Calendar + Lebbeus/Thaddeus (1993)
Directed by Atom Egoyan
74 minutes
Language, churches, and religion have always been among the main pillars on which Armenian identity has been built, particularly for those in the diaspora. Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan continually revisits these pillars of Armenianness, questioning and examining them from his own perspective. _Calendar_ follows a photographer who visits Armenia shortly after the country gains independence from the Soviet Union to photograph twelve Armenian churches for a calendar. Double-billed with Arby Ovanessian’s film, Egoyan offers his own take on Armenian symbolism, while exploring questions of belonging, alienation, and loneliness. _—Sona Karapoghosyan_