Gate to Heaven

Feature Film (2022) – Fish eye Art Cultural Foundation’s third full-length feature film is Gate to Heaven (drama, melodrama). The film is primarily in English but also includes English subtitles when spoken in Armenian, French, and German. Richard Sammel (Germany) and Tatiana Spivakova (France) play the lead roles. Sos Janibekyan (Armenia), Naira Zakaryan (US), Leonardas Pobedonoscevas (Lithuania), Nina Kronjager (Germany), Benedict Freitag (Switzerland), play the supporting roles. The premiere was held in Armenia on October 17, 2019 with over 600 attendees. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan were in attendance.

International Sales Agent – Early Spring of 2020 the team teamed up with MPM Premium International Sales of France to participate in the Gate to Heaven’s Virtual Screening of Cannes Marché du Film.  MPM Premium has received numerous leads across the globe, including the US, finding interest in distribution and sales.

Composer Michele Josia – Our talented composer, Michele Josia of Italy, swept two incredible awards for his beautifully composed soundtrack, Silver Medal – Outstanding Achievement “Regarding the Controversial and Critical Acclaimed Film.” Michele’s second recognition comes as a finalist for “Best Score of the Month” at the TMA – American Tracks Music Award.

Co-Production – Produced by Fish eye Art Cultural Foundation (Armenia), Artbox Production House (Lithuania), 7 Morgen Filmproduktion (Germany), Glaam Media Invest (France), ARTsakh Arts and Cultural Foundation (USA), Timeless Production Group (Bulgaria), The Lab – a Media Production Company (Czech Republic) and Ala Bianca SRL (Italy).

Cinema for Peace – December 2020, Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin hosted a unique Virtual Screening of Gate to Heaven and Conference for Peace on Nagorno Karabakh. Lead actor – Richard Sammel from Germany and Producer Kestutis Drazdauskas from Lithuania and Executive Producer Adrineh Mirzayan from the US served as panelists and discussed topics such as the response of the international community, the role of civil society organizations in peacekeeping, and the role of filmmakers, human rights experts and EU politicians.

Moscow International Film Festival – Selected at Moscow International Film Festival Non-Competition Category. The creators of the film received an official letter by the Festival Director six hours after the Artsakh war began and stated in order to avoid clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Moscow” as a “precautionary measure linked directly to Karabakh,” the festival is cancelling Gate to Heaven’s participation in the program . This was reported by Kirill Razlogov, the festival’s director of programming. The team also received conflicting information that the film is being removed from the official program due to the political pressures received by Azerbaijani government officials.  Within few weeks of the Moscow Film Festival, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia took place which the festival launched the project “Dedication to Artsakh” and Gate to Heaven was screened during the program. All proceeds of the program were donated to Artsakh.

Moscow International Film Festival – Selected at Moscow International Film Festival Non-Competition Category. The creators of the film received an official letter by the Festival Director six hours after the Artsakh war began and stated “in order to avoid clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Moscow as a “precautionary measure linked directly to Karabakh,” the festival is cancelling Gate to Heaven’s participation in the program.” The team also received conflicting information that the film is being removed from the official program due to the political pressures received by the Azerbaijani government officials.  Within few weeks of the Moscow Film Festival, the Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia took place which the festival launched the project “Dedication to Artsakh” and Gate to Heaven was screened during the program. All proceeds of the program were donated to Artsakh.

Las Cruces International Film Festival / March 2021 – The accolades continue with Gate to Heaven as the film has been selected in the Official Selection at the Las Cruces International Film Festival, which will take place the first week of March 2021.

18th Salento International Film Festival / September 2021- Official Selection; “Spotlight”

Ontario International Film Festival / October 2021 – Winner “Best Sound”, ” Best Music”, “and Best Script” for an International Feature; Winner “Best International Film.”

Mind the Indie Film Festival / April 2022 – Official Selection

Beverly Hills Film Festival / June 1-June 5, 2022 – Official Selection