Film
interview
‘What Will Become of Us’: Doc about Armenian-Americans asks candid questions and tells remarkable stories
“What Will Become of Us” is a deeply personal film, which follows the lives of 10 Armenian-Americans, all of whom have been impacted by the Armenian Genocide. We recently discussed the film with director Stephanie Ayanian (co-directed with Joe Myers) in this h-pem exclusive.
interview
Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian's ongoing exploration of identity
Chances are you haven’t heard of Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian. Hard to imagine, when he has had such an illustrious and prolific career producing and directing television programs: well over 250 of them, in fact, mostly for public broadcasters in Canada.
Since leaving the world of television, he has produced and directed several films, including the acclaimed National Film Board of Canada-produced 2004 documentary "My Son Shall Be Armenian," the French version of which ("Mon fils sera arménien") aired on national television both in Canada and in France.
multimediaGuide
Your go-to Armenian cultural list! An antidote to viral isolation...
These are trying times: The world is being overrun by an insidiously contagious virus, schools and businesses have shuttered, and people all across the world are physically locked-in and virtually logged-on.
Since the advent of the internet, many have posited whether the invention can bring us closer or drift us further apart. For the time being, our “real” world has been suspended and moved to a “virtual” reality. It is perhaps the biggest migration in the shortest span of time in history. If this crisis has taught us anything, it’s that we all need connection, community, and comfort.
One of the heartwarming sides of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an explosion of all three C’s—whether it’s neighbors singing songs from their balconies, museums posting exhibitions online for free, or musicians livestreaming their concerts.
Art is the antidote...
analysis
POM at 14: Looking back at the festival’s brightest moments
Since 2006, the Pomegranate Film Festival has offered audiences a spectacular array of films and unique programing. Like its fruity namesake, the pomegranate, this film festival is fresh, dynamic, and prolific. Longtime POM committee member Roubina Shnorokian takes a look back at the last 14 years of POM in this h-pem exclusive highlight reel!
interview
Jivan Avetisyan's mission: Telling Artsakh’s story—one film at a time
If one thing stuck with me during my introduction to director Jivan Avetisyan about a decade ago, it was that in spite of his humble nature, he was very proud of where he was from. Fast forward several years and it seems little has changed.
“I am from Artsakh. You know, my roots run deep in Artsakh,” he tells me, without even giving me the chance to utter my first question. As we converse in his downtown Yerevan office over strong Armenian coffee and in between a barrage of phone calls he has to ignore, years on, his focus—and his creative output—continues to be zeroed in on one thing: his beloved, still-unrecognized nation…
interview
Eric Nazarian: 'Storytelling is a medicine and a drug'
His projects run the gamut—from documentaries on nearly-forgotten cultural relics to award-winning short films to beautiful animation videos for nonprofit campaigns. The list goes on. Eric Nazarian’s uphill climb in the world of cinema has been meticulous yet approached with the levity of a schoolboy, still excited at the prospect of living out his childhood dream every day. Tall, gregarious, yet almost unbelievably humble, his cadence is distinctly Angelino, but his prose reads like a carefully crafted Faulkner novel—fitting, as the writer was one of his childhood influences. Somehow, we managed to snag the busy filmmaker for a chat, and with the help of a little ale from the Irish pub across the street, he opened up about a variety of topics—not the least of which, his artistic muses and mistresses, inspirations and heroes.
profile
On his short animated film, Aurora
The artist has many responsibilities to shed a light on injustices and bring to light the truth, but all of humanity has a responsibility to tell those stories.” Aurora, depicts the real-life story of Aurora Mardiganian, a Genocide survivor who later starred in a Hollywood film about the horrors she endured. During filming, she broke her leg but was forced by Hollywood bullies to not only keep going—but to tie the injury into the plot, making the culprits the ‘Turkish tyrants.’ “Aurora was a supersurvivor—first of the brutality of the Genocide, then of the brutality of Hollywood,” explains Eric. Aurora premiered at the inaugural Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity ceremony, which recognizes leading humanitarians from all over the world. Pictured is a still from the film.
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