GLENDALE – The ANCA-WR will acclaim celebrated film director Bared Maronian with one of its highest honors, the eminent ANCA-WR Arts and Letters Award, at the ANCA-WR’s Annual Gala Banquet on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

“Bared Maronian is a one-man army in our collective fight for justice for the Armenian Genocide. With his groundbreaking documentary film Orphans of the Genocide being the longest continually aired Armenian-themed film in the history of television broadcasting reaching over 100 million viewers, and the success of his follow-up film Women of 1915, Bared has successfully used film to spread our message worldwide. For all his efforts, he is a most deserving recipient of our Arts & Letters Award,’ remarked ANCA-WR Board Chair Nora Hovsepian.

Maronian has directed various films revolving around the systematic ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian minority. He is most renowned for his film Orphans of the Genocide, which sheds light on the horrendous brutalities endured by Armenian children whose parents were taken from them during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and the obstacles they overcame to survive, especially with the rescue efforts of Near East Relief, the first Congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort in history. Working with the ANCA-WR through its “America We Thank You” initiative, Maronian produced a 30-minute documentary film in tribute to Near East Relief.

Bared Maronian is a four-time Regional Emmy Award winning American Armenian documentary filmmaker and a 2016 Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award Laureate. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Haigazian University and is a graduate of the Broadcast Career Institute of Palm Beach, Florida. His production credits include many award winning national, regional, and local television programming for the American PBS network spanning over twenty years.

In 2006, Maronian founded the Armenoid Team primarily producing thematically Armenian documentary films for international distribution. His critically acclaimed film Orphans of the Genocide has reached over 50.6 million households by way of national television broadcasting and satellite distribution such as Direct TV and Dish Network. The film is translated into several languages including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Armenian and Romanian. It has been officially selected by over twenty international film festivals worldwide.  Orphans of the Genocide was also screened in many universities, colleges, school systems, museums, libraries and communities in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy Lebanon, Egypt and others.

Maronian’s latest work, Women of 1915, is a documentary film delineating the plight and survival of the Armenian women during the Genocide of 1915 and all the non-Armenian women who flocked into the killing fields of the genocide to rescue thousands of Armenian women and children.

Bared Maronian, who resides in Coconut Creek, Florida with his wife Lina and daughter Kaliana, commented upon learning of the ANCA-WR award: “It is a distinct privilege to be bestowed with the ANCA-WR Arts and Letters Award at the October 8th Annual Gala Banquet. I accept this honor in humility. ANCA is a progressive organization championing human rights across multiple fronts, such as the Armenian Diaspora, Artsakh, Armenia and even protects non-Armenian causes. I truly am grateful for this prestigious recognition.”

The ANCA-WR banquet will take place on October 8, 2017, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Individuals interested in attending the Annual Gala Banquet are encouraged to purchase tickets or obtain individual or corporate sponsorship information online at www.ancawr.org/gala or call (818) 500-1918. For up to the minute updates on the event follow ANCA Western Region on social media: facebook.com/ANCAWesternRegion, Twitter and Instagram: ANCA_WR

The ANCA-WR Gala Banquet represents the single largest annual gathering of Armenian American public policy leaders throughout the western United States, and is attended by over 1,000 prominent Members of Congress, state legislators and officials, community leaders, and many of the organization’s strongest activists and generous donors from California, Nevada, Arizona, and throughout the western United States.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.