Decorated Armenian filmmaker, script writer, actor, People’s Artist of Armenia Albert Mkrtchyan passed away this morning at the age of 81 after a long illness. A spokesperson for Mher Mkrtchyan Theater confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.
Albert Mkrtchyan wrote and directed many famous Armenian films, including “The Song of the Old Days” (1982) and the “Tango of Our Childhood” (1985). The setting of most of Mkrtchyan’s films is his native town of Gyumri.
“Merry Bus,” a picture released in 2000, portrays life in the town following the devastating earthquake of 1988, while “Dawn on a Sad Street,” released eight years later, is set in Gyumri of the 1990s, at the height of the Karabakh conflict. The director also heads the Mher Mkrtchyan Theater in Yerevan, founded by Frunzik in 1986.
