Vahagn and the Dragon
Animated series pilot
It’s been a terrible day for Vahagn: a confrontation at school, his dream girl doesn’t even notice him, and his parents have left for an archaeological dig again, just before his birthday…
But then, unexpectedly, Vahagn awakens a thousand-year-old dragon from a dragon stone. Friendly and not frightening at all, the dragon is ready to share his wisdom and give Vahagn some advice on how to get his life back on track. But their unexpected encounter soon pulls Vahagn into a series of grand adventures, where he discovers more about the world and himself.
The project is based on Artavazd Yeghiazaryan’s book The Secret of the Dragon Stone, a contemporary Armenian literature bestseller widely beloved by Armenian teenagers.
One of the main goals of Vahagn and the Dragon is to spark young audiences’ interest in Armenian culture: to bring Armenian myths to life through the vibrant language of animation and to show familiar locations in Yerevan from a new perspective. We hope to inspire children and teenagers to see the streets they know and the dragon stones scattered across the country with fresh eyes.
In collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and Cultural Factor NGO, OnOff Studio developed and implemented the Vishap Guardians project. As part of the initiative, Vahagn and the Dragon was screened in 11 regions of Armenia. Each screening was accompanied by an educational workshop led by archaeologist Arsen Bobokhyan, who introduced children to recent archaeological discoveries related to Armenia’s vishapakars. The events also featured the premiere of an original song by the band Tiezerk, written specifically for the film. Special educational brochures were developed and distributed to all participating children, helping them explore the history and cultural heritage of vishapakars in an engaging and accessible way.
The project also included a competition for children and teenagers. The 30 winners embarked on a hiking trip into the mountains of Armenia to visit ancient vishapakars and experience this part of Armenia’s cultural heritage firsthand.
Discover more about the project on its Instagram page.
Directors: Suren Tadevosyan, Gohar Sargsyan
Producer: Susanna Khachatryan
Art Director: Tigran Arakelyan
Scriptwriter: Artavazd Yeghiazaryan
Authors of Music: Tiezerk Band, Davit Davtyan
Film supported by the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports, the Cinema Foundation of Armenia, and the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation.
