When My Sorrow Died: The Legend of Armen Ra & the Theremin

Captivated by Armen Ra’s music, filmmaker Robert Nazar Arjoyan chronicles Armen’s day to day living and life journey with interviews, photos, and archive videos, from Armen’s earliest years as a child in Iran, through his wild time modeling and tearing up the Drag scene in New York, his terrible alcohol abuse and addiction, the loss of his friends to AIDS, and through the death of his father, who succumbed to cancer while Armen was on tour with Nick Cave. The devastating loss veered him into a deep depression; the performer, at the height of his ability, went into reclusion and ceased playing in public. The light of his brilliant performances dimmed from the world for nearly two years until film producer Matt Huffman heard Armen’s music and was transfixed. The sound was magically transformative and incredibly therapeutic. Matt approached Armen about returning to the stage, to re-emerge and share his gift with the cinema audience. The documentary follows Armen’s triumphant return engagement, and ultimately, an expression of beauty and the death of his sorrow.