Get to know Angela Asatrian, the filmmaker behind the historic “A Winter’s Song”

2026-01-25 - 21:06

This winter, the Armenian community was given a special gift: the first English-language holiday romance filmed in Armenia, A Winter’s Song. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video via a Wonder Project subscription, the film follows a struggling musician who travels to Armenia looking for inspiration. It introduces global audiences to the beauty, culture and music of Armenia, mixed with a little holiday cheer. A Winter’s Song was written, directed and produced by Angela Asatrian, who is best known for her hard-hitting documentaries The Armenian Spirit and Never Events. Asatrian has brought her favorite places in the homeland to the big screen in this bright, joyful view of Armenia at Christmas time. On Jan. 29, 2026, nonprofit SOAR-NYC is hosting a screening of the film in New York City, followed by a Q&A with Asatrian and Associate Producer Sisian Boghossian. We caught up with Asatrian ahead of the NYC screening to talk about her journey as a filmmaker, the outpouring of support she’s received from the Armenian community and how her experience as a therapist plays a role on set. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Rosie Nisanyan (R.N.): What inspired you to write “A Winter’s Song?” Angela Asatrian (A.A.): I made a documentary about the 2020 Artsakh War called The Armenian Spirit, and it was such a heavy experience. I was speaking with POWs, interviewing mothers who had lost their children and watching horrific footage every single day for a year and a half. It really took a toll on me. Personally, I needed to do something lighter, joyful and fun. And I knew the Armenian community needed that, too. I thought, what’s more fun than a Christmas romantic comedy? I lived in San Diego for about 12 or 13 years, and people would always ask me, “Angela, what’s Armenia like? Is it all desert? Are there camels?” Or they’d confuse it with Albania or Romania. I wanted to show the beauty of our country, our culture, our landscapes, our music in a way that hadn’t been done before, and on a global level. I didn’t want to make an Armenian film just for Armenians, which is why I worked to make it feel as universal and accessible as possible. R.N.: Did anything influence the character development or the look and feel of the film? A.A.: Every time I go to Armenia, I’m always hitting up my favorite spots. With this film, I tried to act like a tour guide, taking people through all the places I love most in Armenia. I’m also a therapist, and cognitive behavioral therapy really focuses on the power of our thoughts, how what we think affects how we feel, and then how we behave and react. I talk to my clients a lot about replacing negative thoughts with positive, supportive ones. I wrote Liana and Sophia as an example of that dynamic. Liana represents who we are when we’re anxious and overwhelmed, especially when the world keeps telling us “no” over and over again. That’s when the negative thoughts creep in and you begin to wonder, “I don’t know if I can do this.” Sophia, on the other hand, represents more optimistic, encouraging thoughts, the ones that try to reframe the situation and help us keep going. R.N.: As you mentioned, your previous films are documentaries. Did those experiences inform your work on “A Winter’s Song” at all? A.A.: Most people don’t know two things about me: one, I’m a therapist and I didn’t go to film school; and two, I actually grew up in the industry as a kid actor. I did plays, background work and I was a regular on shows like 7th Heaven, Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire and Malcolm in the Middle. What I loved most about being on set wasn’t acting; it was standing next to the director and watching the monitor. I actually hated acting. It felt tedious and, honestly, I wasn’t very good at it. But I loved being on set, and I loved being behind the camera — behind the TV, specifically. At the time, because I hated acting, I thought, “Well, there’s nothing else for me to do here.” I didn’t see any female directors. The only women I saw were in hair, makeup and costume, which I’m terrible at. I knew I wanted to help people, so I ended up going into social work. While I was getting my master’s in social work, I studied human trafficking in the Philippines. Instead of writing a final paper, I asked my professor if I could make a documentary on the subject, and she said, “Sure, why not?” That’s when I taught myself how to operate a camera, how to edit and how to use a TASCAM. I wasn’t always the one physically running the camera, but I learned the equipment, how it worked and how it was supposed to be used. Through that experience, I had this realization as an adult: Oh, I can actually make films. Through my documentaries, I also met Edisson Chatchatrian, who picked up The Armenian Spirit in the Benelux region. When it came time for A Winter’s Song, I brought him on again as my sales agent, which was incredibly helpful. Narratives, though, are a completely different experience, and honestly, they’re my favorite. Everything is scripted, scheduled and planned out, which I love. If you walk into my apartment, everything is calendared and organized because that’s how my brain works best. With a script, you break everything down: on Tuesday, you shoot these three scenes; on Wednesday, these scenes; and you know exactly what you need to capture. Documentaries are the opposite. You show up with a camera, not knowing what you’re going to hear, what you’re going to capture — or even what the story really is — until all the