The film The Other Side of Home, which is under consideration for an Academy Award for short documentary, was shown to film industry members, including members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at New York’s Soho House. The final five nominees for the category will be announced Tuesday, January 24th.
Actor-writer Eric Bogosian gave the introduction at the event, which included the director, Naré Mkrtchyan and producer, Rob Fried.
“I’m so thankful that this film was chosen as one of the final ten candidates for an Academy Award,” said Mkrtchyan. “As a grandchild of survivors of the Armenian Genocide this means a lot to me. In a way, it’s a confirmation that this topic which has been silenced for so long is universally understood, that it’s one worth telling, and one that audiences would like to see.”
Audience at The Other Side of Home screening in New York’s Soho House
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“It’s a very powerful story, told in a very modern and engaging way,” said Chris Parnagian, who attended the screening and was among the donors who contributing to the event.
Conceived, directed and narrated by Mkrtchyan, the 40-minute documentary follows her on a trip Turkey in April, 2015, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
In the film, Naré visits Maya, a Turkish woman who recently discovered that her great grandmother was a “hidden” Armenian Genocide survivor. Through interviews conducted in Turkey and Armenia, Maya reveals her emotional struggle to reconcile her dual identity, compounded by generations of official denial by Turkey.
The filmmakers answered questions about the film’s behind-the-scenes process; Among them – how the filmmaker found the subject, Maya, about traveling through Turkey during the genocide centennial, about Naré’s sometimes difficult discussions with Maya about genocide recognition.
The Genocide Education Project thanks the generous donors and organizers who helped make the event a success — Rachel and Paul Nadjarian, Alexis Alexanian and Douglas Graham, Emma Arakelyan and Tiran Nalbandyan, Lisa and Chris Parnagian, and Dikran and Seda Kaligian.
