My name is Anri Vartanov, and I was born in Tbilisi, Georgia with Armenian roots and grew up in New York City. 

I studied at Columbia University, where I completed both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Film Studies. After graduating, I worked as the Assistant Director of The Film-Makers’ Cooperative, a historic archive of experimental cinema in NYC. As an iGorts fellow, I now work for the Film Heritage department at the National Cinema Center of Armenia (NCCA), where I am spearheading a research project on the ‘father’ of Armenian cinema, Hamo Beknazaryan. I am also contributing to the NCCA’s projects commemorating the 100-year centenary of Armenian cinema in 1924.

As my biography would suggest, I am the kind of person that would be perfectly happy to spend an evening alone at the cinema, though on the flip side, I also love sharing a memorable filmgoing experience with close friends.