footage comes together. They’re also much more guerrilla-style; I might have a crew of three or four people, versus a crew of about 60 on A Winter’s Song. So for me, I absolutely love doing narrative films. R.N.: Do you think having that experience as an actor helped in filming “A Winter’s Song?” A.A.: Yes, and I honestly think my biggest strength in this industry is being a therapist. I bring empathy and intuition into everything I do. I’m always asking myself: What is this person experiencing? What are they feeling? How can I translate that on screen? How can I make my actors feel safe and supported? How can I make my crew feel comfortable on set? You’re also constantly working with different personalities, whether it’s a crew of two or a crew of 60. Learning how to manage people’s strengths, weaknesses and working styles is huge. It’s about recognizing, you’re great at this, so I’m going to put you here; you shine at that, so you belong there. Now that I really understand everyone’s skill sets, I’m going to approach part two differently. There are people who, like me, didn’t go to film school but are naturally gifted at certain things. I want to place them where they can really shine and do their best work. The cast and creative team at the screening of “A Winter’s Song” on the Warner Brothers lot. R.N.: How did you assemble your cast and creative team for “A Winter’s Song?” A.A.: A lot of it came through networking. I really believe networking is incredibly important. I met Sisian Boghossian, chairperson of the Tourism Committee in Armenia, who helped open so many doors and make key connections. Nona Melkonian introduced me to Annie Dashtoyan, who later became my producer. Armen Karaoghlanian from the Armenian Film Society also helped connect me, and Edgar Dematian, who plays David, introduced me to people, as well. Once I started talking about the project, it was like everyone said, “Oh, I know this person,” or “I know that person.” It was amazing. People really loved the idea of the film and genuinely wanted to help. And I think a big part of that was their love for Armenia. R.N.: How did you approach the story/script as both the writer and director? A.A.: I started writing the film while sitting at a café in Yerevan. I had just finished screening the documentary and thought, Okay, I need to do something fun — something exciting. So, I sat there and just started writing. Later, when I connected with my editor, Yvette Amirian, she did a few passes on the script and gave me notes, which really helped us fine-tune it. But when it came time to put on my director’s hat — I’ll tell you a funny story. Because I hadn’t directed a narrative before, there were things that honestly didn’t even cross my mind. For example, the Myler ski scene: I never stopped to think about how we were actually going to get all the camera equipment, lighting, cast and crew up the mountain. I remember standing there thinking, Who wrote this script? because that part definitely wasn’t thought through. We spent about an hour and a half going up and down ski lifts, carrying all this equipment just to get everything to the top. Now, going into part two, that experience has completely changed how I write. As I’m working on the second script, I keep reminding myself: If you’re planning a scene like this, how are we actually getting everyone there? How are we going to capture this? Even something as simple as travel time is something I think about differently now. I originally wanted to shoot a scene at Tatev Monastery, but as a writer, I wasn’t thinking about logistics — I was just writing for fun. Once we got into production, we realized that going to Tatev would take an entire day to get there and another day to come back, which would have eaten up so much shooting time. So, we ended up changing it. R.N.: With the scene at Geghard, and the potential scene at Tatev, did you run into any issues securing permission to film, considering their status as holy sites? A.A.: One of my friends, Mariam Torosyan, who’s an associate producer on the project, owns Agape Refectory with her family. It’s on Etchmiadzin property, so they’re very closely connected to the church. They were actually the ones who reached out about filming at Geghard and said, “Hey, we’re making this film and would love to shoot here — would that be possible?” There was some back-and-forth, of course, but thankfully, it all worked out in the end. R.N.: Tell me more about the film’s journey from script to screen. What kind of challenges did you face? What surprised you? A.A.: It was a really collaborative process, but I won’t lie: the biggest challenge was financing. Doing a narrative film is a whole different world from a documentary. With the documentary, if I had a little extra money from my paycheck, I could just buy a plane ticket and go shoot an interview. This time, it was like, Nope, you need all the money upfront before anyone says “action.” Once the script was ready, things started falling into place in the best way. Nona Melkonian, who’s also an associate producer, introduced me to Christine Soussa from the Strobia Foundation. She immediately fell in love with the idea and jumped in to help me fundraise. From there, Christine connected me with Narine Galstian, who came on as an executive producer. Then my dad’s friends, Sylvia and Karo Kavoukjian, joined as executive producers, too. I also put my own money into the film because I believed in it and wanted to make sure we made it to the finish line. Sisian Boghossian was amazing and helped connect me with brands like Ararat Brandy, Van Ardi Wine, Trinity Wine and the Yerevan