nairi Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Follow-up of Ararat? THE FILM | My Son Shall Be Armenian Between 1915 and 1923, one and a half million Armenians were massacred by the Turkish Ottoman army. Since then, this people with a 3000-year history has struggled against oblivion and for official recognition of what was the first genocide of the 20th century. A reflection on Armenian identity, My Son Shall Be Armenian follows filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian and five Montrealers of Armenian descent as they return to the land of their forebears in search of survivors of the 1915 genocide. Goudsouzian weaves the moving accounts of these centenarians and the touching, at times droll, reactions of the New World travellers into a dignified and poignant film about the need to make peace with the past in order to move into the future. There are almost four million Armenians living in Armenia today, and nearly as many scattered throughout the world, 100,000 of them in Canada. Five of these Armenian-Canadians accompany the filmmaker on his odyssey of remembrance: Lousnak Abdalian, an artist whose work explores the theme of Armenian identity; Gabriella Djerrahian, an anthropological research assistant who is fascinated by cultural memory and its transmission; Martine Batani, a young Montrealer who contacted the filmmaker herself to request that she be included in the project; Garo Shamlian, a professor of architecture who was born in Istanbul and came to Canada in 1962; and Patrick Masbourian, a well-known television host in Quebec, born in Florida from French parents of Armenian descent. At the outset of this six-year adventure, Goudsouzian intended to retrace the deportees’ route through the Syrian desert on the banks of the Euphrates, where thousands of Armenians were massacred. Just 48 hours before their departure, however, Syrian authorities refused to issue visas to the travellers, forcing the filmmaker to switch course. The little band then combed the Armenian countryside to find survivors. Of the original project, all that remains are the emotionally arresting desert photographs, in which the bones of mass graves are still visible, evoking the horror that took place there—men lined up one behind the other so that ten could be killed with one bullet; two people tied together and thrown into the Euphrates where one would be shot to death, dragging the other down to a watery death—acts driven by the will to systematically destroy a people. “In making this film,” confides Goudsouzian, “I wanted to go beyond the Armenian identification with suffering so that my son may grow up experiencing joy and pride in his origins.” It is believed that Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat. From just inside the Turkish border, the great mountain rises above the city of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, old for at least 2500 years. Here commences the journey of the six modern-day pilgrims and, for some of them, the shock of discovering a country where “everything is in Armenian,” a mythical country that is suddenly very real and human. It is a cultural and emotional shock that crystallizes during the encounters with survivors scattered in isolated villages. These alert centenarians, eyes moist with tears and voices taut with anger, evoke the distant years of their shattered childhoods. The emotion of the young travellers, many of whom were raised knowing very little about their heritage, is evident. There are scenes of poignant intensity, like Lousnak Abdalian’s reaction when she sees her grandmother in the face of a centenarian, or the sight of Patrick Masbourian carrying his grandfather’s ashes. Interspersed with these spontaneous personal moments are archival photographs and film footage, including the stunningly realistic images from Ravished Armenia, a little-known Hollywood film released in 1919 about a young woman who survived the deportation. The 1998 earthquake, with its toll of 25,000, was a tragedy; what happened in 1915 was a genocide. Recovery from trauma, whether individual or collective, requires that the traumatic episode be acknowledged. As long as the Armenian genocide continues to go unacknowledged, the shame of silence will compound the suffering, preventing rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey and the restoration of peace to the Armenian soul and its deep-rooted identity. In dedicating this film to his father and young son, Goudsouzian wishes to link the past to the future so that