Amerikatsi
Charming tragicomedy about an American Armenian who returns to his homeland after World War II and ends up in a Soviet prison. First Armenian film ever on the Oscar shortlist for best international film.
Charlie was forced to flee Armenia as a small boy. When he returns in 1948 to help rebuild his homeland, not everyone is enamoured with the returning ‘Amerikatsi’. Charlie is even put in a Soviet prison. Yet he continues to look at the world with childlike wonder, and with infectious optimism, Charlie makes the best of his imprisonment.
Michael Goorjian is a writer, actor and filmmaker of Armenian descent, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. AMERIKATSI is based on a story from his own family, and the film is dedicated to Goorjian’s grandfather.