Armenoid Productions– a documentary film production company of dedicated, storytellers of concealed history announced Wednesday that its documentary production Orphans of The Genocide will be screened by ValleyPBS, Station KPVT 18, in Fresno on April 18 at 7 p.m, Asbarez reports.
The screening will be part of the ValleyPBS station fundraising drive, which will be hosted by actor Ken Davitian from the Academy Award® winning film The Artist. Donors will receive copies of Orphans of the Genocide DVD and accompanying book with various levels of donations. Created by four-time Regional Emmy Award winner filmmaker, Bared Maronian, the documentary weaves historical archives with interviews and memoirs of Armenian orphans establishing irrevocable proof of the Armenian Genocide.
Orphans of the Genocide is an emotional visual journey through never-before-seen archival footage and discovered memoirs of orphans who lived through the last century’s first, fully documented and least recognized Armenian Genocide of 1915. The documentary follows Maurice Missak Kelechian whose research findings unveil the site of an Armenian orphanage located at the present day Antoura College near Beirut, Lebanon where 1,000 Armenian Genocide Orphans had lived and were forcefully converted and “Turkified” during W.W. I. In addition to the Antoura site, the documentary unveils numerous other orphanages where Armenian orphans were housed – and profiles one orphan girl who was adopted and later became one of Turkey’s high-profiled national icons as the daughter of Ataturk, the founder of modern-day Turkey. The documentary traces the lives of many orphans who lived through the horrors of a war, losing parents and being separated from siblings and shipped to various countries.
The documentary also explores the herculean task of the American Near East Relief Foundation in saving, feeding and sheltering over 150,000 documented Armenian genocide orphans between 1919 and 1926 by setting up over 200 temporary and permanent orphanages in Historic Armenia, Turkey and throughout the Middle East. One of these orphanages was built in Gumri, the second largest city in Armenia, and housed 22,000 orphans.
Additionally, Orphans of the Genocide includes interviews with numerous public figures including British journalist Robert Fisk – whose article “Living Proof of the Armenian Genocide” published in 2010 by The Independent included many of the archival proofs – Armenian-American Dr. Jack Kevorkian, as well as revealing testimonials from children of the Armenian Genocide orphans scattered around the world. The Armenoid team offers never-before-seen archival footage weaving stories of Armenian orphans from around the globe.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to premiere this powerful documentary on ValleyPBS. As Your Valley Classroom, we continually strive to bring compelling content such as Orphans of the Genocide to residents of the San Joaquin Valley who appreciate quality, educational programs and lifelong learning. This is truly an unforgettable show,” said Paula Castadio, ValleyPBS President & CEO.