Wine and Champagne Company, who came on as sponsors and supported the film financially. So yes, financing was absolutely the hardest part of this whole journey. What really surprised me, though, was how everyone showed up. Armenians in Armenia, people in the diaspora, everyone just rolled up their sleeves and said, “Okay, how can we help?” So many people on set wore multiple hats. If we were missing something, someone else stepped in. It truly felt like a community effort, and that made the whole experience really special. R.N.: I love that the film is so widely available on Amazon Prime Video via Wonder Project. How did that come about? A.A.: Getting picked up by Wonder Project was incredible. There are actually two Armenian women there, one heads acquisitions and the other leads marketing. They loved the film and the idea behind it, and they really championed the project, making sure Wonder Project brought us on board. I think it’s such a perfect fit for A Winter’s Song because Wonder Project is really about showcasing films that inspire, provide hope and are good-hearted, family-friendly stories. R.N.: The story of “A Winter’s Song” centers on music. Where did the songs in the film come from? A.A.: A lot of the songs in the film are pre-existing, and many are by Krista Marina. We also feature music from Tonee Marino, and a few tracks from Yellowheart and Rosa Linn. We even have one from JINJ. But the really special part is that Krista Marina wrote an original song, “Yeraz,” just for the film, in collaboration with Arman Aloyan, our composer. Arman also did an incredible job shaping the film’s entire soundscape; his music brings every scene to life and really amplifies the emotion. The cast and creative team at the Armenian premiere of “A Winter’s Song” in Yerevan. R.N.: What has the promotional tour for the film been like? You’ve been going all over the world! A.A.: So fun! It’s been amazing. Sisian Boghossian, my associate producer, and Edisson Chatchatrian, my sales agent and also an AP, have been booking all these screenings. Edisson has the film in the Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), but also has some reach in France. Sisian has been reaching out to AGBU and their young professionals network, and everyone keeps coming back saying, “We’d love to host a screening.” There were three or four in Sweden alone, and every day I get messages like, “Hey, we’re in Portugal; we want to screen the film” or “We’re in Lebanon; can we show it?” It’s been incredible. I’ve been trying to attend as many screenings as I can, and the response has been so positive. Just yesterday, there was a woman in tears saying, “It made me miss Armenia so much,” in the most endearing way. I’m staying with my aunt in Lille, France right now, and I took her to a screening. She doesn’t understand English, and it was in Dutch subtitles, but she said, “I didn’t need to understand it; I felt the story.” Moments like that, and all the positive feedback, make me so happy. R.N.: We’ve talked about this a bit already, but how has the Armenian community supported you? A.A.: They’ve been unbelievably supportive! When I went to Armenia to help raise funds, people were so generous — if they couldn’t contribute financially, they’d say, “Hey, we can offer our location for free.” Everyone just wanted to help. The support has been amazing, both in Armenia and across the diaspora. People have asked, “How can we help? We’ll post about it; we’ll help market it.” It’s truly been such a blessing. R.N.: Do you have any advice for aspiring Armenian writers and directors? A.A.: 100%! One thing I’ve learned is that literally everyone has a story to tell, but most people don’t finish it. You need grit, discipline and faith to keep going and a positive mindset. It’s so easy to say, “I’ll hang out with my friends and write later,” and then never get back to it. Or you open your notebook or Chromebook and think, “This is too overwhelming, I’ll do it tomorrow.” You just need to sit down and write for five minutes: that’s it. If you enjoy it, you’ll fall into that flow and, before you know it, hours have gone by. Four key things are essential: discipline; grit to push through until it’s done, which is the hardest part; a positive mindset of “I can do this. Let’s finish it. Let’s keep going;” and faith that your story is meant to be told by you. If you and I were writing, we’d produce completely different stories, in completely different ways and there’s a reason you want to tell your story and a reason I’m telling mine. There are so many scripts and stories out there, so if you want to get yours made, just start doing it yourself. Begin small — maybe a short film — and get it out there. That’s how you build your resume and show people what you’re capable of. They’ll see your work and say, “Oh yeah, I can see what this person can do.” That’s exactly how it was with A Winter’s Song. I thought, “I just need to get this first one out so people can see what I can do.” R.N.: How can people support “A Winter’s Song?” A.A.: Please watch the film on the Wonder Project subscription on Prime. Tell people about it, repost and just help us get the word out. You can stream “A Winter’s Song” on Amazon Prime Video via a Wonder Project subscription. Tickets are now available for the Jan. 29 screening in New York City, hosted by SOAR-NYC. You can rent “The Armenian Spirit” on Amazon Prime Video and stream “Never Events” on Tubi. Follow Asatrian on Instagram (@Angela_Asatrian) to reshare content about the film and learn more about her upcoming projects. All photos are courtesy of Angela Asatrian unless otherwise noted.