THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT follows four women living in the Republic of Artsakh, an unrecognized country reckoning with the aftermath of one war while on the precipice of another. In the midst of this uncertainty, four women build a life with the hope of making their home a better place. When war breaks out again, what began as an observational meditation on women’s roles after conflict becomes an urgent and intimate record of their lives interrupted once again by war. From taking up arms on the front lines to fleeing their homes as refugees, each woman’s life changes irrevocably. Their journey becomes the myth of a homeland lost forever, and the power of story to keep it alive. Director Emily Mkrtichian (Motherland, Transmission) stops by to talk about why never meant to make a film that documented war, displacement, and ethnic cleansing. As she puts it… “There Was, There Was Not has become our record of that persecution, but also of the resistance, resilience, and creativity we as women constantly offer in the face of it. As I watch other communities around the world suffer violence, genocide, persecution, displacement and ethnic cleansing, I offer this record as hope to other women around the world fighting for their homes, and working to strengthen their communities and to guarantee safety and security for their children and families.”