Jivan Avetisyan working on film about Alexander Lapshin’s story

Armenian film director Jivan Avetisyan is working on a film about Alexander Lapshin’s story, The California Courier reports.

Well-known blogger Alexander Lapshin was arrested at the request of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime in 2016 in Minsk, Belarus. Lapshin was later extradited to Baku to stand trial in what can only be described as a legal farce. After an assassination attempt in prison, Lapshin fell into a coma, only to survive thanks to a miraculous rescue by the Israelis. In December 2021, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, found Baku authorities guilty of the illegal arrest, torture, and attempted murder of Lapshin.

Lapshin was introduced to Jivan Avetisyan because he believed Avetisyan was the right filmmaker to tell his story, given his background in Artsakh and deep understanding of the region’s complex challenges. Avetisyan feels a profound responsibility to bring this narrative to the screen—a story centered on fundamental human rights. Today, this commitment feels even more urgent and personal, as Avetisyan, along with the people of Artsakh, has lost their ancestral homeland to the same brutal authoritarian regime.

Avetisyan is now developing “Black List” through international collaboration, with a joint production involving Armenia, Lithuania, France, and Germany. The plan is to cast well-known international talent, whose participation will be pivotal to the film’s success. Although Avetisyan cannot specify the current stage of development or the production companies involved, this project is advancing.

Despite all the challenges, Avetisyan and his team are committed to the belief that films about human rights can make a significant contribution to the culture of human rights protection itself, promoting the right to live, move, and act freely across the world.