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“Intent to Destroy” Offers a Meditative History of the Armenian Genocide

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Intent to Destroy

Intent to Destroy

It’s a movie about a historical crime, but it’s also a movie about another movie,

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In Intent to Destroy, documentarian Joe Berlinger attempts to assemble a sort of meditative history of the Armenian genocide and its century-long cover-up by the Turkish government out of a curious source: behind-the-scenes footage of the production of Terry George’s film The Promise, a sweeping historical saga with movie stars and first-rate production values, financed independently and released in the spring of 2017.

As a film, The Promise is interesting for its subject and the struggle to get it made, rather than its own drama or technique; Intent to Destroy uses The Promise as something of a guide, as our entree into the history, as if the filmmakers assume that we need to see Oscar Isaac to care about the extermination of millions. “There’s a scene in the movie where Christian Bale goes and attempts to take pictures of what’s happening to the Armenians,” one of the many interviewees tells us, his words illustrated with a clip from The Promise. He continues, “In the real world, it was forbidden to take pictures of anything.” That leads to an enlightening discussion of the practicalities of the Ottoman Empire’s mass murder of Armenians.

Intent to Destroy sometimes plays like a DVD extra that might have accompanied The Promise, but it does have value of its own in its interviews with historians, philosophers, and filmmakers and its vintage photos and footage. Even that footage of the shooting of The Promise bears fruit when Armenian actors in the cast speak to Berlinger’s cameras and to one another about their families’ experience during the long-ago massacres, the hundred-year diaspora that followed, and the terrible success of Turkey’s efforts to pretend it all never happened. In these moments, we’re watching artists not just tell their own vital stories but consider, with some awe, the significance of their finally having the opportunity to do so.

Intent to Destroy
Directed by Joe Berlinger
Abramorama
Opens November 10, Village East Cinema

Source: https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/11/08/intent-to-destroy-offers-a-meditative-history-of-the-armenian-genocide/

How Chris Cornell Found Inspiration for His Song From Armenian Genocide Film ‘The Promise’

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Even though the Armenian genocide depicted in Open Road’s The Promise took place more than 100 years ago, when Chris Cornell wrote the searing end-title theme, he wanted to bring awareness to similar atrocities going on today.

“Rather than people thinking, ‘Wow, what a horrendous thing that happened a century ago,’ I’d love for them to realize that it is happening now and the fact that the warning signs are always the same leading up to a genocide,” said the late Soundgarden singer in an interview a few weeks before his May 2017 death and shortly before the film, starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, opened.

However, when Cornell wrote “The Promise,” musically he stayed rooted in the past. “That was a conundrum I hadn’t dealt with before. I couldn’t have any popular music references that are natural to me” like Led Zeppelin or The Beatles, he said. He also didn’t want to write a strictly period piece tied to the early 1900s, using only instruments that existed in Armenia, “because the song needed to do a bigger job, it shouldn’t be confined by geography or time.” He settled on acoustic guitar, piano, tympanis and strings, with orchestration by the late Grammy-winning arranger Paul Buckmaster.

Lyrically, Cornell, who earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2012 for “The Keeper” from Machine Gun Preacher, drew from The Promise writer-director Terry George’s script and rough edits of the film, as well as research – reading and watching documentaries – about the genocide. He told the story from the perspective of a young man singing to a photo of his father or grandfather about the inspiration they had provided by persevering through horrendous acts. Though not Armenian, Cornell also drew upon his wife’s Greek heritage since her ancestors were affected by the same World War I genocide that led to the death of 1.5 million Armenians.

Cornell, who donated proceeds from the song to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that provides assistance to those fleeing conflict, wanted to leave viewers with a sense of hope. “The hope was built into the story,” he said. “To me, the challenge was being able to distill it in a couple of verses and a chorus.

Review: ‘Intent to Destroy’ Shows That the Armenian Past Is Not Over

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‘Intent to Destroy’

coming soon Wally Sarkeesian Interview Joe Berlinger, director ‘Intent to Destroy’

(NYtimes) A level-headed documentary lies behind the hot-blooded title of “Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction.” While there may be no completely dispassionate way to discuss its topic — the Armenian genocide — the film’s balance of emotion and composure helps make its stories even stronger.

Some 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in the early part of the 20th century. What should be an accepted fact remains a provocative topic, as the Turkish government continues to ignore or deny the events and, as it has for a century, coerce businesses and push other governments to do the same.

Joe Berlinger, the director, uses old footage of survivors and insights from historians to provide an overview of the crimes. He also embeds himself with the cast and crew of “The Promise,” a recent fictional film set around 1915 that explores the fighting and mass killings. Mr. Berlinger’s plan is smart as well as symbolic — evidence shows that the Turkish government has often pressured studios into shelving movies about the genocide.

Discussions on the film set are intertwined with historical analysis, and there are explorations of crowd psychology, revisionism and German cooperation with the Ottoman Turks; it’s no stretch to see how the massacre of Armenians helped lay groundwork for the Holocaust.

At its core, “Intent to Destroy” is a call to remember the victims, both for their sake and for our own. “If you want to understand Yugoslavia, if you want to understand Rwanda, if you want to understand any other mass atrocity [that] is happening today, you should really look into the Armenian genocide,” one scholar says near the end of the documentary. “History is not in the past.”

Dean Cain seeks U.S. recognition of Armenian Genocide with new doc

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Dean Cain, who stars in and has executive-produced the documentary “Architects of Denial”, alongside Montel Williams, says they hope to finally have the United States recognize the Armenian Genocide for what it was – a genocide.

The former Superman spoke with LifeZette about the Armenian Genocide, the documentary and its mission.

“I hope that “Architects of Denial” educates people about a very disturbing event that unquestionably took place, just after the turn of the 20th century. It was the first genocide in the 20th century, and millions were killed — including 1.5 million Armenians, 900,000 Greeks, and 750,000 Assyrians. It was a horrible tragedy that has been denied and covered up for over 100 years.

“That denial and covering up allows genocides to continue to this very day — in places like Syria, Iraq, and Sudan. In fact, when Adolf Hitler spoke about his “Final Solution,” he said, “After all, who remembers the Armenians?”

“We are also very hopeful — and both Montel [Williams, another producer of the documentary] and I spent time on Capitol Hill in October — that we can get [House Res. 220] passed by the U.S. Congress. [We want to] finally have the United States recognize the Armenian Genocide for what it was, a genocide, and recognize that Christians today are one of the most persecuted groups in the world,” Cain said.

The actor said he is not very optimistic that the Turkish government will recognize [this genocide any time soon].

“Many, many Turkish citizens already recognize the Armenian Genocide for what it was, but Turkish citizens are not allowed to call it a genocide — [that is] punishable by arrest and jail time or worse inside Turkey,” he said.

“The current government, led by the authoritarian Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, seems to be headed in the opposite direction — and the relationship between the United States and Turkey and even NATO is suffering as a result.”

Cain said he became involved in “Architects of Denial” through a number of Armenian friends who asked him if I knew anything about the Armenian Genocide:

“I was embarrassed I did not know much. My Armenian producer friend said, “I thought you were a history major — from Princeton!” That was the jumping-off point for me. I went to a march on April 24, about 10 years ago in Los Angeles, that commemorates the start of the Armenian Genocide [April 24, 1915] — and I learned an awful lot that day, and in the days since.

“Montel Williams and I executive-produced this film after traveling the world together doing charity work. Montel and I don’t agree on everything politically, but we definitely agree on this: Genocide is wrong, and it needs to be stopped.”

Williams announced earlier that “Architects of Denial” is one of 159 documentaries qualifying for Oscar consideration.

Related links:

LifeZette. Exclusive: Dean Cain Reveals Why He’s Taking on the Armenian Genocide

Armenian Genocide memorial desecrated in France’s Vienne

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A memorial erected in the French town of Vienne to pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide was desecrated Saturday, November 4, French media and several Twitter users reported.

