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On February 26, in Vilnius, with the support of the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union and the Armenian Embassy the screening of the documentary of Vardan Hovhannisyan called "Stories of people in war and in peace" took place.

According to the Armenian Embassy in Lithuania, the event was attended by representatives of the Seim and different ministries of Lithuania, prominent filmmakers, historians, famous journalists, public figures, servicemen, and members of the Armenian community.

Famous film director Gytis Luksas, the chairman of the Lithuanian Filmmakers Union, made an introductory speech. He expressed his satisfaction with the successful cooperation with the Armenian Embassy, remembered about the week of presentation of Armenian films held jointly in November of the last year, which arouse great interest among the Lithuanian audience.

Concerning the screening of the film "Stories of people in war and in peace," the director noted that this film was close to the Lithuanians. The film is genuine, sincere, and cannot be rated as a one-sided official propaganda.

The Armenian Ambassador Ara Ayvazian gave a speech too. He said, "From time to time each society, nation and state faces a difficult choice between war and peace. Our generation was forced to go through the war in order to gain a fragile peace."

The Armenian Ambassador noted also that the film coincides with the 26th anniversary of the Sumgait massacre, when Azerbaijan, actually, preferred to settle the issues through the language of war and Armenofobia.

Aivazyan reminded that in the occurred situation where democratic processes were developing in the USSR, the Baltic States stood for the implementation of the constitutional right of self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

The ambassador also stated that a year ago, on the same day, in the Seim of Lithuania a friendship group with the NKR was established, in connection with this Dalia Kuodyte, the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Seim received a congratulatory note from Ashot Ghulyan, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh.

Aivazyan highlighted the principality of the member of the Seim, and their loyalty to the values that united the Lithuanian and Armenian people towards the restoration of the statehood. He expressed hope that the day will come when Azerbaijan will follow the example of Lithuania, France and other countries and will understand the necessity of solving the problems by peaceful means.

Film director Vardan Hovhannisyan made a speech after presentation. He answered numerous questions of the audience.
The public television and radio of Lithuania covered the event, the embassy informs.

In an interview with the Public Radio of Lithuania Vardan Hovhannisyan told that a few years after the war, his 6-year-old son saw the military uniform in the closet and asked whether he had been a soldier; Hovhannisyan did not know what to answer, how to explain to a small child what does it mean to be a soldier, what is spending five years in a war, to be in captivity twice.

"And I realized that no matter how much I desired to get away from the war and live a peaceful life, I had to give some answers to both my son and the children of my friends. Because no matter how naive it may sound, sometimes the war, the victims - all of these is used by the politicians for their own interests, while the voice of the ordinary people who had been at war, has never been heard by the nation," the film director said.

According to him, this film is about ordinary people at the war, where the nationality does not matter.