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'VOYAGE TO AMASIA' TO SCREEN AT PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL
Armenian Weekly
June 13, 2012
Genocide Documentary has East Coast premiere on June 23 at 6 pm
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.-"Voyage to Amasia," a new documentary film by Randy
Bell and Eric V. Hachikian, will have its East Coast premiere at the
Philadelphia Independent Film Festivalon Sat., June 23, at 6 p.m.,
at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia Parrish Room, 2125
Chestnut St., Philadelphia. The film had its world premiere at the
Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto in December, where it won the
prize for Best Documentary. It has also screened at the Minneapolis
International Film Festival, and in July will screen at the Golden
Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan.
"Voyage to Amasia" documents composer Eric Hachikian's return to his
ancestral home-Amasia.
"Voyage to Amasia" documents composer Eric Hachikian's return to his
ancestral home-Amasia, Turkey-nearly 100 years after Ottoman soldiers
deported his grandmother, Helen Shushan, during the Armenian Genocide.
The film is set to Hachikian's piano trio of the same name, which
provided the initial inspiration for the documentary. "Voyage
to Amasia" traces a path through the past, honoring Hachikian's
relationship with his grandmother and uncovering what her family's
life in Turkey might have been like. It also explores how the
events of nearly a century ago continue to strain the relationship
between Armenians and Turks today. Inspired by one family's story,
the filmmakers embark on their own journey in the hopes of finding
a greater understanding between two peoples still at odds.
The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival was founded to
enable an environment for its participants to encourage, engage,
and network in a diverse and growing film market. In its fifth
year, the festival is committed to discovering and showcasing
a unique cinematic experience unrestrained by conventional
boundaries. The full schedule can be found on the festival blog,
http://philadelphiaindependentfilmfestival.blogspot.com. Advance
tickets are available at
www.philadelphiaindependentfilmfestival.com/box-office or by calling
(215) 592-1242.
Randy Bell is a Washington, D.C.-based independent filmmaker. His
documentary films, which explore subjects as diverse as American
popular music, mid-century European modernist architecture, and
the AIDS orphan crisis in Kenya, have won awards from the Cleveland
International Film Festival, the New England Film and Video Festival,
and the Ivy Film Festival. He received his BA from Harvard University
in 2000, and his master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government in 2010.
Eric V. Hachikian is an Armenian American composer whose music has
been hailed by the New York Times as "lovely and original." His
compositions and orchestrations can be heard in a variety of
major motion pictures, network television shows, and national and
international ad campaigns. They have been performed Off-Broadway,
at Carnegie Hall, at Boston's Symphony Hall, and at the Getty in Los
Angeles. A classically trained composer, as well as self-taught DJ
and perpetual student of world music, Hachikian's musical style has
no boundaries, and his multi-genre interests result in a unique and
personal sound.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Armenian Weekly
June 13, 2012
Genocide Documentary has East Coast premiere on June 23 at 6 pm
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.-"Voyage to Amasia," a new documentary film by Randy
Bell and Eric V. Hachikian, will have its East Coast premiere at the
Philadelphia Independent Film Festivalon Sat., June 23, at 6 p.m.,
at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia Parrish Room, 2125
Chestnut St., Philadelphia. The film had its world premiere at the
Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto in December, where it won the
prize for Best Documentary. It has also screened at the Minneapolis
International Film Festival, and in July will screen at the Golden
Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan.
"Voyage to Amasia" documents composer Eric Hachikian's return to his
ancestral home-Amasia.
"Voyage to Amasia" documents composer Eric Hachikian's return to his
ancestral home-Amasia, Turkey-nearly 100 years after Ottoman soldiers
deported his grandmother, Helen Shushan, during the Armenian Genocide.
The film is set to Hachikian's piano trio of the same name, which
provided the initial inspiration for the documentary. "Voyage
to Amasia" traces a path through the past, honoring Hachikian's
relationship with his grandmother and uncovering what her family's
life in Turkey might have been like. It also explores how the
events of nearly a century ago continue to strain the relationship
between Armenians and Turks today. Inspired by one family's story,
the filmmakers embark on their own journey in the hopes of finding
a greater understanding between two peoples still at odds.
The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival was founded to
enable an environment for its participants to encourage, engage,
and network in a diverse and growing film market. In its fifth
year, the festival is committed to discovering and showcasing
a unique cinematic experience unrestrained by conventional
boundaries. The full schedule can be found on the festival blog,
http://philadelphiaindependentfilmfestival.blogspot.com. Advance
tickets are available at
www.philadelphiaindependentfilmfestival.com/box-office or by calling
(215) 592-1242.
Randy Bell is a Washington, D.C.-based independent filmmaker. His
documentary films, which explore subjects as diverse as American
popular music, mid-century European modernist architecture, and
the AIDS orphan crisis in Kenya, have won awards from the Cleveland
International Film Festival, the New England Film and Video Festival,
and the Ivy Film Festival. He received his BA from Harvard University
in 2000, and his master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government in 2010.
Eric V. Hachikian is an Armenian American composer whose music has
been hailed by the New York Times as "lovely and original." His
compositions and orchestrations can be heard in a variety of
major motion pictures, network television shows, and national and
international ad campaigns. They have been performed Off-Broadway,
at Carnegie Hall, at Boston's Symphony Hall, and at the Getty in Los
Angeles. A classically trained composer, as well as self-taught DJ
and perpetual student of world music, Hachikian's musical style has
no boundaries, and his multi-genre interests result in a unique and
personal sound.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress