CINEMA: “The Cut” triumph in Marseille

Presented in Films Caesar, in the preamble of the 7th edition of International Amnesia, the premiere of the film by Fatih Akin was a success.

The large audience in the three rooms where the film was screened, waiting impatiently. And when they arrived, the audience stood up to applaud the length. Around Fatih Akin, Simon Abkarian and the film crew met with Marseille after the screening. Joy, pride and emotion were the dominant feelings Wednesday night in Marseille.

I had long been the project of a film about the Armenian Genocide. It took me seven years to realize it. The history of the Genocide is part of the common history of Turks and Armenians, says Fatih Akin. The film is based on my relationship with the land of my parents, Turkey, which is in denial and refusal to think about the Genocide. The silence of the hero, Nazaret Manoogian losing speech, is a symbol of freedom of expression is threatened and we must defend it. The silence still dominates on the Armenian issue in Turkey, says Fatih Akin. This film is not a turning point in Turkish society. The turning point, it was the assassination of Hrant Dink in January 2007. His death caused a shock wave but also opened a hope and demand the right to dialogue between Turkish and Armenian. The movie explains Akin passes in twenty-four rooms in Turkey. He did not make waves and caused no outcry.

With actor Tahar Rahim who plays the role of Nazaret Manoogian, Simon Abkarian points out, “the actor that I am, it is also the story that I carry with me. Armenians are haunted by this story. I was told that Fatih Akin preparing a film about the Armenian Genocide. I can not suspicious of him because he is an artist. The film touched me and I am proud to have participated as an actor and as an Armenian. If Akin offers me to work with him again, I’ll tell him yes and we share bread together, like in the movie, “insists Simon Abkarian.