KOSTA KARAKASHYAN

BIO

Kosta Karakashyan is a Bulgarian director, choreographer, writer, and performer investigating how to nurture empathy and tenderness through dance, film, and education. Kosta has choreographed on Dancing with the Stars Vietnam and across Bulgaria, New York, Canada, Germany, Norway, and Japan. Under his creative production studio Studio Karakashyan, recent works include the documentary dance film WAITING FOR COLOR about the ongoing LGBTQ+ persecution in Chechnya, and the upcoming short film Glance from the Edge shot across 12 landscapes in Bulgaria. He graduated with a BA in Dance from Columbia University and a Master’s in Human Rights from the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice, Italy.

 

 

 

PROJECT: Us 

Us (“Ние”) depicts two men, who seemingly have nothing to do with each other, over the course of a week. Lyudmil begins a new position as Assistant Professor at the university while Miho, in his early twenties, is busy juggling the social pressures of his family and friends. They both go through the motions at university, at work, and in public. At the end of the film, the two are seen living together as a gay couple, tender but cautious to preserve their secret.

The project will work towards uplifting the LGBTQ+ community in Bulgaria by addressing the lack of positive portrayal in the media. The main goal is that through an earnest and emotional representation of the marginalized community here, we can spark conversation and help the general public grow to be more empathetic. The project aims to raise awareness of what is unique about the gay experience not by demonstrating its “otherness” but rather by pointing out how we are all intertwined and connected.