Up Close & Personal

A series of intimate talks with some of the leading names in journalism.

May 28

6 p.m.: Up Close and Personal

Moderator: Sara Anjargolian, EVN Report Editorial Board
Featured guest: Vardan Hovhannisyan, Bars Media

Vardan began his career as a director, producer, and cameraman for International news outlets such as CBS, BBC and ARTE. He covered hotspots throughout the Soviet Union and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War before founding Bars Media in 1993, the first independent documentary film studio in Armenia. His first international documentary was prompted by a question from his son about his work during the war – it led Vardan to return to his experience and the people he had met there. The result was “A Story of People in War and Peace”, an International co-production with BBC, ITVS/PBS, ARTE, WDR, YLE and others. After the success of “War and Peace”, Vardan returned to the rich history of his native Armenia to produce “The Last Tightrope Dancer in Armenia”, a documentary about an ancient and dying art. Vardan is currently developing documentaries in Africa, Russia and Afghanistan. He is a certified paraglider and in his free time he is flying sometimes for aerial filming and sometimes just for fun.

May 29

6 p.m.: Up Close and Personal

Moderator: Maria Titizian, EVN Report
Featured guest: Raffi Khatchadourian, The New Yorker

Raffi Khatchadourian has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2008. He covers a wide range of topics, including science, art, politics, foreign affairs, and national security. His articles have been anthologized in “Best American Sports Writing” and in “Best American Nonrequired Reading.” On two occasions, Khatchadourian’s work was nominated for National Magazine Awards—once for his profile of an al-Qaeda propagandist, titled “Azzam the American,” and a second time in collaboration with a New Yorker multimedia team for “Secrets of Edgewood,” an investigation into Cold War psychochemical experiments. His work has also been short-listed for Overseas Press Club and James Beard Foundation awards and for the Livingston Award.