MY MOTHER’S VOICE: A GENOCIDE SURVIVOR’S STORY
asbarez
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
Elise Kalfayan
Premiering at Toronto’s Pomegranate Film Festival October 14
BY ELISE KALFAYAN
My Mother’s Voice, a genocide survivor documentary based on the novel
A Gift in the Sunlight, premiers this weekend at the Pomegranate
Film Festival in Toronto. Kay Mouradian presented the book, based on
her mother Flora Munushian’s story, at the Glendale Public Library
back in 2009. I first met Mouradian there, then found opportunities
to talk with her when we saw each other at civic, literary, and
networking events. Her family and her extensive “community links”
gave her resources, determination and encouragement to write the
book, as well as professional contacts to help her translate it into
a historical documentary.
“I am my mother’s voice,” Mouradian says in the film, echoing the
prediction in her book’s preface: “she told me in no uncertain terms
that I was going to write a book about her life.” This hadn’t been
her goal or even a thought until her mother’s last years. Although
she was the author of two professional books, she had never written
fiction before. Presenting the story of her mother’s teenage years
as a novel was an excellent decision. The narrative is well-paced and
action-packed, with the right amount of carefully researched details.
Told from her mother’s point of view, the story highlights Flora’s
drive to get an education, her youthful idealism and her inner
strength. The book is a great read for both young readers and adults,
with a positive message and story arc.
The film based on the book is more of a history of the genocide’s
impact on Flora and her family. Among its visuals: a copy and
translation of the deportation order posted in Hadjin, where the
family lived before their march toward Der Zor; a photograph of Rev.
Hovhanness Eskijian, who rescued Flora, her sister and hundreds of
Armenian orphans in Aleppo; and a photograph of Flora’s family –
most of whom perished during the march or in Der Zor.
Mouradian’s cousin, ABGU benefactor Jack Munushian, was an important
family link to sources she needed for the story. He gave her an uncle’s
letter describing a mass slaughter along the Euphrates where Hadjin
deportees perished. “Jack’s parents had kept a lot of materials I
was able to use,” Mouradian said.
A local writers’ group was another community link cheering Mouradian
on to reach her goal. After meeting her at the library, I talked with
her at these writers’ meetings. Each time she had important progress
to report about her book’s impact and the documentary. Besides myself
and Catherine Yesayan, no one else in that group had an Armenian
background or was familiar with personal accounts of the Armenian
genocide, so Mouradian’s story had a great impact.
At subsequent library events, and at other professional events in the
community, I would see Mouradian and catch up on her latest news. One
of her South Pasadena neighbors had introduced her to his colleague,
award-winning filmmaker Mark Friedman. Friedman agreed to produce
the film with her. “He was so far-sighted, and very resourceful,”
Mouradian said. Together they searched out original film footage and
were able to use portions of the 1919 silent film Ravished Armenia
that appears on Zareh Tjeknavorian’s DVD Credo.
Tjeknavorian wrote to Mouradian, “Congratulations to you and Mark for
so beautifully and affectingly bringing the message of your mother’s
life to the world. Her voice speaks so eloquently through your own.
This film, and the vast history it artfully distills into such a
poignant and positive personal story is as much a testimony to the
resiliency of family and culture across generations as it is to the
evil that sought to destroy them. I am sure it will go a long way to
honoring the memory of Flora and the millions she speaks for.”
Mouradian’s South Pasadena community links not only got her introduced
to a top-notch film collaborator, they have also supported and
recognized her educational and civic endeavors. While serving as LA
Community College Professor of Health and Physical Education, she
published guidebooks and studies on yoga. She was honored for her
professional and literary achievements by Congressman Adam Schiff,
who named her 2012 Woman of the Year for South Pasadena. She is one
of the original members of Women in South Pasadena Political Action
(WISPPA) , a group that encourages well-qualified
women to become active in city government and civic organizations.
WISPPA’s 2012 annual meeting in September drew close to 50 people,
women and men. Some fellow writers and I were invited as guests,
because a private screening of My Mother’s Voice was scheduled
right after the organization’s business concluded. This audience
also (except for perhaps four Armenian-Americans) was unfamiliar
with personal genocide stories, and it was clear the whole room was
strongly affected by the film. “The film is tastefully, artfully done,
the music is beautiful, and your narration hit all the right notes,”
one viewer wrote later. “It’s a shock (and a shame) that this subject
is not taught in high school history classes. I sure didn’t know
much about it until I moved to Glendale and started talking with
Armenian friends.”
In furthering her mission to tell her mother’s story, Mouradian
reached out to and beyond her higher education community, our mutual
library and literary connections, and her civic advocacy contacts. She
established links with the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, the Armenian
Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, The Genocide Education Project,
the Near East Archive, and many individuals who have collected and
published original research. She has published a wonderful book and
produced a moving documentary. See it in Toronto if you are there
this weekend! Read more about Kay Mouradian’s work on her website,
KayMouradian.com.
http://www.wisppa.org