Swinging Fields
On October 16 2008, seven-hundred Armenian couples gathered in a stadium in Stepanakert, the capital city of the de facto Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ‘Artsakh’, to experience the most memorable day of their lives: a mass wedding. The purpose of the wedding was to boost the birth rate of the region after a destructive six year war between the Armenians and Azerbaijan over the independence of the land at the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thirteen years later, “Swinging Fields” profiles Vrej, an eleven-year-old boy who was conceived after this wedding in a land that remains unrecognized. He will take us across the landscape of wounded Artsakh, inside his home, his school, his life during war and displacement, to paint a raw picture of this militarized homeland that breathes the air of war and resilience. A place where the threat of his enemy is closer than ever before. A place where every boy grows to realize the harsh truth that carrying a weapon is the most critical part for their and their family’s survival.