The overwhelming and brutal consequences of war have moved me to create work that shows the route leading to peace that I dearly long for. I unfortunately had to experience the same war for the third time in Artsakh in the fall of 2020. Again, in 2022–2023, my people, the population of Artsakh, experienced an unfair blockade by Azerbaijan, which led to a humanitarian crisis for the population in Artsakh who are at the risk of ethnic cleansing, of genocide. I am one of thousands who lost his home in Artsakh.

Revival at its core is a story of the search for identity. The film is based on real lives, stories, and historical events. I will present fragments and glimpses of the stories that I have heard, read, witnessed, and memorized at different times. The narratives are intertwined in a compelling and interesting way and become a part of a completed single continuous chain. With every new film, I have expanded the co-production, involving more leading professionals from around the world. My main aim is to create a true, powerful, and honest story with universal themes. With Revival, we aim to create an artistic reality that inspires humanity among

thousands and then millions. One of the leading characters in the film, OR.CH.I.D., is a near-future “fluid” Artificial Intelligence (AI), initially designed as a palliative care diagnostic tool that works through AR (augmented reality). But when the main character’s identity comes into question, OR.CH.I.D becomes the primary tool to seek and find the truth. OR.CH.I.D’s development goes beyond what is planned, as it obtains historical and ancient “memories” that enable its deep learning to advance to the stages of self-recognition and ultimately, self-devotion. OR.CH.I.D’s evolution culminates with its display of “humanity” through its spontaneous attempts to assist the leading character who is caught in the crossfires of a full-scale war, even endangering itself in the process. Our team has worked relentlessly on Revival with industry specialists within the cinematic world as well as AI specialists since 2018 to bring this story to the big screen.

As the stories of the film come together like a puzzle, I similarly create a multi-dimensional narrative engaging people of different nationalities from different countries. The aim of the film is to showcase the potential for good and kindness in the world that is hidden in each and every one of us and at the same time inspire us to achieve our dreams.

– Jivan Avetisyan