Photographs from the Red Carpet

I was running around Yerevan in the evening and stumbled across what I initially though was a market which frequently takes place in Yerevan just outside of the Moscow Cinema. Though upon approaching a bit more, I saw a stage and not market stalls. The stage opened up a bit more, with a huge advertisement on the side of the cinema itself. This was something I hadn't seen before: a Red Carpet event for a film premiere. I've been to premieres for things I've worked on, but never attended a Red Carpet. This was a fun little experience, and really shows just how diverse the life in the small city of Yerevan can be sometimes. Just stumbling upon random events throughout and finding something new to explore and enjoy. At this event I only had one lens with me: the Helios 44-2. A 58mm focal length and manual lens. I stood around the area for a while just observing and seeing what I could take. It was a short bit of fun.

I can't say I pay much attention to the film industry here in Armenia, it's a strangely small and hidden industry that you rarely notice. Sometimes you might see an Armenian film advertised somewhere. Sometimes little film festivals spring up but are too late to attend because you only discovered them after they've taken place due to their limited marketing. But I think this in some ways makes Yerevan feel a bit more special. Where you just stumble across such random events that manage to capture your interest. Especially more entertaining when sometimes the city does feel a bit small and limited in what it offers, only to have you surprised and fall in love with it yet again.

I had no idea who any of these people were, and the red carpet itself was quite small. A little event that had a stage and carpet rolled out, but it appeared that the vast majority of people in the crowed were friends and family all dressed up to support their friends and relatives at the event. There was no major announcement or anything over who was walking through, they just sort of did it. A brief moment where they'd stop and maybe talk to the presenters which were being filmed. It didn't look like anything live, just a few recording cameras around to capture and document things for social media and maybe television later on. A handful of photographers and videographers that handled most of the work. I roamed around at the edge of the carpet and shot some photographs with the Helios. Having a ton of fun with it but also seeing how limited the event was in some ways. Definitely not something I think I could enjoy doing for work.

The real star of the show was a stray dog which roamed over and crossed the barrier onto the carpet. Just laying there. Some of the actors would just walk up to it and pet it. One really displayed a lot of love for it, speaking to it and really petting it before having to be called off for a quick photography shoot. To which he returned and gave it more love before walking into the cinema for the premiere. Honestly, I think he would've preferred to have stayed outside with the dog based on his interactions with it. But it was a very, very cute little dog.

The crowd in the area was a bit dense, but I found little interest in capturing them. As I mentioned before they were mostly just friends, family, or the filmmakers themselves. You can always tell which ones are the filmmakers based on how they walk, dress, and interact with people. A bit of that pretentious sort of look when attending such events. As expected, it's their little event and people are there to celebrate their creation. I snapped just one shot of the crowd and focused my attention on the carpet itself. Trying to find unique perspectives and have fun with it. Even looking how the other photographers interacted.

This last shot shows the film, it's written with a Russian name, and I have no idea what it's about given there wasn't any actual context beyond those posters. But hey, maybe it's a decent flick in the end. I probably won't find out since I never really attend the cinemas here due to them having no English subtitles the vast majority of the time and me not knowing Armenian or Russian nearly well enough to really understand anything.