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Aram Khachaturian

This multi-part documentary is based on the memoirs of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978). Rare archival materials have been gathered from Russian archives in Moscow and Armenia, family members have been interviewed on camera, and research is underway for a film that will be the first in the West to document the life and music of one of the world's most loved composers.

Khachaturian was the President of the powerful Composer's Union of the Soviet Union, and as a communist party functionary wielded great influence over the course of Russian music. However, he was also a comrade and personal friend to the dissident composers of the time – Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others.

This film is about the fine line a man had to tread between being a loyal party functionary on the one hand, and a fighter for artistic freedom on the other.