Yesterday was world's premier of first full featured film of director Nika Shek. Her new film is based on the autobiographic novel of Nika's grandmother « Four mothers ». This film is about tragic events in Sumgait, Azerbaijan and 8 y.o. Ashen is caught between her Armenian mother and Russian step-mother; she is saved by her Azerbaijani neighbour who will probably become her only mother at the end.I did not read the book « Four mothers » of Gerda Verdian though I liked film's fabula. Fabula, the term used in Russian Formalism for the 'raw material' of story events as opposed to the finished arrangement of the plot Gerda's book was about forties, Nika Shek adapted the story to 1982 Sumgait events.After the screening, I was mad. I could not make sense of what I've just saw, how schematic was the movie, absolutely horrendous acting and how badly written dialogues were. I wish I could turn off the sound and rely on English subtitles only and never actually hear the original sound track, so inaccurately inadequate were Russian and Armenian dialogues. Still, the director tried by adding pretentious visual effects, schematic and predictable cinematographic symbols just to add up to this uncomfortable feeling that you are watching a badly done low budget soap opera.It seems to me that the movie production team has no idea what so ever about Armenian culture, traditions, values, background. The characters are simplified and untrue; the story is painfully uncomfortable to watch. I am deeply disappointed that this film made to Montreal Film Festival and was the only Armenian movie chosen for the competition.