“An “emotional experience to envelop viewers, and slowly but surely, seep into their bones”
— POV Magazine

MY SWEET LAND

USA, France, Ireland, Jordan | 2024 | 86 minutes
Director: Sareen Hairabedian
Producer: Azza Hourani
Executive Producers: Beth Levinson, Hallee Adelman

SYNOPSIS
My Sweet Land is a coming-of-age story set against a multigenerational war in the post-Soviet Caucasus Mountains. It follows an 11-year-old boy named Vrej, growing up in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village with its roaming ducks and golden bees. His sweet land, however, is strewn with mines from previous wars, shaping a country that remains unrecognized to the world. Vrej’s life takes a sudden turn when war erupts, forcing him to flee with his family. He spends his days in exile impatiently waiting for victory, but reality takes a different turn; Armenians lose the war. Upon returning to his surviving village, he confronts the devastation, new power dynamics, and education that prepares children for near-future battles. Vrej must learn the rules of war… But can he carry a nation’s hopes on his young shoulders? The film is a testament to the people of Artsakh, where hope and trauma had shaped their resilience across generations.

FESTIVALS:
Sheffield Doc Fest, Amman Intl. Film Festival, Golden Apricot Film Festival, Bergen Intl. Film Festival, Verso Intl. Human Rights Film Festival, DOC NYC, This Human World, Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival, FIPADOC Intl. Film Festival.

AVAILABLE:
Semi-theatrical screenings, Impact tour

 

SPEAKERS

Featured
Sareen Hairabedian | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Sareen Hairabedian | Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

Sareen is an Armenian-Jordanian documentary filmmaker based in the U.S. Through her intimate observational filming style, she captures the untold stories of the underrepresented. Hairabedian’s directorial debut WE ARE NOT DONE YET is a 40-minute HBO documentary about U.S. veterans grappling with PTSD who use poetry to heal. It was acclaimed Best Documentary at the G.I. Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the IDA Awards 2018. MY SWEET LAND is her debut feature-length documentary featuring one child’s journey through disillusionment, trauma, and hope. The film is supported by ITVS, ARTE, AFAC, IDA and others. Sareen is a 2023 fellow at Video Consortium x DOCNYC and Creative Armenia.

Azza Hourani | Producer, Sound Recordist
Azza Hourani | Producer, Sound Recordist

Azza Hourani is a Jordanian producer and assistant director with over 15 years in the industry. A 2011 graduate of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts, she has worked with National Geographic, the Doha Film Institute, MBC, and various global non-profit organizations. Azza produced MY SWEET LAND by Sareen Hairabedian, an IDFA Spotlight Award winner in 2021 (Sheffield DocFest, 2024). Her assistant director credits include notable films like Ali Abbasi's HOLY SPIDER (Palm d’Or nominee 2022), Abu Bakr Shawky's HAJJAN (TIFF 2023), and Amjad Al Rasheed's INSHALLA A BOY (Cannes 2023). Azza is currently developing her third short film, aiming for production by the end of 2024.