Henrik Malyan

Who was Henrik Malyan?

Henrik Sureni Malyan was a Soviet Armenian film director and writer.

He was born in Telavi, Georgia. Malyan's uncle was famous actor David Malyan. At early ages among with Tigran Petrosian he studied chess, then from 1942 to 1945 he worked as a draftsman and designer at a factory in Tbilisi. In 1951 he concluded studies in film direction from the Yerevan Theatre Institute. Between 1951 and 1954, he was a director at various theaters in Armenia. In 1953, he graduated from the Moscow Theatre Institute. From 1954 on he worked with the film studio Armenfilm.

His 1977 film Nahapet is considered to be one of the most important Armenian films to deal with the Armenian Genocide. It was exhibited in the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1980 he founded the Henrik Malyan Theatre-Studio for stage works.

In 1982 he was named a People's Artist of the USSR.