Day: February 22, 2024

PBS’s ‘Armenia, My Home’: A Journey Through Armenia’s Heart and History  BNN Breaking

‘Armenia, My Home’ to Premier on PBS on Feb. 27 – Asbarez.com  Asbarez Armenian News

French minister’s delegation to Armenia to include leading defense companies  ARMENPRESS

Ararat Mirzoyan and Louis Bono discuss the latest developments in the region  ARMENPRESS

NEW YORK—PBS is set to captivate audiences with the premiere of “Armenia, My Home,” a spectacular visual journey through Armenia, premiering February 27 on PBS. From filmmaker Andrew Goldberg, the documentary promises viewers a breathtaking exploration of Armenia’s rich cultural tapestry, featuring stunning cinematography, striking archival photographs, incredible interviews, and vibrant music.

The documentary, narrated by Andrea Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”), features prominent voices from the Armenian diaspora including actor Eric Bogosian (“Succession”); author Chris Bohjalian (HBO’s “The Flight Attendant”); Pulitzer Prize-winning author Peter Balakian (“Black Dog of Fate”); journalist Araksya Karapetyan (Good Day LA), author Dawn Anahid Mackeen (“The Hundred-Year Walk”); Conan O’Brien’s famed assistant Sona Movsesian; and Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of NY.  Additional voices include educator Dottie Bengoian, internationally renowned artist Michael Aram, comedian Vahe Berberian, and scholars Ron Suny and Salpi Ghazarian.

“Armenia, My Home” celebrates the modern-day, independent Armenian Republic and its people, and offers a lens into the nearly 3,000-year-old storied past of the world’s first Christian nation. From medieval monasteries nestled in northern forests to the spectacular Hellenistic temple of Garni, the documentary takes viewers on a compelling journey through Armenia’s diverse landscapes. Sweeping from the Caucasian mountains with stunning views of the peaks of Mount Ararat, “Armenia, My Home” seamlessly blends the epic with the every day, evoking the deep emotions felt by Armenian Americans for a heritage that has endured for millennia. The film incorporates the spiritual charm of Armenian music throughout, telling a story that resonates with the fusion of East and West.

“For so many that we interviewed in this film, Armenia is more than a country, it’s a part of who they are – a community that has survived and flourished, despite untold enemies who sought to conquer them. This is more than a story of a nation, it is the story of some of the most resilient people alive,” stated director Andrew Goldberg.

Andrea Martin. Photo Credit: Jeff Vespa

“It’s an honor to narrate this documentary exploring Armenia’s storied past and vibrant culture,” said Emmy Award-winning actress Andrea Martin. “As an Armenian-American, I am deeply connected to our ancient history and thrilled to be partnering on this project.”

Filmed using state-of-the-art cameras and drones, a team of cinematographers known for their work on films like “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and the upcoming “Mad Max Furiosa,” has revolutionized the visual representation of Armenia. This groundbreaking approach provides viewers with quite simply, the most impressive visual showing of Armenia ever made.

For an added layer of authenticity, “Armenia, My Home” takes viewers on a journey into a dungeon that dates back nearly 2,000 years, providing a rare glimpse into Armenia’s ancient and mysterious history. Alongside the spectacular landscapes, “Armenia, My Home” delves into the complex and crucial subjects of the Armenian Genocide and the recent war in Artsakh, acknowledging their historical significance and impact on the Armenian people and the world.

Emmy Award-winning producer/director Andrew Goldberg is the founder and owner of So Much Film in New York City. He has executive produced and directed 15 prime-time documentary specials for PBS and public television, multiple lifestyle series for HGTV, and Magnolia Channel, and a variety of long and short-form segments for such outlets as CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC News, NPR’s All Things Considered, E! Entertainment Television, and Food Network. He has worked as a journalist for virtually every major TV news organization including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Fox. In 2006, he produced and directed the critically acclaimed film, “The Armenian Genocide” for PBS.

Andrew’s most recent film was the critically-acclaimed “Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations,” which was released theatrically across the country and aired nationally as a prime-time special on PBS in 2020.

PBS special programming invites viewers to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. Viewer contributions are an important source of funding, making PBS programs possible. PBS and public television stations offer all Americans from every walk of life the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content.

Watch the “Armenia, My Home” trailer and check local listings to watch the film on PBS.

“A grateful France welcomes you, Missak and Mélinée,” President Emmanuel Macron of France declared during a tribute to the Marnouchians. Missak Manouchian was an Armenian Genocide survivor who joined the resistance movement in France and was later executed by the Nazis.

Manouchian and his wife, Mélinée, were inducted into France’s National Pantheon, joining 75 other men and six other women, who have been bestowed with this highest honor.

The induction ceremony coincided with the official visit to Paris of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who along with his wife, Anna Hakopyan, attended the event and witnessed a singular moment in French history.

“The France of 2024 owes you this honor,” Macron added during his tribute, which was taking place 80 years after his execution.

Macron also praised Manouchian’s “love for France to the point of giving his life,” adding, “He wanted to be a poet, he became a soldier in the shadows.”

Born in 1906 in the then-Ottoman empire, Manouchian lost both his parents during the Genocide. He was sent to an orphanage in Lebanon, then a French protectorate, where he discovered French language and culture.

Manouchian went to France in 1924. Living in Paris, he wrote poetry and took literature and philosophy classes at the Sorbonne University — while working in factories and doing other odd jobs.

He joined the communist party in the early 1930s and became editor-in-chief of a newspaper for the Armenian community.

During World War II, he joined the French Resistance as a political activist with an underground group. In 1943, he became a military chief in the armed organization of the communist party, a of about 60 Resistance fighters that gathered many foreigners from Armenia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain, including many Jewish people.

Manouchian is the first foreign and first communist Resistance fighter to be inducted into the French Pantheon.

His group led dozens of anti-Nazi attacks and sabotage operations in and around Paris between August and November 1943, including the assassination of a top German colonel.
Tracked down by the French police of the Vichy regime, which collaborated with Nazi Germany, Manouchian was arrested on Nov. 16, 1943 along with most of the group’s members. He was sentenced to death in Feb. 1944.

Students from Marseilles’ Armenian school, invited by President Macron, at the ceremony

Nazi propaganda officers ordered a poster to be made with the photos and names of 10 Resistance fighters, including Manouchian, displayed in Paris and other French cities.

The so-called “Red Poster” sought to discredit them as Jews, foreigners and criminals, and Manouchian was “obviously the first target,” historian Denis Peschanski, who led efforts to honor Manouchian’s memory told the Associated Press. Yet the campaign didn’t convince the French population.

The poster, while “aiming to present them as assassins, made them heroes,” Peschanski said.

In his last letter to his wife, Manouchian wrote, “At the moment of death, I proclaim that I have no hatred for the German people … The German people, and all other people will live in peace and brotherhood after the war.”

The celebration of Manouchians’ life began with the coffins of Missak and Mélinée, both covered with the French flag, being carried in the street in front of the Pantheon by soldiers of the Foreign Legion.

Mélinée, also a member of the Resistance who survived the war, will be buried alongside her husband.

On Tuesday, a somber ceremony was held at Mont Valérien, where Manouchian and his group members were shot by the Nazis. The site has become a memorial to French WWII fighters. The Holocaust Memorial in Paris also was holding an exhibit in his honor

President Macron personally invited students of the Marseilles Armenian Jemaran to attend the event. Accompanied by their teachers, the students filed the Pantheon to witness a singular moment in both French and modern Armenian history.