The first Armenian production short-listed for Academy Awards tells the story of an American Armenian who returns to his homeland in 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child. Full of hopes of finding a connection to his roots, he finds a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window - the home of a prison guard. 

As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the man's, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its passionate people. Filled with warmth and Chaplinesque humour, Amerikatsi celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the bonds that unite us all.