„The Worlds First 4-Country-Sitcom“ - Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Georgians Create Regional Comedy Web Series Together, Set in Berlin
Filmmakers, journalists, comedians, musicians, students and civil society from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Germany created the 3-part mini-series „Dolma Diaries“ about three students from the South Caucasus sharing an apartment in Berlin. The goal of the series is to tell a humorous human story to overcome hatred in the context of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but also to counter prejudice between Georgians and their neighbors.
The pilot episode that came out in late 2022 garnered a lot of praise and was viewed more than 70.000 times on YouTube. The new episodes built on the basis of the first episode and further explore the Caucasus co-living in Germany. The series also adds a Russian character to the mix.
Series creator Oliver Müser recalls selling the idea for Dolma Diaries as „The world’s first 4-Country-Sitcom“ when the plan first emerged in 2016. „The political situation has obviously changed considerably since so we are careful with the humor, sometimes maybe too careful. We do also make some serious points, but no judgement. We are not a historical commission or the International Court of Justice, all we want is to bring a human side into this debate, often dominated by mutual demonization and irreconcilable hardline positions.“
One of the series writers, Ashot Danelyan from Armenia, said he was not sure if it could be done well and hesitant because of how people would react, but „I really wanted to try and be part of it because it is such an interesting and important project and I felt that I have something to say in this matter.“ Beka Buchukuri from Georgia, who plays Gio and also composed much of the soundtrack, believes that „a film may not be able to solve conflicts, but it can provide a lot of food for thought.“ Protagonist Anar Rzayev from Azerbaijan agrees that Dolma Diaries „can simulate the imagination of young people in the region for living together peacefully which is the first step towards sustainable peace.“
Dolma Diaries is supported by the German Foreign Office and can now be watched on YouTube.
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