’ll organize and promote film screenings across all of Armenia to increase public awareness and appreciation for documentary cinema.

Fundraising Initiatives

Our fundraising strategy focuses on securing diverse funding to support our programs and priorities. We’ll be:
● Applying for grants: We’ll actively seek out local and international grants that align with our projects and priorities.
● Building connections: We’ll establish relationships with major organizations operating in Armenia, including the EU, GIZ, British Council, and various embassies.
● Creating a support network: We plan to establish a club for individuals and organizations who wish to support our mission.

International Activities

Our international engagement aims to position Armenia as a key player in the global documentary film scene and create vital opportunities for Armenian documentarians. Here’s how we plan to achieve this:
● Festival and Market Participation: We’ll attend significant events like the Doc Leipzig film market and festival in Germany.
● European Association Engagement: We’ll participate in the major gathering of the European Documentary Association at IDFA.
● Building Global Partnerships: We’ll forge new connections and explore collaboration opportunities with various documentary film markets, workshops, and other platforms worldwide.
● International Screenings: We’ll organize screenings of Armenian documentary films abroad, including within the Diaspora.
● Securing International Funding & Representation: We’ll become active participants and members of major international funds and representative platforms.
● Elevating Armenia’s Profile: We’ll develop, present, and position Armenia as a strong and important hub in the world of documentary filmmaking. We’ll continue to hold a regional workshop/pitching and co-production forum at least once a year, and aim to do even more.

Long-Term Plans

Our long-term vision includes foundational initiatives to ensure the sustainable growth and development of the documentary film sector in Armenia:
● Comprehensive Sector Research: We will conduct in-depth research into the challenges and opportunities within the industry. This will involve gathering data and statistics, drawing conclusions, and proposing potential solutions. We aim to ensure a correct and comprehensive approach to sector development.
● Establishment of a Human Rights Film Festival: We plan to found a Human Rights Film Festival in Armenia. This will provide a crucial platform for films that shed light on human rights issues and foster discussion.
● Creation of an Independent Production Fund: We will work towards establishing an alternative fund that operates independently of state funding. This fund will be dedicated to supporting the production and development of documentary films, ensuring creative freedom and sustainability within the industry.

Objectives of ArmDoc

ArmDoc is dedicated to fostering a vibrant and inclusive documentary film landscape in Armenia. Our core objectives are:

  1. Promote Documentary Film Development: We aim to cultivate a sustainable ecosystem for documentary cinema in Armenia. This includes implementing educational programs, professional courses, training, consultations, screenings, and other relevant events.
  2. Empower Film Professionals: We seek to empower film professionals by introducing innovative technologies to the sector and expanding international cooperation. We’ll achieve this by leveraging the potential of local and international, state, private, and other organizations and bodies.
  3. Ensure Inclusive Development: We’re committed to promoting the inclusive development of documentary cinema in Armenia, ensuring equal opportunities and diversity within the sector.
  4. Protect Creative Freedom and Rights: We strive to foster the ability of filmmakers to create freely, protect the rights of industry professionals, eliminate all forms of discrimination, and contribute to the development of a culture of peace.
  5. Foster Inclusivity and Diversity: We aim to encourage the involvement of women, youth, individuals with limited abilities, and socially vulnerable groups in the sector. This involves promoting gender equality, enhancing the visibility of national minority stories, and fostering social inclusion.
  6. Internationalize Armenian Documentary Cinema: We are dedicated to the internationalization of Armenian documentary cinema and its global integration. We’ll achieve this by developing cultural cooperation among organizations and individuals in Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora, and abroad, facilitating professional exchanges, ensuring the international involvement of Armenian artists, and strengthening cultural ties.
  7. Enhance Public Impact: We aim to elevate the role and impact of documentary cinema in society, promoting the dissemination and public awareness of documentary films.

Founders of the Association

Arevik Avanesyan

Arevik Avanesyan started her filmmaking career at HayFilm School (2006-2008) after earning a Master’s in Mathematics from Yerevan State University. With over a decade in film production, she participated in Talents Sarajevo (2014) and various industry events like B2B Doc Network at Kiev Media Week (2017) and Baltic Sea Forum (2018), Leipzig market (2024).
From 2012 -2014 she was a producer at HY pictures and From 2015-2019, she was a producer at Bars Media documentary film studio. 
She founded “2+3” Production and leads UP NGO, promoting Armenia’s film industry, also created PlatformDoc distribution of documentary films. She is also co-founder and head of ArmDoc – Armenian Documentary Association (2025). Always advocating for documentary film making and field.

