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The Promise director to be honored at ANCA-WR banquet

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The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region will award Terry George, the award-winning film director and writer of “The Promise”, with the prestigious ANCA-WR Arts and Letters Award at the 2017 Annual Gala Banquet on Sunday, October 8 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, Asbarez reports.

“By taking on such a monumental project of portraying the human story surrounding the Armenian Genocide on the big screen with the groundbreaking film, The Promise, Terry George and his team opened a door which has been closed to filmmakers for decades and set the groundwork enabling future films to tackle this tragic chapter of modern times head-on. As Armenians, we were so proud and so emotional to finally see our story in mainstream theaters screening to wider audiences. This would not have been accomplished without Kirk Kerkorian’s sense of duty and generosity, the vision and talent of Terry George, and the long-term commitment and dedication of Eric Esrailian and his entire team. For this, we are so grateful, and the ANCA-WR Board of Directors wanted to recognize this accomplishment by honoring Terry George at our Annual Gala Banquet not only for his work on The Promise, but overall for his steadfast voice as a defender of human rights,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian.

Terry George is a passionate director who fulfilled the vision of Kirk Kerkorian by creating a film which educated the public about the perseverance of the Armenian nation. As stated by Kerkorian’s longtime attorney, “The Promise will be a film celebrating the Armenian people and, in the context of a wonderful love story, will open the door to awareness and the championing of human rights.”

As the filming progressed, George and Survival Pictures were faced with multiple hardships, including state-sponsored Turkish efforts to sabotage its performance. In the end, however, they overcame these obstacles and ensured the movie’s successful release. The film went on to screen in the Vatican and the United States Capitol, as well as at various venues worldwide.

Terry George masterfully depicts historical sagas, whether it be the Genocide of the Armenians at the turn of the 20th Century or the Rwandan Genocide which began in the Spring of 1994. “The Promise” is a true testament to George’s commitment to truth and justice. Through the tragic love story of Michael and Anna, the film demonstrates the horrid reality of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. “The Promise” reveals the atrocities carried out against the Armenians, while showcasing the unsung heroes – from Ambassador Morgenthau to the Near East Relief missionaries- who jeopardized their safety to save what was left of a People at risk of obliteration.

For his tireless efforts and commitment to increasing consciousness of historically significant topics of interest to the Armenian people, Terry George is unequivocally deserving of this award. He has done everything in his power to help educate the world on sensitive Armenian issues through his passion for film production.

The 2016 ANCA-WR Annual Gala Banquet will be held on Sunday, October 8, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California. The main event will begin at 4:30p.m. with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. A three-course dinner will follow at 6:00 p.m. accompanied by a powerful program and presentation of awards.

UCLA law school to receive $20 million for human rights institute to study the Armenian genocide and other atrocities

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The Promise

Eric Esrailian, lead producer of The Promise, and Co-Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA poses with Jennifer L. Mnookin, Dean of the UCLA School of Law. (Todd Cheney/ UCLA Law)

By Teresa Watanabe,

In a unique blend of Hollywood and human rights, the UCLA law school will receive $20 million in pledged proceeds from a new film on the Armenian genocide to expand its research and teaching of persecution, the university announced Monday.

The donation by a film company founded by the late Kerkor “Kirk” Kerkorian, an Armenian American philanthropist and businessman, will help establish the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law.

The institute, which also will receive other donations and support from UCLA, will help the Westwood campus expand its research and advocacy on genocide awareness and prevention as well as the intersections between human rights and health, refugees, immigration and civil rights, said law school Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin.

She said the gift will help UCLA hire more faculty, sponsor guest speakers, host human rights symposia and support students through fellowships. UCLA law students and faculty currently work with human rights organizations in countries including Bangladesh, Honduras, India and South Africa, and with the United Nations and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

“What we’d like to become is the West Coast powerhouse for the study and practice of human rights,” Mnookin said.

