Filmmaking Certificate With Michael Goorjian Kicks Off at AUA

YEREVAN  — During the week of September 22, the American University of Armenia (AUA) welcomed Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael A. Goorjian for a screening of his film Amerikatsi (2022) and the launch of his exclusive, month-long filmmaking certificate course, jointly hosted with the AUA Media Lab and AUA Extension and fully subsidized by Debra Ohanian, AUA ChangeMaker and scholarship program supporter.

“We are pleased to welcome Michael to Armenia and to AUA for this very special course, which he will be leading for a month. This hands-on Extension course will prove transformative for all the participating students. We look forward to hosting Michael and hopefully turning this into a certificate program that is offered annually. We are truly grateful to Debra Ohanian, who allowed us to realize this course thanks to her generous donation,” said AUA Chief Communications Officer Narek Ghazaryan in his opening remarks.

Goorjian is an Emmy Award-winning actor, filmmaker, and writer born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. As an actor, he first gained national recognition as Neve Campbell’s love interest, Justin, on the Golden Globe-winning series Party of Five. Also well-loved for his iconic portrayal of Heroin Bob in the cult classic SLC PUNK!, Goorjian went on to win an Emmy Award for the role of David in David’s Mother, alongside Kirstie Alley. Other important film and television credits include Newsies, Leaving Las Vegas, Hard Rain, House, Monk, Lie to Me, Wizard of Lies with Robert DeNiro, and Lucifer. Currently, he can be seen as Alex Gazarian on the Netflix show, The Lincoln Lawyer.

Premiered in 2022 at the Woodstock Film Festival, Amerikatsi is a famous Armenian comedy-drama written, edited, directed by, and starring Goorjian. The story is set in Soviet Armenia, where Armenian-American repatriate Charlie Bakhchinyan is unjustly imprisoned upon his repatriation to the country. However, on the other side of his cell’s window, Charlie discovers why he returned to his homeland.

Held in Manoogian Hall, the film screening, which was open to the public, was followed by a Q&A session with Goorjian. Students and guests reflected on the film’s themes and its significance for Armenian identity and culture, inquiring about a vast variety of topics, such as Goorjian’s Armenian heritage and the inspiration behind writing the film; how the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, soon after filming began, affected his creative process; the challenges he faced during filming; and how he was able to authentically capture the historical period portrayed in his movie. In response to questions about a new film, Goorjian explained that part of his reason for being in Armenia was to seek inspiration for his next major project.

The next day, on September 23, Goorjian kicked off the first session in his Filmmaking Certificate With Michael Goorjian at AUA! course, which is designed to ignite the creativity and deepen the craft of individuals with a passion for storytelling and independent cinema. The hands-on training, held in the English language, will run three sessions per week and conclude on October 16. The dynamic lessons aim to provide a comprehensive introduction to the world of independent cinema, as well as offer participants practical experience in story development, screenplay writing, acting, directing, producing independent film, and more.

Twenty participants — half of which are non-AUA students — from various backgrounds and regions of Armenia were chosen out of more than 80 applicants, following a competitive selection process that evaluated applicants’ writing style, proposed story ideas, and overall creativity. Applicants also underwent two weeks of interviews with Goorjian, Ghazaryan, and other organizers of the course. Demand was high, with applications pouring in even after the deadline. Those who were not selected will still be offered the chance to participate in the production process, when students of the course begin working on their final film projects.