He was born on August 30, 1950, in Baku (Azerbaijan). He moved to Yerevan in 1964 with his family. He finished high school there and entered the Khachatur Abovian Pedagogical Institute (now University). He was twenty-years-old when in 1970 he started working at the Armenfilm studios as an illustrator and animator. Two years later, he directed his first animation film, Lilit. Around that time, he was forced to abandon his studies for low assistance to classes. His fifth animation film, The Book of the Fox (1975), for which he also wrote the scenario based on the proverbs of Armenian medieval authors Vardan Aygektsi and Mekhitar Gosh, was the first Soviet rock-opera. He would write the scenarios for most of his films. In 1987 he earned the title of Artist Emeritus of Soviet Armenia and, in 2008 he became Popular Artist of the Republic of Armenia.
From 1972-2009 Sahakiants would direct fifty-four movies and write forty-eight scenarios. He also co-authored other animation movies produced by Armenfilm. He produced some of his most popular movies in the 1980s, such as Three Mulberry-Colored, Deep Blue Lakes (1981), Who Says Such a Lie (1982), The Talking Fish (1983), In the Blue Sea, in the White Foam… (1984), The Carnival (1985). His movies obtained awards in festivals held in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, as well as Ukraine, Russia, and Estonia.
Several of his movies were based on the tales of Hovhannes Toumanian, such as Kikos’ Death, Nazar the Brave, Three Mulberry-Colored, Deep Blue Lakes, Who Says Such a Lie, The Talking Fish, and The Carnival. Sahakiants did not just revive the classical tales but modernized them and gave them a contemporary sound for children. He created characters bound to be remembered, introduced with colorful “fireworks” and offered with his own interpretation.
Robert Sahakiants passed on September 24, 2009, in Yerevan, after a long illness and a complex heart surgery. Robert Sahakiants Production, headed by his son Davit, continues his legacy in the field of animated films.