Fight

FIGHT follows 16-year-old Karine in rural Armenia, where she cares for her father’s dogs who were injured in brutal dogfights. Her dream is to become a veterinarian. This dream clashes with her family’s traditional expectations. Her father expects a different, more “feminine” future for his daughter, yet he was the one who introduced her to this trade, and is glad that she oversees the care and medical treatment of the animals; this creates a quiet but palpable tension. The film juxtaposes everyday family life, conversations about school, and small acts of affection with the chained dogs. But it also shows the rows of kennels, and the violent fights. FIGHT repeatedly returns to the contradiction between love for animals and animal cruelty, while also showing how this young woman was raised within patriarchal structures that steer her toward a hobby such as dancing rather than toward her own plans. Constructed from carefully selected, tranquil images, FIGHT follows a teenager on the verge of graduating from high school who must make a life-changing decision. Premiered at the Cottbus Film Festival, Lilit Movsisyan’s first feature-length documentary paints a sensitive portrait of self-determination, familial duty, and inherited pressure.