Portland, ME, USA – May 26, 2020 – In 2017 author, human rights advocate, an Armenian American author and a city councilmember, Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, was invited to be featured in the filming of a documentary by French-Canadian filmmaker Francois Jacob, titled “Under the Same Sun.” The film’s world premier will take place at the Canadian Hot Docs Film Festival on May 28th in Ontario, Canada. The ten-day festival will last through June 6th online at www.hotdocs.ca due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film will then premier in the United States and other locations later in the year.
Astvatsaturian Turcotte was filmed across the United States, Armenia and Artsakh during the last two and a half years. The documentary explores the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the eyes of various individuals, including Astvatsaturian Turcotte, delving into her childhood as an Armenian refugee from Azerbaijan, her current life as a public person, a human rights advocate, activist for the people of Artsakh, author and a politician. The filmmaker showcases Astvatsaturian Turcotte’s work of advocating for and supporting the people of Artsakh through various projects. The film crew also filmed Astvatsaturian Turcotte’s childhood home and school in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In addition to Astvatsaturian Turcotte’s story, the documentary also attempts to look at the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from opposing viewpoints. Ms. Astvatsaturian Turcotte does not endorse and does not agree with the views of these individuals, nor is she endorsing the viewpoint of the film as a whole, recognizing that Mr. Jacob, as an outside, had to work with various multifaceted components of a complicated conflict, explore the history of the region, and demonstrate conflicting sides to give the conflict and the film the respect that it deserved. Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte does, however, endorse the humanity behind the film, the beauty of Armenia, of the Armenian history, Armenian people, and awe-inspiring resilience of people of independent and free Artsakh.
Attached: Biography of Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte
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Photo of Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte
