River

Oops ! It is on Saturday, April 12, between 7 and 9 p.m. In Montreal it is on Videotron 21, 46. LOOk TV 80, 82. PBS is a US broadcasting unit - for further info in your area please go to pbs.org. They have a good website ! Enjoy ! P.S. it is MOUNTAIN LAKE PBS Channel.

Domino, I don't know what happened to my reply . I just don't want you to think i'm ignoring your comments. I have to remember the exact wording because i did write an answer but it's not going to be my original answer. Anyways, it looks like a new and more current topic is added now.

There will be a broadcast entitled ARMENIANS: A STORY OF SURVIVAL on Mountain Lake ,PBS . It's to be shown between 7 and 9 p.m. If i'm not mistaken it's sponsored by AGBU- but who cares. Also, David Barsamian , of 'alternative radio' will be in Montreal . I have not heard him or visited his site, so if i'm offending anyone please forgive. His website is, of course, alternativeradio.org. He works with Noam Chomsky.

Hi Gamavor, thanks for the info. I'll try to do a search of the Vatican archives- although i have not 'visited' their site. As for the Crusades, i think, they reflected how brutal human beings can be. I would go as far as labelling it one of the ugliest ventures undertaken under the pretext of Christianity or religion ( any similarities with what's happening in Iraq - partially ?) Check out beliefnet.com for the last commentary. Another form of 'globalisation'. I believe that a good number of the Crusaders were there for their personal gains. Of course there were convicts who were given a chance to 'be free' if they participated in the armed forces. Why not ? Either way they were not in charge of their destiny. Anything that has to do with overstepping the rights of another person does not contain 'noble' intentions. Just to digress a bit here's what i read on another forum : it's attributed to Ben Franklin- Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what is for lunch. Liberty is when a well-armed lamb disputes the decision. Cheers !

May i just bring one point to your attention. For the Jews the Holocaust is supreme ! We have one Jewish friend to whom we asked why do you keep on talking about it so much ? He said so that " we never forget it". Let me tell you that for us the Genocide is a sore point. Many of us want to 'forget it' - not me since i try to remind my kids of what has happened and what my aunt and grandfather have gone through...they talk about it at school to their non-Armenian friends, teachers etc. They plan to go to Ottawa on the 24th ! But, a lot of kids have got this apathy- yes, as you observed they are "bored" with the subject matter. Their priorities are elsewhere. One non-Armenian friend of mine said to me that for us to be accepted and our cause to be considered as commonplace we have to create a "face"- so that the lay person will be able to recognize or identify that face with the Armenian Genocide. I think Egoyan achieved that to a certain extent, i stand to be corrected, but i've been avoiding to state that the Armenian Cause is always nipped at its bud. The Jews and the Turks DO NOT WISH US TO BE THERE IN THE LIMELIGHT ! Forget it that we did not support it properly- i'm sure a lot of movies that lacked the standard of good subject matter, artistry or whatever DID make it to the Oscars anyway......and took it home.

You know in Montreal we had buses driving to and fro to help people to have the chance to go and watch ARARAT. For quite a few people it was incomprehensible. Egoyan's art is not for everybody. However, no effort was spared to have full attendance at the 2 theaters. You are correct not everybody went to watch it for reasons of their own- i'm sure. Yes, the Jews support one another as they have a major goal. The Armenians , in my humble opinion, have developed an apathy towards their cause, their organisations and the forthcoming youth is influenced by this attitude. On one hand we aspire to achieve recognition and yearn for compensation and on the other hand we do not put the proper effort. Sporadic attempts are made and enormous pressure is dumped on the very few who work. Furthermore, there is a lack of preparedness to go the extra mile. I digress. Sorry. The Oscars is another matter. Should i go as far as stating that if you do not belong to a particular ethnic group you cannot pass the threshold....Under no circumstances ARARAT is to be mentioned since it would validate what some people would rather be forgotten.