The Coordination Council of the Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) denounced “with the greatest firmness the profanation” and said that “the insulting stains covering the monument constitute a new attack on the human dignity and the memory the victims”.

Meanwhile, Vienne County Councilor Erwann Binet was one of the firsts to react on social networks, saying he was “shocked and dismayed”.

This new attack comes as France has no legal means to penalize the deniers of Armenian Genocide.

Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenian in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

China as Refuge for Armenian Genocide Survivors

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The Armenian community in Manchuli (1919) (Meltickian Collection at Fresno State University)

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In a letter to his brother Krikor,[2] who had arrived in Boston in 1914, Rev. Asadoor Z. Yeghoyan wrote from Kharpert, “Krikor you traveled all around the world, now you know by experience that the world is round, take care so you will not fall off it.”[3] The reverend’s words were not true, yet they were prophetic. At that point, Krikor had not traveled around the world—he had left the Ottoman Empire and crossed the Atlantic for the United States. However, Krikor returned to his home town shortly thereafter and was caught in the maelstrom of World War I. He survived the Armenian Genocide with the help of Kurds from Dersim and eventually arrived in the Caucasus. Yet conflict in the region kept pushing him eastward, until he reached China. In 1919, he finally arrived in the U.S. via Japan, with help from Diana Apkar, the honorary consul in Japan of the first Republic of Armenia. At that point, he had indeed traveled around the world. In this article, I present a brief history of the several thousand Armenians who, like Krikor, escaped the genocide and found safe haven in China.

Armenians in China (1880s-1950s)

Hundreds of Armenians, primarily from Russia, journeyed eastward to China in the late 19th century in search of opportunity, anchoring themselves in major cities, as well as in Harbin, a town that rose to prominence with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Initially, Armenian railroad workers and merchants formed the core of the community in Harbin. Their numbers were small—no more than a few dozen. A larger number of Armenians lived in Manzhouli (Manchuli), which had risen to prominence in the early 20th century also thanks to railway projects. A group photograph of the Armenian community in Manzhouli (circa 1919) depicting around 150 men, women, and children, complete with the Armenian tricolor, stands as testament to the size of the Armenian community in the city.

A few thousand Armenians, including Yeghoyan, arrived in the region escaping genocide in Ottoman Turkey and turmoil in the Caucasus. Often, those who followed this path hoped to get to the United States. American missionary Ernest Yarrow encountered some 200 Armenian refugees in Vladivostok in late 1918, most of whom “have friends in America and are hoping in some way or other to get there.”[4] Yet most stayed in East Asia for years, even decades, helping build communities that thrived, despite conflicts, war, and foreign occupation.

Many of these Armenians coupled their personal success with a dedication to community life, helping develop small but vibrant communities. Despite conflicts, war, and foreign occupation that beset the history of China in the first half of the 20th century, Armenians built a church (Harbin), community centers (Harbin and Shanghai), and established relief organizations, choirs, and women’s groups. In the years following the 1949 Chinese revolution, Armenians fled the country (like most Christians in China) mainly in two directions: Soviet Armenia and the Americas.[5]

Garabed Meltickian was a survivor of the genocide who joined the stream of Armenian refugees traversing the Caucasus and Siberia all the way to China. Originally from Maden, Diyarbakir, Meltickian was conscripted into the Ottoman military in 1914 and dispatched to Erzincan. In 1915, he was among 120 Armenian soldiers who were handcuffed and taken away to be killed. He miraculously survived the carnage, was given shelter by Kurds, saved by advancing Russian troops, fought with Armenian forces in Kars, and after their withdrawal from the city, went to Tiflis, from there to Siberia, and finally arrived in Manchuria.[6]

Continue  reading : http://www.agos.com.tr/en/article/19035/china-as-refuge-for-armenian-genocide-survivors

Armenian Genocide documentary “intent to destroy” to screen in New York and Los Angeles

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Armenian Genocide documentary Intent to Destroy

Armenian Genocide documentary Intent to Destroy

Celebrated Academy Award nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger’s Armenian Genocide documentary Intent to Destroy will be screened in New York and Los Angeles starting from November 10, System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian said in a Twitter post.

