A father and daughter reclaim a 6,000-year-old winemaking tradition in the face of war, religion and geopolitics in the trailer for SOMM TV’s Cup of Salvation.
The two-minute look at the film from director Jason Wise follows WineWorks founder and CEO Vahe Keushguerian and his daughter Aimee as they set out on a wrought journey to revive the ancient grapes of their Armenian homeland.
“The story of an ancient land, with such an ancient wine culture,” says one voice in the trailer before Keushguerian adds, “For a winemaker, it’s the holy grail.”
In this tail of religion, war, family and survival, a family sets out through the demanding, battle-scarred landscape of the Caucus Mountains, past military bases and to clandestine vineyards deep in the Iranian countryside — all the while, the threat of arrest looms.
“My father wants to build a bunker cellar,” says Aimee. “I’m like, will we need it?”
“Wines have to struggle. So do people,” adds an expert featured in the trailer.
At the crossroads of Armenia and Iran is where this family breathes life into the post-Soviet infrastructure of their country while harvesting grapes during war and marketing their wine globally.
But this story of a family reviving the ancient grapes of their homeland is not just a harrowing tail of navigating culture, power and land in the name of wine. It is also a look at wine’s origins and how it continues to shape the fabric of human existence.
Alongside the Keushguerians, Cup of Salvation also stars, Dustin Wilson, Carole Meredith, Armen Sarkissian, Paul Hobbs, Boris Gasparyan, Armen Khachaturian, Jonathan Alpeyrie, Steve Matthiasson, Moe Momtazi, Naseem Momtazi, Steven Spurrier, Andres Roseberg, DLynn Proctor, and Sabato Sagaria.
The film features a story by director Wise and his partner Christina, and music by Alex Mansour. The film’s producers include the Wise’s, Jackson Myers, and Eric Esrailian, with Diane Carpenter serving as an executive producer.
Cup of Salvation will have a limited release in theaters beginning Oct. 6.
