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USC News - University of Southern California
Jan 5 2015
Rare testimonies of Armenian Genocide go online
USC Shoah Foundation adds emotional interviews to its Visual History Archive
by USC staff
January 5, 2015
n honor of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the USC
Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education is
readying at least 40 of the nearly 400 Armenian testimonies it has
secured from the Armenian Film Foundation for its Visual History
Archive.
The USC Shoah Foundation and the Armenian Film Foundation signed an
agreement in April 2010 to digitize the interviews of the late J.
Michael Hagopian, recorded on film between 1972 and 2005. The entire
collection is expected to be integrated with the archive by the fall.
Hagopian was an award-winning filmmaker who made 70 educational films
and documentaries including 17 films about Armenians and the Armenian
Genocide.
This project will unveil a trove of film testimony about of a horrific
chapter of human history that remains woefully under-examined.
Karen Jungblut
"This project will unveil a trove of film testimony about of a
horrific chapter of human history that remains woefully
under-examined," said Karen Jungblut, director of research and
documentation at the institute.
Variety of interviewees
The interviews include not only survivors of the Armenian Genocide but
also of other groups targeted by the Ottoman Turks, such as the
Greeks, Assyrians and Yezidis. Also included are non-victim witnesses
to the atrocities, such as Christian missionaries and Arab villagers,
as well as descendants of the survivors and several renowned scholars.
"The addition of these interviews to the Visual History Archive will
provide broad access to a multilingual collection of material," said
project adviser Richard G. Hovannisian, an expert in Armenian studies
and USC adjunct professor of history.
"It will help to bring sorely needed attention - and study - to this
dark corner of human understanding," said Hovannisian, a UCLA
professor emeritus.
The interviews display a unique style and format, as they were
conducted by a documentary filmmaker. A clapboard marks the start of
each take. The interviews - about 15 minutes each - are much shorter
than other testimonies in the Visual History Archive, which average
more than two hours. Hagopian can be heard giving directions to crew
members and interview subjects.
Michael Hagopian generously gave us full access to his film dailies,
which is akin to a diary in that they normally wouldn't be seen by the
public.
Hrag Yedalian
"Michael Hagopian generously gave us full access to his film dailies,
which is akin to a diary in that they normally wouldn't be seen by the
public," said Hrag Yedalian, a program coordinator with the institute.
"This lends a certain candor to these interviews, which are at times
unsettling to watch, but poignant."
Advance clips available
The foundation has released two advance clips of the Armenian
testimonies. One is a 1987 talk with Mihran Andonian, who was a boy
when his family was deported from Isparta in western Turkey in 1916
and lost eight family members. The other is a 1993 interview with
Haroutune Aivazian, who tells of surviving because his mother left him
at an orphanage.
"Even those of us who did survive, we lost something very precious,"
Aivazian said. "Something which is the birthright of every person:
childhood. We lost our childhood."
The testimonies served as primary source material for Hagopian's
documentaries about the Armenian Genocide, including The Forgotten
Genocide, recipient of two Emmy nominations in 1976, and the Witnesses
Trilogy: Voices from the Lake, Germany and the Secret Genocide and The
River Ran Red.
[Hagopian] understood the importance of recording the testimonies of
aging eyewitnesses before their accounts were lost forever.
Carla Garapedian
"He understood the importance of recording the testimonies of aging
eyewitnesses before their accounts were lost forever," said Carla
Garapedian of the Armenian Film Foundation. "The voices of the people
haunted by these atrocities will now be accessible to teachers,
students, scholars and the general public on a global scale."
http://news.usc.edu/73236/rare-testimonies-of-armenian-genocide-go-online/
From: Baghdasarian
Jan 5 2015
Rare testimonies of Armenian Genocide go online
USC Shoah Foundation adds emotional interviews to its Visual History Archive
by USC staff
January 5, 2015
n honor of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the USC
Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education is
readying at least 40 of the nearly 400 Armenian testimonies it has
secured from the Armenian Film Foundation for its Visual History
Archive.
The USC Shoah Foundation and the Armenian Film Foundation signed an
agreement in April 2010 to digitize the interviews of the late J.
Michael Hagopian, recorded on film between 1972 and 2005. The entire
collection is expected to be integrated with the archive by the fall.
Hagopian was an award-winning filmmaker who made 70 educational films
and documentaries including 17 films about Armenians and the Armenian
Genocide.
This project will unveil a trove of film testimony about of a horrific
chapter of human history that remains woefully under-examined.
Karen Jungblut
"This project will unveil a trove of film testimony about of a
horrific chapter of human history that remains woefully
under-examined," said Karen Jungblut, director of research and
documentation at the institute.
Variety of interviewees
The interviews include not only survivors of the Armenian Genocide but
also of other groups targeted by the Ottoman Turks, such as the
Greeks, Assyrians and Yezidis. Also included are non-victim witnesses
to the atrocities, such as Christian missionaries and Arab villagers,
as well as descendants of the survivors and several renowned scholars.
"The addition of these interviews to the Visual History Archive will
provide broad access to a multilingual collection of material," said
project adviser Richard G. Hovannisian, an expert in Armenian studies
and USC adjunct professor of history.
"It will help to bring sorely needed attention - and study - to this
dark corner of human understanding," said Hovannisian, a UCLA
professor emeritus.
The interviews display a unique style and format, as they were
conducted by a documentary filmmaker. A clapboard marks the start of
each take. The interviews - about 15 minutes each - are much shorter
than other testimonies in the Visual History Archive, which average
more than two hours. Hagopian can be heard giving directions to crew
members and interview subjects.
Michael Hagopian generously gave us full access to his film dailies,
which is akin to a diary in that they normally wouldn't be seen by the
public.
Hrag Yedalian
"Michael Hagopian generously gave us full access to his film dailies,
which is akin to a diary in that they normally wouldn't be seen by the
public," said Hrag Yedalian, a program coordinator with the institute.
"This lends a certain candor to these interviews, which are at times
unsettling to watch, but poignant."
Advance clips available
The foundation has released two advance clips of the Armenian
testimonies. One is a 1987 talk with Mihran Andonian, who was a boy
when his family was deported from Isparta in western Turkey in 1916
and lost eight family members. The other is a 1993 interview with
Haroutune Aivazian, who tells of surviving because his mother left him
at an orphanage.
"Even those of us who did survive, we lost something very precious,"
Aivazian said. "Something which is the birthright of every person:
childhood. We lost our childhood."
The testimonies served as primary source material for Hagopian's
documentaries about the Armenian Genocide, including The Forgotten
Genocide, recipient of two Emmy nominations in 1976, and the Witnesses
Trilogy: Voices from the Lake, Germany and the Secret Genocide and The
River Ran Red.
[Hagopian] understood the importance of recording the testimonies of
aging eyewitnesses before their accounts were lost forever.
Carla Garapedian
"He understood the importance of recording the testimonies of aging
eyewitnesses before their accounts were lost forever," said Carla
Garapedian of the Armenian Film Foundation. "The voices of the people
haunted by these atrocities will now be accessible to teachers,
students, scholars and the general public on a global scale."
http://news.usc.edu/73236/rare-testimonies-of-armenian-genocide-go-online/
From: Baghdasarian