Gate to Heaven – Canadian Premiere

Haunted by his past, German journalist Robert Sternvall returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the war, which has been reignited after a 22-year ceasefire. As a result of his journalistic investigation, Robert meets Sophia Marti, a young opera singer, who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1992. As their romance develops, Robert’s guilty conscience catches up…

Jivan is an Armenian film director, born in Gyumri, raised in Artsakh and currently based in the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. As a child, Jivan grew up during one of the most violent conflicts in the Caucuses, understands well the brutal consequences of war. And although his own childhood was stripped of playful mischief, he was instead laden with responsibility to protect family and friends. He did not abandon his dream and passion for filmmaking. Jivan’s lifelong dream of storytelling, of chronicling history, and putting Artsakh on the world map has been realized through the art of filmmaking. Jivan has created well over 20 documentaries, short films, and three feature films, Tevanik, The Last Inhabitant, and Gate to Heaven.