Tamara Stepanyan

Early life and education Stepanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia.

Career Stepanyan began making short films around 2010. Her early work includes the 2012 documentary Embers which was screened at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival and won best documentary prize at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival.

In 2017, her documentary Those from the Shore was released. The film follows the lives of Armenian refugees in France.

Her 2025 documentary feature film My Armenian Phantoms premiered in the 75th Berlin Film Festival's forum sidebar. Stepanyan originally conceived of the project simply as a way to reflect on the history of Armenian film, watching over 200 Armenian films in the process, but after her father died her mourning became a more central part of the film. The film follows a woman after she learns her husband lied about his identity and concerns the wars, genocide and conflict that has affected Armenia. Slant noted that Stepanyan highlights how women and men handle the burdens of turmoil differently. Stepanyan included local Armenia actors in the film, including at least one non-actor she meet while scouting locations.

As of 2025, Stepanyan has plans to edit the documentary she shot years before about Maison des Femmes, a center for women just outside of Paris who have experienced trauma such as domestic violence and rape. Stepanyan said she "felt very close to the women" there because she was dealing with the trauma of having cancer at the time saying, "I was going through cancer, and I was feeling that my body was violated by sickness, while their bodies were violated by men..."

Filmography As director In the Land of Arto (2025) My Armenian Phantoms (2025) Kanants Gyughe (2019) Those from the Shore (2017) Embers (2012) February 19 (2011, short) Little Stones (2010, short)

Personal life Stepanyan is the daughter of Armenian actor and director Vigen Stepanyan. She was born in Armenia and her family moved to Lebanon when she was a teenager. As of 2025, she lives in France and is a cancer survivor.