I emailed Keran re her interest in Armenian , especially, Cilician history. She is a bright lady who wants to do more research into Medieval Armenian History focusing on the interaction between Europeans (Crusaders) and Armenians. That falls right into my line of interest. What we need is as much info as possible. She has access to books but any input would be much appreciated. As 'hytga' says " KNOWLEDGE IS POWER". Thanks in advance.

The reason that the Armenian Genocide 'is obscure...unlike the Holocaust' is because of several forces working against us- namely, the Turkish policy of denial, the Jewish / Israeli lobby etc. We have not infiltrated everywhere to make sure nobody utters a word against the Armenian Genocide, have we ? I live in Montreal where the Armenian lobby is quite strong- thanks to the Frech/Quebecois empathy. But on a higher level, like the Federal government we still have resistance from certain quarters and reluctance to recognize it nationally. Throughout the year whether it be on radio, TV, film industry we are constantly and consistently reminded of the Holocaust. No breather. As for the Armenians to produce something about our tragedy takes one or two dedicated, gifted members to accomplish it. The gap between productions is too wide; by the time the next work is ready to be presented to the public we've lost the touch and the communication has disappeared into the ether....It takes a monumental effort for a project to transpire and it's usually through the persistence of the person with that goal/vision in his mind.

Ararat......how do you explain that a film that got most of the nominations...had no nomination for the best direction, when the direction is about putting all those pieces together? .........there should not have been any competition between Cronenberg and Egoyan..... Voila. Hasn't there been any situations, irrespective of previous Oscars/Genie awards where one particular director 'sweeps the floor' ? And they come back again and again and 'carry home' the best directorship ? Yes, Telefilm Canada had to justify its grant to Cronenberg. Probably, Egoyan was left out , this time, because the issue was turned into politics- before the awards. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors ?

A thousand kudos to Mrs. Peltekian. It's an honor to receive such an award. Wish her all the best in the coming years. It doesn't look like she will stop achieving more in her life. What a rich background she has. I hope this will be an incentive for others to do similar things.

I'm in total agreement with you. Egoyan has always been praised in the Canadian media, at least consistently, except for ARARAT - where one critic went as far as calling Egoyan's 'brilliant failure'...sure, sure . Even at the Genie Awards (sp.), which i watched on STAR TV there was an implication , by the female interviewer, that what's inside the envelope was already pre-arranged. Hah ! like nothing of the sort happens anywhere else...The audacity of it all. And of course the best director award went to Kronenberg and not to Atom. I remember, a few years back, here in the Canadian media, Atom had a nomination for ? film, i don't remember, they were commenting that the director of the TITANIC should sweep the floor and Egoyan should pull back his nomination. I'm sure there are many artists who deserve to receive the Oscars but do not meet the criteria. Egoyan was awarded on a tribute night dedicated to him last thursday, in Montreal- by his own community. What a talented couple they are. We should not forget Arsine, his wife. Cheers !

The Oscars Hi there, this is my first time on this forum which i find very interesting and interactive, to say the least. I could not help to reply to this topic. I refused to watch the Oscars. It was out of place and insensitive to carry on something as glamorous (less pizazz this year) and celebratory . So many people were being bombarded , so many people's lives were endangered - both sides- civilians, invaders, tyrants etc. Or may be some people wanted us to watch this event rather than that event- is life so superficial and does Hollywood condition our tastes and attitudes ? Another bone of contention is Roman Polanski - a sociopath or a psychopath- being credited for a topic which will some day run out of resources and steam. From the very onset, the stage was played to oust any hope for Egoyan's ARARAT to 'be there'. No effort was spared to push away Egoyan. Surely, a new topic, another nationality and its grief could find a place there..... Sometimes provisions are made to comply to such situations. As for Michael Moore, perhaps he was too 'loud' but somebody has to voice what a lot of people think and feel but do not express themselves out of fear .