Eric Esrailian, a UCLA doctor and great-grandson of genocide survivors, helped Kerkorian launch the film company Survival Pictures in 2012, to expand awareness of human rights atrocities. Kerkorian, who owned the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio and is credited with helping develop Las Vegas with such hotels as the MGM Grand, donated more than $1 billion to charitable causes during his lifetime. He died in 2015 at age 98.

Survival Pictures’ debut production, “The Promise,” is set to open Friday as the first major film on the Armenian genocide. Historians estimate that 1.5 million Armenians and other ethnic and religious minorities perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turks beginning in 1915, although the Turkish government denies there was any official policy of ethnic cleansing.

The film is directed by Terry George — who directed and co-wrote “Hotel Rwanda” about genocide in that African nation — and stars Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon and Oscar Isaac. Co-producers are Esrailian, Phoenix Pictures chairman Mike Medavoy and veteran film producer William Horberg.

The company also has produced a documentary, “Intent to Destroy,” about the Armenian genocide that is set for release April 25 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“As horrible as the Armenian genocide was, there are other ethnic and religious groups that have suffered persecution as well,” Esrailian said, adding that human rights crises exist right now in Syria, the Congo and South Sudan.

Both the feature film and the UCLA institute bear the word “promise” to reflect a commitment not to forget atrocities of the past and to fight against intolerance and persecution today, he said.

He said his team was inspired by the USC Shoah Foundation, which was launched by filmmaker Steven Spielberg to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and educate the public about it and has since expanded its work to other genocides. With genocide awareness and human rights work underway at the city’s two premier universities, Los Angeles is set to become a national hub of research and activism on the issue, Esrailian said.

The center is expected to open this fall.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ucla-armenian-human-rights-20170417-story.html

Armenian genocide drama The Promise debuts new, classy poster

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by: Damion Damaske,

The Armenian Genocide is an important, and tragic, event that is not as well-known as you’d think. It was one of the first times in the modern era something like that was attempted (pre-empting the Holocaust and Darfur and many others in the decades to come). So while it’s great that this event is coming to light for more people who might not have been aware, I am wary of turning into an old-school historical love-triangle. It’s maybe a bit too old-fashioned? Didn’t we learn our lesson from PEARL HARBOR? But I love Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale, so I’m willing to give it a shot (and besides, I always enjoy a grand, sweeping epic now and again).

Here’s the official synopsis:

THE PROMISE takes place during the Armenian Genocide and tells the story of an Armenian medical student (Isaac) during the final days of the Ottoman Empire. He falls in love with Ana (Le Bon), causing issues with her boyfriend Chris (Bale). The Armenian Genocide resulted in a reported 1.5 million deaths and took place from 1915-1923.

Source: http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/epic-drama-the-promise-with-christian-bale-oscar-isaac-releases-poster-991

ERDOGAN PASHA…NEVER AGAIN: Cher’s impression of “The Promise” film about Armenian Genocide

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cher-the-promisCher, an American singer and actress of Armenian descent, have seen “The Promise” movie about Armenian Genocide in 1915 (film crew: Oscar-winning director Terry George, actors Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angela Sarafyan).After watching the film Goddess of Pop has shared her impressions of the movie, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11th of September.

“THIS NITE IVE SEEN“THE PROMISE“.IT IS THE TRUE STORY Of HOW THE TURKS SLAUGHTERED 1.5 MILLION ARMENIANS IN 1915.ERDOGAN PASHA…NEVER AGAIN,”- Chare wrote on her Twitter.

By the way, recently Variety has spoken to producers of the film and found out that “The Promise” has faced some difficulties since its premiere. The film has yet to close a distribution deal, as some studios have business interests in Turkey, which continues to deny the systematic killings and slaughter of Armenians.

There is another problem too – the evident propaganda campaign to discredit “The Promise.” The film’s IMDb page has received more than 86,000 user votes, the bulk of them one-star ratings, despite the fact that the movie has had only three public screenings.