FRESNO — The Armenian Studies Program and the Fresno State CineCulture program are presenting the Fresno premiere screening of “My Sweet Land,” at 5:30PM on Friday, April 25, 2025. The screening is free and open to the public and will be held in the Leon S. and Pete P. Peters Educational Center, 5010 N. Woodrow Ave. (west end of the SaveMart Center), on the Fresno State campus.
“My Sweet Land” is a coming-of-age story set against a multigenerational war in the post-Soviet Caucasus Mountains. It follows an 11-year-old boy named Vrej, growing up in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village with its roaming ducks and golden bees. His sweet land, however, is strewn with mines from previous wars, shaping a country that remains unrecognized to the world. Vrej’s life takes a sudden turn when war erupts, forcing him to flee with his family. He spends his days in exile impatiently waiting for victory, but reality takes a different turn; Armenians lose the war. Upon returning to his surviving village, he confronts the devastation, new power dynamics, and education that prepares children for near-future battles. Vrej must learn the rules of war… But can he carry a nation’s hopes on his young shoulders? The film is a testament to the people of Artsakh, where hope and trauma had shaped their resilience across generations.
Director Sareen Hairbedian is an Armenian-Jordanian documentary filmmaker based in the United States. Through her intimate observational filming style, she captures the untold stories of the underrepresented. Hairabedian’s directorial debut, “We Are Not Done Yet,” is a 40-minute HBO documentary about U.S. veterans grappling with PTSD who use poetry to heal. It was acclaimed Best Documentary at the G.I. Film Festival and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the IDA Awards 2018. “My Sweet Land” is her debut feature-length documentary featuring one child’s journey through disillusionment, trauma, and hope. The film is supported by ITVS, ARTE, AFAC, IDA and others.
For more information about the film screening please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669, visit the CineCulture website, https://cineculture.csufresno.edu/films/, or visit our Facebook page at @ArmenianStudiesFresnoState.