future generations of Armenians will no longer have to bear the burden of silence. The images in the film are accompanied by a stirring narration written by Michel Langlois and read by Goudsouzian. Beyond the specific case of the Armenian genocide, the film asserts the determination to prevent history from repeating itself, as it has already with the Holocaust and the Cambodian, Bosnian and Rwandan genocides. As early as 1895, during the first waves of Ottoman Turkish repression, there were headlines in The New York Times: “Another Armenian Holocaust.” If indeed we all are responsible for humanity’s greatness as well as its barbarity, why do we not learn from our mistakes? An idealist at heart, Goudsouzian hopes that his film will “help prevent future genocides before they start.” A sensitive and compassionate documentary interweaving collective memory with the director’s personal point of view, My Son Shall Be Armenian serves as a bridge between peoples, urging reconciliation with the past and the construction of a more just future. Running Time : 80 min 42 sec THE DIRECTOR | Hagop Goudsouzian Born in Egypt, Hagop Goudsouzian is of Armenian descent and currently lives in Toronto. He has a wealth of experience in film and video production. In partnership with TVOntario–TFO, he has produced and directed a number of television series, including Dossiers XXX, a documentary series in which science and technology are presented from a teenage perspective. Goudsouzian also created and directed the series Un autre son de cloche, produced to coincide with the International Year of the Family. In each episode of this series, skits written and played by children aged 9 to 12 address various social and family issues based on the children’s perceptions and experience. Goudsouzian’s interest in young viewers led to the creation of another project, Nouvelles nouvelles, a children’s magazine that won the Children’s Broadcast Institute Award of Merit in 1991. As well as being a producer and director, Hagop Goudsouzian is also a photographer; his work was exhibited at the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec before touring various North American galleries. Hagop Goudsouzian is presently working on the development of Three Waves–Trois Vagues, a video self-portrait in which he pursues his quest for identity, a theme that also inspired him to make Mon fils sera arménien. CREDITS | My Son Shall Be Armenian A National Film Board of Canada production Producer Yves Bisaillon A film by Hagop Goudsouzian I dedicate this film to my father, in fulfilment of the duty he entrusted to me; and to my son, so that he may live without this burden. My son shall be armenian With the participation of Lousnak Abdalian Martine Batani Gabriella Djerrahian Arudz Goudsouzian Patrick Masbourian Garo Shamlian And Mariam Avoyan Manoushag Der Stepanian Gulenia Dzerouni Hagop Khayalyan Movsess Makhoulian Director / Researcher Hagop Goudsouzian Script Hagop Goudsouzian Georgette Duchaîne Director of Photography Alberto Feio Supplementary Footage (Armenia) Lousnak Abdalian Martine Batani Gabriella Djerrahian Garo Shamlian Stills Photography (Armenia) Patrick Masbourian Stills Photography (Syria) Hagop Goudsouzian Sound Jean-Denis Daoust Editing André Corriveau Narration Script Michel Langlois Sound Editing Leopoldo Gutierrez assisté de Louis Desparois Production Managers Jelena Popovic Sylvie Lapointe Production Assistant Laurent Peyre Crew (Armenia) Location Consultants Nubar Goudsouzian Verjine Svazlian Interpreters Arpi Avetisyan Suzanna Haroutiunyan Guides Edik Hovhannissyan Haroutiune Donoyan Ludwig Malkassyan Gagik Garabedyan Hrach Avetisyan Stills Photography Jean-Denis Daoust Narration Hagop Goudsouzian Voice Director Kathleen Fee Poem (excerpt) La Terre rouge, Daniel Varoujean © All rights reserved Narration Recording Geoffrey Mitchell Foley Artist Stéphane Cadotte Assisted by Anthony Mari Traditional Music © Ararat Petrossian Musicians Ararat Petrossian, duduk Anahit Isagulyan, kanone Excerpts from Melody of Sunik, performed by Ararat Petrossian reproduced with permission from Raffi Dilsizian Traditional Songs Excerpts from Kantché Kroonk sung by Anahit Goudsouzian with permission from Geghard Excerpt from Aree Yértank Sarn E Sasoun performed by Anahit Goudsouzian reproduced with permission from Anahit Goudsouzian Liturgical Songs Anahit Goudsouzian Le Choeur uni du 24 avril Arthur Muhendissian, organist Ara Toshikian, musical director Consultants Houshang Hassan-Yari Raymond H. Kévorkian Levon Marashlian