Kupelian on Creating "East of Byzantium"
2014-09-23
News
Over 100 people filled Tumo Cinema for graphic effects veteran Roger Kupelian's talk on the creative process entitled "Journey to Byzantium: A unique creative process". Kupelian shared his and his team's experience during the making of the "East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints" graphic novel and documentary-narrative series.
Raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa, Kupelian grew up knowing very few Armenians, but plenty about the various chapters of Armenian history his father informed him about. Stories of Vardan Mamikonian's battles stuck with Kupelian, who decided that he would make a film about his hero at a young age.Once he became accomplished in his career, he began working on the "East of Byzantium" project. Kupelian stated that his journey in this project has been non-linear as it began with a hero and an idea for a film. Once further research was conducted and the filming began, he decided to simultaneously work on a graphic novel based on the film. In 2012, the first volume of the graphic novel "War Gods" was published as a paperback.
Kupelian and his team are currently working on the documentary-narrative series to be released next year. In the future, he has aims to address other chapters of Armenian history, bringing the stories his father told him in his early years to life.