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Armenian-American Filmmaker Debuts Film on Frontline Web Site

By Thomas C . Nash
Mirror-Spectator Staff

WATERTOWN, Mass. — When an Armenian- American filmmaker’s documentary on his family’s trip to Turkey premiered on Frontline’s Web site, he wasn’t expecting it to become a political lightening rod. The film, however, has elicited a strong response both praising and deriding its premise: the Armenian Genocide.

The 12-minute piece, titled “A Family Erased,” follows George Kachadorian’s family as they seek out their ancestral home in Turkey. The Emmynominated filmmaker couldn’t go, so he gave his parents a camera to document the journey.

What they brought back surprised him. Upon arrival in Kharpert, now located in Eastern Turkey, they were shocked to find the village’s residents unaware of the genocide that displaced the entire Armenian population. The only resident who had any recollection of the Kachadorian family was a 100-year-old woman who tearfully remembered the family’s kindness.

Kachadorian had not originally planned to share the family movies with the public, but found such scenes too poignant not to share.

“They came back with footage that was more than just stuff from a vacation,” he said, also noting that the Genocide Resolution was at the time making its way through Congress.

“The resolution was going on, so I said, ‘This is more than just a family thing.’ I brought it to the people at ‘Frontline’ and they thought it would be perfect for that.”

Kachadorian said his family often inspires his filmmaking. The documentary joins an oeuvre that includes a film about his mother, “Divining Mom,” which explored his mother’s practice of “dowsing,” using a divinng rod to seek out water and he recently finished a collaboration with his wife about her work to help disabled teenagers become photographers, titled “Shooting Beauty.”

“When I’m given the reign to do my own thing I usually just tell the story right in front of me,” Kachadorian said. “They’re the stories of my life that I would like people to see. I would like my kids to see some of the things I’m talking about.”

“A Family Erased” premiered on Frontline/World’s Web site as a part of its “Rough Cut” series in late November. The piece is still archived on the site (see link below).

Some Turkish and Turkish-American viewers, however, have spoken against the piece — noting that in 2006 PBS aired a documentary about the Armenian Genocide largely funded by Armenians.

“It is not a secret that concerning the tragic events of 1915, Turks and Armenians have completely different perceptions,” one commenter wrote. “The Armenian perception has been expressed by the PBS on different occasions. On the other hand, the PBS has never aired the Turkish point of view. As you would, undoubtedly, agree, to grasp the essence of an issue, it is imperative to look at the issue from different dimensions.”

Kachadorian said the show’s editors had asked him for a statement of clarification, despite the fact that he says he consciously avoided detailing the violence in the film.

“I didn’t get into any of the ugliness in this piece; I took the high road,” he said. “When I see this backlash it’s strange.

“I’m not going to apologize for this piece,” he added. “I’m not sure I need to respond to Turkish hate mail. There’s no debate about the Genocide at this point. The only thing stopping recognition right now is politics. It’s a culture that needs to heal.”

Responding to criticism posted on “Frontline’s”Web site, a statement released from the editors of “Frontline/World” read, in part: “While we recognize that some may dispute official estimates of the Armenian dead, and that there remains plenty of room for scholarly inquiry into the deeply complicated events of that time, we think Kachadorian’s piece, in its unqualified assertion of Genocide, is squarely within the current scholarly consensus on the issue.

“We await future opportunities to tell more stories — from all possible angles and viewpoints — that help us reckon with this difficult history.”

Kachadorian also issued a statement clarifying the motivation behind the film.

“I did not decide to produce this piece to settle any ‘debate’ surrounding the Armenian Genocide,” he wrote. “The abundant and overwhelming evidence on the subject makes the truth hard to dispute.”

While the documentary has received criticism from Turkish-Americans on the site, the majority of the comments so far have been positive. Kachadorian noted the reaction from the Armenian community has been strong.

“There has been an outpouring of support from Armenians around the globe,” he said. “Armenians are saying they don’t have a fast enough Internet connection, but (one said) ‘I showed it to my mom at an Internet café and she cried.’”