A young talented American Armenian Journalist like many Armenian Vic Gerami is frustrated by the world’s silence.

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Wally Sarkeesian in Conversation with the Motherland Filmmaker Vic Gerami https://t.co/eVKCz437Dm

— Wally Sarkeesian (@gagrulenet) September 5, 2022

Here is his story

Written, produced, and directed by Vic Gerami, ‘Motherland’ is a journalistic investigative documentary feature film about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s unprovoked genocidal attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020 and the massacre of 5,000+ people, and the two nations’ ongoing campaign of hate, violence, and disinformation against the indigenous Armenians.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I felt different, an outsider, due to my
Armenian ethnicity, national origin, and sexual orientation. These
factors made it challenging to have a clear identity, as I was
keenly aware of being a minority on many levels, marginalized,
and felt at a disadvantage in my community and from my
peers.

When I turned three years old, my parents took me to visit
Armenia and remarkably those early memories and images
remained embedded in my heart from our three-month trip. It was
a life-altering experience that instilled a love for my motherland.
When you feel you don’t belong, you hold on to your roots tightly.
I spent years learning about the 1915 Armenian Genocide, when 1.5 million Armenian were
exterminated from their historic homeland by the Ottoman Turks. This ancient land, Armenia,
is historically where Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat, was the first nation to adopt
Christianity as a State religion and the beautiful Armenian highlands were famously
memorialized by William Saroyan in his iconic novels.
It was a shock when on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan and Turkey unleashed an
unprovoked genocidal assault and ethnic cleansing on the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-
Karabakh) and massacred 5,000+ people in 44 days. It triggered and awakened deep
wounds in Armenian communities worldwide and ignited new trauma. I watched the horrors
of Armenians being slaughtered, beheaded, and violated in unimaginable ways while
witnessing the international community’s deafening silence. truth was not being reported.
It became clear that this 21st-century slaughter taking place needed to be properly
documented and accurately reported. Without hesitation, I packed up and flew to my
embattled motherland to personally interview officials, veterans, experts, and journalists. I
documented precisely how Azerbaijan’s president, Aliyev, and Turkish President Erdoğan – a
pair of dictators and self-professed “brothers” – are pulling the wool over the world’s eyes,
and in the process, getting away with mass murder.
I was determined to make a documentary film aimed at a worldwide audience so that
international viewers would see and experience the extraordinary beauty of Armenia and
Artsakh, understand the context of the unprovoked attack and be eyewitnesses to the
humanitarian catastrophe. ‘Motherland’ is raw, unfiltered, and without compromise.
‘Motherland’ is dedicated to the bright memory of the 5,000+ Armenian martyrs in 2020.

Written, produced, and directed by Vic Gerami, ‘Motherland’ is a journalistic investigative documentary feature film about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s unprovoked genocidal attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020 and the massacre of 5,000+ people, and the two nations’ ongoing campaign of hate, violence, and disinformation against the indigenous Armenians.

SYNOPSIS
It took 106 years before the United States formally recognized the Armenian Genocide
of 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. On April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden
became the first US president to officially recognize the Armenian genocide and to
recommit to prevent such an atrocity from occurring again. Tragically, history is
repeating itself with Turkey’s ongoing genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against
Armenians as we’ve witnessed recently in Artsakh. “Motherland” tells the story of this
ongoing tragic chapter through the lens of Armenian-American journalist and LGBTQ+
activist, Vic Gerami.
MOTHERLAND is a 120-minute documentary feature film about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s
unprovoked genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against Armenians of Artsakh, also
known as Nagorno-Karabakh, starting on September 27, 2020. Azerbaijan with the
declared assistance from Turkey reawakened the conflict from dormancy by
launching a large-scale offensive against Artsakh. In its war effort, Azerbaijan relied on
thousands of Turkish-paid jihadist mercenaries airlifted from terrorist camps in Syria,
Libya, and Pakistan, and brought to fight alongside the Azerbaijani Army. The 2020
invasion opened a new chapter in the history of regional warfare and involved
unmatched suffering of the civilian population. For 44 days, the world largely watched
in deafening silence as over 5,000 Armenians were massacred.
With illegal and banned weapons, including cluster bombs and white phosphorus
munitions, the aggressors destroyed towns and villages, indiscriminately killed people
mainly between the ages of 18-21, and occupied approximately 80% of Artsakh.
By November 9, 2020, when a new ceasefire was declared, 100,000 people, 2/3 of
Artsakh’s population was driven out of their ancestral land and made refugees.
Despite calls from bipartisan Congress members to intervene, most of the world stayed
silent. Many nations, mainly in Europe, are heavily invested in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas
and the Caspian pipeline that delivers it to Europe.
Through a journalist and activist’s lens, Motherland focuses the world’s attention on the
atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Azerbaijan and
Turkey against Artsakh and Armenia. It chronicles the struggle of the Armenian people
to come to terms with its fate, mourn the loss more than 5,000 people, and pick up the
pieces and carry on as they have for millennia. It includes interviews with war heroes,
displaced refugees, American and Armenian high-profile elected officials, and
ordinary people.
The film also accounts for the apathy of the greater world community, the hypocrisy of
public figures who preach about human rights but show inaction when reality hits, and
how the press is easily manipulated by a rogue nation’s campaign of hate,
disinformation, and propaganda.

