Paysage

"​​A rickety Zhiguli is jolting along a valley surrounded by mountains between Lake Sevan and Azerbaijan. The vehicle, carrying filmmaker Daniel Kötter, welcomes aboard inhabitants of this region in the East of Armenia. They speak about the six-week war waged in autumn 2020 by the Azerbaijanis over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Region. Although this region is located further to the south, the conflict has now moved the border further up. It now runs through the Sotk gold mine, a concession to which was granted by the Armenians to a Russian company in 2007. The region is thus now partially occupied by the “Turks”, as they are nicknamed.
This magnificently framed road movie weaves together stories from the war and the gold mining operation, which appear as two facets of the same violence inflicted on the landscape. By giving a voice to those who watch with concern as the powers on both sides tear each other apart at their expense, Landshaft reveals the profound psychogeography subjected to the deadly logic of post-Soviet ethno-nationalism."
(Emmanuel Chicon - Visions du Réel)

Landshaft entwirft die Psychogeographie einer geopolitisch aufgeladenen Landschaft und seiner Einwohner zwischen Extraktivismus, Krieg und Vertreibung. In Form einer Reise im Osten Armeniens folgt der Film menschlichen und nicht-menschlichen Akteuren auf ihrem Weg durch die Landschaft, vom Sewan See bis zur seit dem Karabach-Krieg 2020 aserbaidschanisch besetzt Sotk-Goldmine.