A production by artist Vahe Budumyan and sociologist Arevik Martirosyan
Euphoria (from Ancient Greek εΰ, “well”, and φέρειν. “to bear”) is a mental and emotional condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of well-being, elation, happiness, ecstasy, excitement and joy.
On January 1, 2011, the Mayor Karen Karapetyan forbade the trade in the streets of Yerevan, which was followed by regular protests. Having lost their only means of living, people demanded to have their jobs back. Demonstrations were held in front of different state institutions, such as the City Hall, the Government, the Republican Party’s Central Office, and the Presidential Residence. Press conferences, public hearings and petitions were organized at the same time .
However, the previously promised alternative solutions were not carried out – leaving the problem unsolved.
“Euphoria” is an experimental film (with a duration of 25 minutes) which, using videos from different news sources and amateur film-makers, depicts the struggle of the people engaged in outdoor trade, their clashes with the police, followed by commentaries
The film is a combination of re-edited media materials and interviews. It aims to deconstruct the media-language structure by suggesting a new purpose and meaning.
“Euphoria” proposes to use the online video archives as a source for creating protest films.
The film-screening was attended by a number of artists, civil society activists, students, etc. It had overwhelmingly positive feedback.
