Celebrating Armenian Culture: "The River Ran Red" by J. Michael Hagopian + Short Films by Emerging Armenian Filmmakers

CELEBRATING ARMENIAN CULTURE

Documentary Feature THE RIVER RAN RED by J. Michael Hagopian Documentary | 2009 | United States | 60 mins

Short Films Program FOUR WALLS (04:25) & THE JAILOR by Anahid Yahjian (03:15)

Suggested Contribution: $10 General Admission | $5 Students & Seniors

In commemoration of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, Alwan for the Arts and 3rd i NY present a special series showcasing the enduring arts and culture of the Armenians, who share a collective tragedy, and who have become an integral part and active voice in the tapestry of world cultures, specifically that of the Middle East and the Arab world, where distinct and complex Armenian communities have taken root and been nourished over the last century. THE RIVER RAN RED by J. Michael Hagopian

Winner of the Best International Historical Documentary of the New York International Film and Video Festival and Second Place (History and Biography) of the U.S. International Film and Video Festival

Part of The Witnesses Trilogy, a series of three films based on nearly 400 professionally filmed interviews taken since 1967, The River Ran Red depicts the search for survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 through the testimony of 30 eyewitnesses. Drawing from the rich texture of these intimate interviews, the film is the crown jewel of the trilogy and is a heart-rendering saga of a people in a long forced journey towards extermination, with the causes of the genocide discussed in the context of Armenian and Turkish history.

From the deportation orders of Armenians, reports by American missionaries and consuls, the treatment of orphaned children and their exile in the desert, forced conversions to Islam, loss of identity and secret telegrams, the viewer is taken from the waters of the legendary Euphrates River to the burning deserts of Syria, the final resting place of the 1,500,000 Armenians who perished.