On September 26, the opening day of the powerful documentary installation “They Say We Have to Leave”, four beneficiaries of the Hanganak Elderly Project and project coordinator Lina Grigoryan joined the audience at Latitude Art Space in Yerevan. For them, this was more than just a cultural event – it was a moment of remembrance, recognition, and shared pain.
The installation, created by Swiss-Armenian filmmaker Varsy Buchmann together with Point de Vue production (Switzerland), gives voice to the 120,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh in September 2023. At its heart are the testimonies of 120 women, each carrying fragments of memory, loss, and love. Among these voices are five women from Hanganak, whose personal stories became part of this collective narrative.
Seeing themselves and their peers represented on screen was a deeply emotional moment for our beneficiaries. They described the installation as “a story told with honesty and compassion – a story that belongs to each of us.” For them, the film was not only a mirror of their own experiences but also a tribute to the resilience of their people.
After the screening, they had the opportunity to meet the director Varsy Buchmann and her assistant Marianna. The warm and heartfelt exchange highlighted how art can build bridges between lived suffering and creative expression, ensuring that the silenced voices of Artsakh are heard across the world.
Hanganak is honored to have been part of this premiere, and proud that the stories of our beneficiaries stand among the 120 testimonies woven into this extraordinary work of art.