The RA Ministry of Diaspora is the home for all Armenians around the world and is a place where they are filled with love and warmth. This is how talented film director, poet, painter Tatyana Danielyants felt during her recent visit to Armenia.

“I feel like I am at home with my friends and relatives whenever I am in Armenia, especially at the RA Ministry of Diaspora. I came from Russia, but I don’t feel like I’m visiting a foreign country. I have met people who received me as their sister. This is not my first visit to Armenia. I participated in the first International Poetry Festival in April and met a wonderful person and writer, the late President of the Union of Writers of Armenia Levon Ananyan. I established contacts with him, and several months later, I was invited to participate in the Diaspora Armenian Writers’ Conference organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora. I have been interested in Armenia for the past six years. It was during that conference when I presented my book “Red Noise” (Красный шум). I have three books, including “Venetian”, “The White” and “Red Noise” and am currently working on two new books. I don’t like participating in competitions because that’s not the reason why I create. I don’t have the desire or intention to compete with anyone. Literature is my world. Nevertheless, I have some awards, including three from Italy and two from Moscow. They are international awards that I received for freestyle poetry. I have participated in several reputable competitions and have presented my books at international book fairs in London, Paris and other cities. My main goal is to communicate with my readers…It’s a wonderful feeling when you participate in any forum or conference and receive an invitation from a reputable organization of any country, but the important thing is to see that my books are useful. You asked me which of my books is more precious and important to me, and I say all of them. When I wrote my first book, the important thing for me was that book. When I released my second book, the most important thing was the second book. But I know that another book will be more important in a couple of years from now on. The same goes for my films.

…You ask me whether people in Yerevan know me more as a film director, a poet or painter, and I say the people in Yerevan know me more as a film director. Yes, people in Moscow know me more as a poet and a painter. I try to make sure that none of those three professions get in the way. I’m more of a sculptor and a photographer. I am very creative, and I work by those three professions with love and devotion. The creative human being is in the focus for all three. In poetry, I am more interested in a person’s soul and inner world…This time I have come to participate in the 10^th International “Woman” Festival for the second time. In 2003, I received a special award for my film “Сад, который скрыт” at the “Woman” Festival. I have also participated in the Golden Apricot International Film Festival three times.

…You ask me where I feel better. Moscow is my home, Venice is the place I go to meet my friends, and the same goes for Yerevan (I have always visited Yerevan with a purpose and haven’t been simply a tourist, I have come with films, paintings or poetry and with interesting projects). Of course, it’s hard to be cut off from Venice. I have been living in Moscow, Venice and Yerevan for the past 18 years.

…You ask why I don’t speak Armenian…My mother is Russian, and my father is Armenian. He was born and raised in Moscow, and we all speak in Russian.

…You ask if I have ever decided to learn the Armenian language and even oblige me to do so, and I promise you that I will be speaking in Armenian a little next year. I have always considered it.

…You ask what the Homeland means to me…I will give you three answers to that question. For me, the Homeland is my language, in my case-Russian because Russia is my Homeland. For me, the Homeland is the place where I feel happy, and that’s Italy. For me, the Homeland is an enigma that I still haven’t revealed. That’s Armenia, which always compels me and pulls me toward it.

…You ask me who my favorite Armenian film director is…I would say Sergey Parajanov. His film “Color of Pomegranate” is the peak and is very aesthetic. Parajanov has left a great impression on me. I visited Parajanov’s Home-Museum again and became convinced of his greatness once again.

…You ask me which Armenian writers I know and what I think of them…For me, Grigor Narekatsi is great. I still haven’t discovered any other Armenian writer who can captivate me and have a great impact on my inner world like Narekatsi has.

I love the art and literature in which there is beauty and God.”

With this sonorous note I end my interview with Tatyana Danielyants-an Armenian woman in whose speech in Russian, in whose eyes and in whose face one can see so much warmth of an Armenian and a woman who proudly says that in her essence she is like her Armenian father.

Karine Avagyan