A new Genocide documentary, Voices, will premiere in Istanbul (but
don't tell anyone just yet)
Artist and filmmaker Apo Torosyan recently completed a new 40-minute
documentary Voices, in which he interviews three survivors of the Armenian
Genocide (the oldest being 107), and one survivor of the Pontic Greek
genocide.
In April, Voices will be premiered at IHD, the Human Rights Organization
in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul is Torosyan's native city, but the artist,
who now resides in the United States, considers it dangerous to return
there since he has made several documentaries about the Armenian
Genocide.
According to Torosyan, the specific date and venue for the IHD premier
of Voices will not be announced until shortly before the event, in the
hope that this will circumvent disruptions by Istanbul's nationalist
elements.
Torosyan broached the subject during a January radio interview on New
York's "Radio Greece," alongside Ragip Zarakolu, the Turkish publisher
of (among other works) the Turkish edition of Peter Balakian's The
Burning Tigris. Zarakolu, who has faced severe harassment, legal and
otherwise, for publishing such books, discussed the possibility of
growing danger to those who speak about the Genocide within Turkey, in
the immediate aftermath of the Hrant Dink assassination.
For American audiences interested in viewing Torosyan's film, a short
version of Voices will be screened at Peabody City Hall, in Peabody,
Mass., on April 23, at 11:00 a.m. At 9:00 p.m. that same day, the local
Comcast Cable channel 22 will screen the full 40-minute version of
Voices. A DVD version may also be obtained through Hairenik Bookstore,
ALMA, Sardarabad Bookstore, and other sources.
connect:
Peabody City Hall 1-978-538-5700
[email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]