ACHO: CINEMA OF ARMENIAN GIRLHOOD — Screening and Discussion

Join 2026 Media Arts and Culture department's Artist-in-Residence Anahid Yahjian ’11 for an evening of contemporary media works made by and/or about transnational Armenian women, curated around the embodied stages of girlhood and womanhood.

“Acho” was the childhood nickname of Yahjian’s grandmother, short for “աղջիկ” (agh-cheeg - “girl”). Moving through birth, childhood, puberty, adolescence, virginity, motherhood, post-menopause, and death, the program interprets these stages literally, figuratively,and chronologically, including work engaging trans girlhood and womanhood. A discussion featuring invited filmmakers will follow the screening.

As an Oxy alumna and “third culture” diasporic artist and mother with roots in the Armenian Highlands and Bulgaria, Yahjian’s own media practice resonates deeply with the themes of this curated program.

Screening slate:
*playing in excerpted form

• Girl from Moush - Gariné  Torossian
• Անտունի | Homeless - Alik Barsoumian
• Նախշուն | Marvelous - Lusine Zakaryan
• *Այդ Ես Չեմ (Ալավերդի) | Это не я (Алаверди)| I’m Going to Change My Name (Alaverdi) - Maria Saakyan
• *Red Apples - George Sikharulidze, Ophelia Harutyunyan
• *Գյուղը որ Կանգնի | It Takes A Village - Ophelia Harutyunyan
• Ընտանեկան Հարաման | Domestic Demon - Anahid Yahjian
• *Tonratun, or The History of Armenia as Told by Women - Inna Mkhitaryan
• *Աշխարհ | World - Christine Haroutounian
• Գիշերային Ծիածան | Nocturnal Rainbow - Armen (Ohanyan) of Armenia
• Binderburn - Atlas Acopian

This event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.

Directions, parking, and accessibility information for the Oxy Arts location on York Blvd, are accessible here.

Presented by OXY ARTS and the Media Arts & Culture Department, 

The 2026 MAC Artist-in-Residence program is made possible with generous support from the Susan C. Hahn ’65 and Ronald R. Hahn ’66 Media Arts and Culture Endowed Fund and the Remsen Bird Fund.

This is a CORE 99 event.

Event Image Credit: Still from Անդունի | Homeless by Alik Barsoumian