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'ORPHANS OF THE GENOCIDE' TO BE SCREENED IN WATERTOWN
Armenian Weekly
July 30, 2012
WATERTOWN, Mass (A.W.)-The documentary "Orphans of the Genocide"
will be screened in Watertown on Aug. 1. Four-time regional Emmy
Award-winning filmmaker Bared Maronianwill present the film to
the public. The event, organized by the ARF Boston "Sardarabad"
Gomideh, begins at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Church Hall, 1 Artsakh
St. in Watertown.
"The stories of these genocide orphans are told by the orphans
themselves, backed by expert opinion from scholars like Deborah Dwork
and Keith Watenpaugh."
In an interview with Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian, Maronian said,
"'Orphans of the Genocide' tells the story of hundreds of thousands
of Armenian Genocide orphans. It is a posthumous tribute to the memory
of those Armenian children victimized by the horrors of a systematic,
concerted process of annihilation and a celebration of their survival
against all odds."
Talking about the sources and resources he tapped into, Maronian
said, "The stories of these genocide orphans are told by the orphans
themselves, backed by expert opinion from scholars like Deborah Dwork
and Keith Watenpaugh."
Maronian has made use of archival photos and documents from the
Rockefeller Archive Center, Das Bundesarchiv (German National
Archives), Statens Arkiver (Danish National Archives), the
Library of Congress, U.S. National Archives, the Armenian Genocide
Musem-Institute, AGBU Archives, Noubarian Library, Houshamadyan
Archives, ARS Archives, and other private archival collections.
In an exclusive camera interview, 105 year old Almas Boghossian
of Whitensville, Mass., tells how she became a genocide orphan,
walked from Husseinig to Der Zor on foot and how she was adopted by
an Arab family, then admitted to an Armenian orphanage in Aleppo and
eventually claimed by a relative in the States. Almas's grandson,
Bruce Boghossian, the current president of American University of
Armenia, continued Almas's story from where she left off.
In turn, the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a pioneer American, tells us the
story of his Genocide orphan mother, whose foot was deformed while
walking barefoot on the hot dessert sand on her way to Der Zor. The
documentary also depicts how doctor Kevorkian's artwork was directly
impacted by the Genocide.
"Besides personal accounts, the documentary also examines one of
the largest orphan relief efforts of mankind that was spearheaded
by American Near East Relief Society (NER). Robert Wirt, US Special
Forces Green Beret, based on his great grandfather, Loyal Lincoln
Wirt's memoirs, tells us how Loyal witnessed the herculean task of
NER in establishing 212 orphanages for 200,000 orphans scattered from
Constantinople to Aleppo," explains Maronian.
A special segment is dedicated to Alexandrapole, currently Gumri,
Armenia, where once stood an orphanage housing 22,000 Armenian
Genocide Orphans. Another special segment of the documentary deals
with the Antoura Orphanage in Lebanon, where 1,000 Armenian orphans
were stripped of their identity and were being Turkified. Independent
researcher Missak Kelechian and world renowned journalist Robert Fisk
delve into the details of this operation masterminded by Jemal Pasha.
In 2010, the short version of "Orphans of the Genocide" was nominated
for a Regional Emmy Award, won a Telly Award, and was screened at
the NYC Filmmaker's Festival. The long version is at its final post
production stage and the producers are in negotiations with a number
of TV stations for possible broadcast dates as early as October 2012.
The documentary is written by Maronian and Jackie Abramian and Directed
by Maronian. It is a production of Armenoid Productions Inc.
Maronian notes, "Our extensive research of the topic that extended
over two years lead us to believe that we could not fit everything
we found in an hour and a half documentary, so we decided to publish
a 120 page companion book called 'Orphans of the Genocide' featuring
175 uncirculated or rarely seen photos depicting the daily lives of
Armenian Genocide Orphans."
From: Baghdasarian
Armenian Weekly
July 30, 2012
WATERTOWN, Mass (A.W.)-The documentary "Orphans of the Genocide"
will be screened in Watertown on Aug. 1. Four-time regional Emmy
Award-winning filmmaker Bared Maronianwill present the film to
the public. The event, organized by the ARF Boston "Sardarabad"
Gomideh, begins at 7 p.m. at St. Stephen's Church Hall, 1 Artsakh
St. in Watertown.
"The stories of these genocide orphans are told by the orphans
themselves, backed by expert opinion from scholars like Deborah Dwork
and Keith Watenpaugh."
In an interview with Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian, Maronian said,
"'Orphans of the Genocide' tells the story of hundreds of thousands
of Armenian Genocide orphans. It is a posthumous tribute to the memory
of those Armenian children victimized by the horrors of a systematic,
concerted process of annihilation and a celebration of their survival
against all odds."
Talking about the sources and resources he tapped into, Maronian
said, "The stories of these genocide orphans are told by the orphans
themselves, backed by expert opinion from scholars like Deborah Dwork
and Keith Watenpaugh."
Maronian has made use of archival photos and documents from the
Rockefeller Archive Center, Das Bundesarchiv (German National
Archives), Statens Arkiver (Danish National Archives), the
Library of Congress, U.S. National Archives, the Armenian Genocide
Musem-Institute, AGBU Archives, Noubarian Library, Houshamadyan
Archives, ARS Archives, and other private archival collections.
In an exclusive camera interview, 105 year old Almas Boghossian
of Whitensville, Mass., tells how she became a genocide orphan,
walked from Husseinig to Der Zor on foot and how she was adopted by
an Arab family, then admitted to an Armenian orphanage in Aleppo and
eventually claimed by a relative in the States. Almas's grandson,
Bruce Boghossian, the current president of American University of
Armenia, continued Almas's story from where she left off.
In turn, the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a pioneer American, tells us the
story of his Genocide orphan mother, whose foot was deformed while
walking barefoot on the hot dessert sand on her way to Der Zor. The
documentary also depicts how doctor Kevorkian's artwork was directly
impacted by the Genocide.
"Besides personal accounts, the documentary also examines one of
the largest orphan relief efforts of mankind that was spearheaded
by American Near East Relief Society (NER). Robert Wirt, US Special
Forces Green Beret, based on his great grandfather, Loyal Lincoln
Wirt's memoirs, tells us how Loyal witnessed the herculean task of
NER in establishing 212 orphanages for 200,000 orphans scattered from
Constantinople to Aleppo," explains Maronian.
A special segment is dedicated to Alexandrapole, currently Gumri,
Armenia, where once stood an orphanage housing 22,000 Armenian
Genocide Orphans. Another special segment of the documentary deals
with the Antoura Orphanage in Lebanon, where 1,000 Armenian orphans
were stripped of their identity and were being Turkified. Independent
researcher Missak Kelechian and world renowned journalist Robert Fisk
delve into the details of this operation masterminded by Jemal Pasha.
In 2010, the short version of "Orphans of the Genocide" was nominated
for a Regional Emmy Award, won a Telly Award, and was screened at
the NYC Filmmaker's Festival. The long version is at its final post
production stage and the producers are in negotiations with a number
of TV stations for possible broadcast dates as early as October 2012.
The documentary is written by Maronian and Jackie Abramian and Directed
by Maronian. It is a production of Armenoid Productions Inc.
Maronian notes, "Our extensive research of the topic that extended
over two years lead us to believe that we could not fit everything
we found in an hour and a half documentary, so we decided to publish
a 120 page companion book called 'Orphans of the Genocide' featuring
175 uncirculated or rarely seen photos depicting the daily lives of
Armenian Genocide Orphans."
From: Baghdasarian