YEREVAN (News-Armenia) April 5 — According to the director and screenwriter Armen Ronov, shooting of the film “Anton Chekhov,” dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the writer, will begin in September 2010. This project will be an international Armenian-Russian-French production.

“The filming will take a year. It will be shot in Russia, Ukraine and France — the places where Anton Pavlovich Chekhov has been to. The post-production will take another year,” said Ronov in the International press-center “News” on April 1.

According to him, Armenia aims to present Armenian movie production in Russia, as well as around the world. The shooting of this movie is the first step in reaching that goal.

“The well-known actor Vladimir Msrian will be starring as Chekhov. Famous Russian actors from the old Soviet school will play in the movie along with leading French actors,” he said. However, Ronov abstained from giving exact names, promising that they will be announced after the corresponding contracts are signed.

Ronov didn’t say the amount of the film budget, but he noted that they are expecting support from Armenian, Russian and French governments, as well as from the sponsors and film-art centers of Europe, Russia and Armenia.

Msrian said that he has had much sympathy for Chekhov since he was a child, and that Chekhov’s dramatic image is very close to his spirit.

“And now that Chekhov’s 150th anniversary is being celebrated worldwide, we, Armenians, have no right to remain indifferent. Taking into account that we regard ourselves as a cultural nation, we ought to take part in it,” he said.

Msryan also said that he feels a great responsibility, “as the embodiment of the image of Chekhov is not a simple matter.”

“We are going to do a very difficult work. The script is original and has no analogues in Russia, it represents Chekhov’s life since his childhood to his death,” he said.

The actor expressed his confidence that the film will go beyond Armenian and will have a large audience in Europe, Russia, and possibly in the US.

“I have talked to many famous actors, and they agreed to take part in the movie,” he added.

Emma Buhadian, the senior coordinator of mass-cultural events in the Armenian office of Ruscooperation, said that Chekhov’s name has a worthy place in Russian drama and world literature, and efforts should be made to not only represent his work, but also to reveal the image of his great personality.

“This is a very interesting idea, we fully welcome this project and will do everything possible to assist and support it,” she said.

Translated from Russian by Yerevan Report