I’m a queer, HIV-positive Armenian-American filmmaker and advocate. I tell stories about misfits learning to live defiantly in a conformist's world. In 2017 I became an EmergeNYC fellow and in 2023 I became a fellow with the Royal Society of the Arts. I’m also a proud member of The Filmshop and the Armenian Creatives artist collectives.
I began filmmaking in a 16mm class at Oberlin College, shooting on vintage Bolex and Krasnogorsk-3 cameras and splicing footage on a Steenbeck. The next year, I taught the course and became president of the Film Co-Op. I then attended the Prague Film School.
After school I started out directing immersive theater, creating an original piece with the Frank Lloyd Wright foundation in 2015. I then moved to Berlin to create large-scale immersive events with Neu West Berlin. NPR Berlin named our event Zerstört the "can't miss event of 2015."
My films have screened at Newfest, 30Under30Fest with the U.N., Queer Apocalypse London, the NY Independent Film Festival, the NY Indie Shorts Fest, and New Voices New Filmmakers at the Alamo Drafthouse. My film MASS is on Amazon Prime, and my comedy microseries Marque and Hector (in collaboration with GLAAD) is on AppleTV+ and Amazon Prime.
As a queer person in recovery from addiction, I am passionate about uplifting my brothers and sisters in need. My first film, Positive (RYOT Films) chronicled my personal journey as a newly diagnosed HIV-positive person struggling to access healthcare abroad. I created the premiere video campaign for the U=U campaign, which helped spark a global movement dedicated to fighting HIV stigma, and I also directed their 2022 campaign at AIDS2022 Montreal. In 2023 I directed Human First with IAPAC, a half-hour documentary on combatting global HIV stigma.
I've also been working with Ready, Aim, Innovate teaching photography and video skills to underresourced communities, empowering them to tell their stories. In 2024 I co-produced the PFLAG documentary Pieces of Me, the story of a trans person's journey to acceptance.
My short proof of concept, the girl without a face, was a recipient of the NYSCA 2024 Film Grant and is now in pre-production. The feature film is currently in development.
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