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Beverly Hills, California

Hundreds of activists, community leaders, public officials, supporters, and generous donors attended the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region’s Grassroots Luncheon hosted at the Beverly Hilton on November 21, where Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Dr. Arman Tatoyan was bestowed the ANCA-WR’s “Human Rights Champion” Award for his tireless work in upholding the rights of the Armenian people.

ANCA-WR is a leading Armenian-American organization for a two-week hosted Dr. Tatoyan delegation trip to engage with community stakeholders, elected officials, academic circles, coalition partners as well as local and national media to provide a briefing on the current situation, including presenting on his latest reports on Azerbaijan’s torture and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.

Immediately prior to the luncheon, Dr. Tatoyan participated in a press conference where he briefed local and community media on Azerbaijan’s November 16 incursion and assault on the Republic of Armenia which resulted in the deaths of at least 8 Armenian servicemembers and the capture of at least a dozen more – whom international human rights organizations have already noted have been subject to abuse and torture. Dr. Tatoyan also briefed the media on the status of prisoners of war, and ongoing international legal efforts – specifically, through Armenia’s trial against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice over its violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The press conference was followed by the outdoor luncheon held at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel, which began with an invocation delivered by the Very Reverend Muron Aznikian of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and opening remarks welcoming dignitaries and honored guests delivered by ANCA-WR Board Member Lina Davidian Esq.

Following the video presentation, ANCA-WR Board Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. took to the stage and thanked all the generous donors whose support and encouragement continue to inspire the ANCA-WR team, and especially the event sponsors, Mr. & Mrs. Varant and Hoori Melkonian, for their unwavering support. In delivering the organizational message, Hovsepian emphasized the need for the Armenian-American community to remain laser-focused in its mission to ensure the security of the Armenian nation.

ANCA-WR Vice-Chair Raffi Kassabian Esq., Presenting the ANCA-WR’s “Human Rights Champion” Award to Dr. Tatoyan was who highlighted the honoree’s tireless pursuit of justice in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. “Dr. Tatoyan is the embodiment of courage. When others in government turned a blind eye, Dr. Tatoyan demanded accountability from the perpetrator regime. When others acquiesced to the defeat to the enemy after the 44-day war, Dr. Tatoyan raised alarms in the international community to invoke justice,” Kassabian remarked.

“And when Azerbaijan attempted to sweep its heinous genocidal conduct under the rug, Dr. Tatoyan pointedly engaged in a fact-finding mission to expose Azerbaijan for what it is – a modern-day genocidal regime,” Kassabian continued.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Tatoyan reported on Azerbaijan’s recent assault on the Armenian people, highlighting how Azerbaijan’s state-sponsored Armenophobia serves as a driving force behind Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against the Armenian people. Dr. Tatoyan also sent a strong message to the Diaspora, thanking the community for its vigilance in advocating for the rights of the people of Armenia – and urging unity in the face of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s efforts to sow artificial divisions between the Armenian people. In thanking the ANCA-WR for hosting him in California, Dr. Tatoyan issued a certificate of recognition to Nora Hovsepian on behalf of the ANCA-WR Board for the organization’s tireless advocacy work. Certificates of recognition were also issued to distinguished legal experts Garo Ghazarian, Esq. and Karnig Kerkonian, Esq. for their critical contributions to holding Turkey and Azerbaijan accountable for the egregious human rights abuses perpetrated against the Armenian people under international law and for their steadfast support and collaboration with of the office of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender.

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