Hakob Melkonyan

Screenwriter-Director
Born in 1984 in Getazat village, Armenia, Hakob Melkonyan is a screenwriter and director. He pursued his education at Yerevan State University (2005), followed by studies at the University of Television and Film Munich (2011) and the University of Limoges (2013). In 2013, he developed a screenplay through the Le GREC program and trained with renowned filmmakers. Since 2014, he has worked at France 3, and from 2024, at ARTE France, directing author-driven documentaries. He is also a member of La SCAM, the French screenwriters’ guild.
Melkonyan’s notable works include a documentary trilogy on Armenian history and identity: “The Tree” (2015), about the Armenian Genocide, which won the Grand Prize at the “VUES DU MONDE 2016” festival in Montreal; “Blockade” (2020), depicting the Artsakh War and blockade, screened at various international festivals; and “Soldier’s Diary” (2023), which earned multiple international awards, including the Jury Prize at Pessac. Beyond documentaries, Hakob is currently developing his first feature film, whose screenplay was recognized as the best in the La FEMIS program and further honed at the Chalet Mauriac workshop.

Nairi Hakhverdi

Nairi Hakhverdi is a literary translator, writer, and filmmaker. She was born in the Netherlands to Armenian parents from Iran, and studied English language and literature at the University of Leiden. Since 2001, she has regularly traveled and lived in Armenia for extended periods of time. Her first feature-length screenplay, The Driver, was selected to participate in EAVE on Demand, BOZAR, and the Berlinale Talents Project Market. She is currently working on her first feature-length documentary, Between the Rails, which won the CineDoc 2023 New Talents Caucasus Award for Post-Production, and her second feature-length screenplay, Bodil. Her first mid-length documentary, Sweeping Yerevan, about a woman who risks her life every night sweeping the streets of Yerevan to provide for her family, won Best Documentary at Ramsgate Film Festival.

Grigor Poghosyan

Young filmmaker born and raised in Armenia’s post-industrial city Vanadzor. Studied in YSITC Vanadzor branch.
So far Grigor produced and Directed 4 short documentaries: “Khash” “Where are we going” “Affected youth” “Karot”. In 2020 Grigor established Mooflon studio where he is now working on his first feature length documentary and debut short animation.
From 2025 Grigor is a member of AGA. And in 2025 he co-founded ArmDoc.

Seda Grigoryan

Seda Grigoryan is a documentary filmmaker and media specialist with nearly two decades of professional experience. She received her education in film and media from the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, Florida State University (USA), and the University of West London (UK).
From 2011 to 2016, Seda served as the Chief Director of CivilNet, an online television channel, playing a key role in shaping the platform’s visual and editorial identity.
Her 2017 documentary film “The Way Home” received the Best Short Documentary award at the NOUR International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. The film explores personal and collective themes such as repatriation, identity, and memory.
Seda has participated in numerous professional development programs and forums organized by Internews (Media Initiatives Center), the Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Canal France International, EAVE On-Demand, among others.
Since 2024, Seda Grigoryan has been the Video Production Producer at Hetq, an investigative online media outlet, contributing to the creation of in-depth video journalism and documentary content.

Silva Khnkanosyan

Silva Khnkanosyan is an Armenian documentary film director and producer. She received her education at the Faculty of Journalism at YSU and participated in VGIK summer courses. Silva has worked as a journalist, camera operator, photographer, and editor for various organizations, including “168 Hours,” “Radio Liberty,” and Jellysmack company.
Her most recognized documentary works are “Nothing to be afraid of” (2019) and “Far from Michigan” (2023), which have received numerous international awards and been screened at prestigious festivals such as DOK Leipzig, IFFR Rotterdam, RIDM (Quebec), Miradasdoc (Spain), Cinéma du Réel (Paris), TIDF (Taipei), Film Festival Cottbus and Golden Apricot. Currently, Silva is working on her new project, “Second Life,” and continues to create films on important social topics that have a significant impact in the international film arena.

Seg Kirakossian

Seg Kirakossian is a documentary film director, producer, and researcher. Graduated documentary film directing (BA, MA) at Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography (2006 – 2013). More than 10 of his documentaries were aired on national and international TV stations. Seg Kirakossian’s film “Purification” is expected to be released in 2025. It was filmed in more than 15 countries for around 10 years. At the University of Luxembourg, Seg Kirakossian is doing a PhD research on the topic “Vices and Virtues of Material Constraints for Documentary Film Aesthetics (Based on the Luxembourgish and Armenian Documentary Films)”. In 2015, he founded Doctor Cinema Youth Center, which organizes international educational projects on Documentary filmmaking and supports young filmmakers in international co-production. He is also the owner of Imagicus Production which is specialized in documentary film production.

Seg Kirakossian

How to become a member of ArmDoc?

Anyone who shares the association’s vision, wants to contribute to the field’s development, and needs to utilize the opportunities we create can become a member. If a member’s actions, words, or any other behavior harm the organization, their membership can be revoked by a decision of the board meeting.
To become a member, you must agree to the following points:

  • I agree with the principles of democracy and human rights.
  • My activities and words do not incite violence or exclusion.
  • I read the statute of the organisation and have no objections about it.

To apply for membership, please fill out the form here:

https://forms.gle/KHgUkHtKZqNcqyVz8

As a legal entity, the association is a Public Organization, and members pay annual membership fees. Membership is free for one year starting from the registration date. After that, members pay an annual fee of 15,000 AMD.