Lorne Shirinian Translation Grégoire Goudsouzian Nourhan Ouzounian Anrá Média Textes Technical Support, Editing Martine Forget Martine Chamberland On-Line Editing Sylvain Desbiens Denis Gathelier Re-recording Serge Boivin Jean Paul Vialard Computer Graphics Louise Overy Animation Camera Pierre Landry Titles Gaspard Gaudreau Archival Research Jelena Popovic Archives Goudsouzian Family Shamlian Family Robert and Violette Jebejian Library (Syria) Armen Aroyan Armenian Library and Museum of America Armenian National Cinematheque (Arménie) © Armenian National Institute (US) Photo de Armin T. Wegner courtesy of Sybil Stevens Central State Historical Archives (Armenia) Rare Books and Special Collection Division McGill University Libraries Zoryan Institute of Canada New York Times Radio-Canada Save the Children, U.K. Acknowledgements Gayaneh Abdalian Atken Armenian Antoine Agoudjian Shakeh Avanessian Hourig Attarian Avoyan Family Aris Babikian Dr. Kévork Baghdjian Julie Bouffard Anaït Chorbadjian Harry Dikranian Vartkes Dolabjian Maria Dolmajian Agop T. Evereklian Nelly Hogikyan Louisa Khabayan-Jebejian Pietro Kuciukian Sonya Mirzoyan Viken Sarkissian George Shirinian Henry Theriault Wilhelm van Kampen Garegin Zakoyan Students of the University of Yerevan The Armenian community in Alep The crew of La Revanche des nerdZ Studio Pixcom Hayastan Foundation Canada Inc. Gerald E. Ottenbreit Jr. Armenian Research Center University of Michigan-Dearborn Lavrenti Barseghian Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute (Yerevan) Ludvig Boulghadaryan and Garni, the Armenian folkdance ensemble The Armenian Cathedral St-Grégoire-l'Illuminateur (Montreal) Hotel Arma (Yerevan) National Museum Institute of Architecture (Yerevan) And Our friends in Syria for their friendship and hospitality Marketing Officer David Boisclair Administrator Denise DesLauriers Administrative Team Hélène Regimbal Lise Lévesque Marie-Josée Lavoie Technical Coordinators Jean-François Laprise j. Brigitte Sénéchal Line Producer Christian Medawar Executive Producer Yves Bisaillon my son shall be armenian French Program Studio Documentairy B National Film Board of Canada © 2004 National Film Board of Canada www.nfb.ca/mysonshallbearmenian THE PRODUCER | Yves Bisaillon Yves Bisaillon was born in Montreal and holds a degree in Urban Planning from Université de Montréal and in Communications from Université du Québec à Montréal. He worked as a director for TVOntario from 1990 to 1992, making Le Cri du silence (1991), a documentary produced by Alfa Nova on the poet and playwright Jean-Marc Dalpé. From 1992 to 1995, as a director with Radio-Canada's regional and national networks, he worked on dozens of TV documentaries and reports in the series Second Regard and Objectif Ontario, for which he received a Gémeaux award in 1993 and a Gémeaux nomination in 1994. He also directed some fifty arts and culture reports for Radio-Canada. His directing credits include the documentary film Il était deux fois une élection, produced by the National Film Board, the co-production Le Quatuor de l'exil (winner of the UNESCO Award at the Vues d'Afrique festival in 1995), and the series Au-delà de l'image, which he directed for Radio-Canada in 1997. Bisaillon joined the NFB as a producer in 1997. His productions include Arjuna, The Black Squirrel, Fragments of Lost History, No Quick Fix and Shadow Chasers as well as Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation (1999), which won a Genie Award for best feature documentary and the award for best Canadian first feature at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins (2001) and Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story (2002), which won three Gemini awards (best writing in a documentary program or series, best history or biography documentary program and best direction in a documentary program). SCREENINGS | My Son Shall Be Armenian There are no new screenings to report, please check back soon. ORDER INFORMATION | My Son Shall Be Armenian Available soon! Canadian and US residents can find all new NFB releases, bestsellers and more at our online store. Outside North America, click here. Or, for more information, call toll-free: In Canada: 1-800-267-7710 In the US: 1-800-542-2164 A National Film Board of Canada Production - 2004 © All Rights Reserved. Important Notices http://www.nfb.ca/mysonshallbearmenian/# Also: http://www.tribute.ca/synopsis.asp?m_id=9508 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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