The powerful documentary emerged as one of the most critically acclaimed films at this year’s Tribeca and Hot Docs Film Festivals.

Berlinger’s thirteenth feature-length documentary embeds with an historic feature film on the set of Terry George’s The Promise as a powerful lens through which to explore the reality of the Armenian genocide and its subsequent campaign of denial and Hollywood censorship.

Through discussions with activists, historians, scholars and cast members from The Promise, Intent To Destroy  shows the tangled web of denial, responsibility and truth in the struggle to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Serj Tankian has composed the music for the film.

U.S., UK should regard Armenian Genocide as a crime: Robertson

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The Armenian Genocide should not be regarded as only a tragedy, but as a crime, human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson said at a book launch in Sidney last week.

The presentation of “Genocide Perspectives V: A Global Crime, Australian Voices” was headlined by Robertson and senior crown prosecutor for NSW Mark Tedeschi.

The latest volume in this important series is dedicated to the lifelong contribution to genocide research by Australia’s Professor Colin Tatz, who penned a chapter about genocide education and received a standing ovation on the night, the Jewish News reports.

Co-edited by researchers Nikki Marczak and Kirril Shields from the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, it features a collection of essays by Australian scholars that not only explore international perspectives and pressing questions related to genocide, but also Australia’s own history of genocide against its Indigenous peoples – which Robertson described as “the mote in our own eye”.

At the event, Robertson spoke about the growing problem in the International Criminal Court of judges defining too specifically what constitutes intent to commit genocide, “making it more difficult to prosecute”.

He also touched on the “massive problem of genocide denial by governments” – particularly Turkey regarding the Armenian Genocide, and said countries including the USA, UK and Australia should not continue to refer to that Genocide only as a tragedy, but as a crime.

Related links:

Jewish News. Perspectives on genocide

Chris Cornell’s song composed for “The Promise” nommed for Hollywood Music In Media Awards

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Chris Cornell‘s song composed for “The Promise” – a film about the Armenian Genocide – has been nominated for the 2017 Hollywood Music In Visual Media Awards.

Written and performed by Cornell, the piece servedas the ending credits song for the film.

Also nominated in the Original Son – Feature Film category are “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (Fifty Shades Darker) – Written by Taylor Swift, Sam Dew and Jack Antonoff. Performed by Zayn & Taylor Swift; “If I Dare” (Battle of the Sexes) Written by Sara Bareilles and Nicholas Britell. Performed by Sara Bareilles; “Mighty River” (Mudbound) Written by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq, and Taura Stinson. Performed by Mary J. Blige; “Stand Up For Something” (Marshall) Music by Diane Warren, Lyrics by Diane Warren and Lonnie R. Lynn. Performed by Andra Day, featuring Common; “This Is Me” (The Greatest Showman) Written by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. Performed by Keala Settle.

Cornell cited a connection with “The Promise” through his Greek wife, whose family had been affected by the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide. This prompted his family to tour refugee camps in Greece, where they formed the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation, to help aid child refugees and the issues affecting them.

At the time of the song’s release, Cornell stated, “[The Promise] is mainly about paying homage to those we lost in the Armenian Genocide, but it’s also about shining a light on more recent atrocities.”

Renowned Jewish historian to present his Armenian Genocide book in France

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Well-known Israeli historian and will speak at the National Center for Armenian Remembrance, in Décines-Charpieu commune of Lyon, France, informed the official website of this center.

Auron will deliver remarks on the occasion of the French-language publication of his book, entitled Israel and the Armenian Genocide.

This work complements his previous book, entitled The Banality of Indifference and Denial, and analyzes the attitude over the last 100 years by Zionism and, subsequently, by Israel toward Armenian Genocide.