Category: 2023

The Armenian Film Society is joining Gary Gananian’s documentary “The Peace of All,” with Armen and Mary Karaoghlanian, the husband and wife team, serving as executive producers. Armenian Film Society will provide strategic marketing support to the film.

“The Peace of All,” which features music from Grammy-winning artist Serj Tankian, is a feature documentary about the history of Artsakh, its people, and their fight for survival in their historical lands. The documentary covers the Armenian Genocide, the end of the Ottoman Empire, the fall of the Soviet Union up to the 2020 attack on Artsakh that changed the region’s geography. The film explores the effects of war, crimes against humanity, and the impunity of the perpetrators

Gary Gananian’s work as a director spans music videos, short films, documentaries, and feature films. “Armenian Rhapsody,” a documentary that portrays Armenia in a musical and poetic fashion, was an official selection at the São Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil. The film won Best Documentary Film at the Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival and was awarded with the British Council Special Prize.

“Mary and I are thrilled to work with Gary, who has a remarkable visual style and aesthetic. Gary is not only an incredible voice and talent, but his take on this subject matter is the most refreshing we’ve seen thus far. We are eager to support his work and look forward to the incredible stories he will continue to bring to life on the big screen,” said Founder and CEO Armen Karaoghlanian.

“I am very excited about the partnership established with Armenian Film Society. I was a fan of their work way before I got to meet Armen in person, and it makes me very grateful, as an Armenian filmmaker, to know that this kind of work is being done. We are few, and it is not easy to make projects come to life, but with the support of the community and organizations such as Armenian Film Society, we can all unite our strengths in putting our visions, themes, and subjects in the world,” said director Gary Gananian.

This marks Armenian Film Society’s second production as an organization, following the short documentary, “Back to Ashtarak.” The film, which is directed by Tigran Nersisian, won Best Short Documentary at the Pomegranate Film Festival, and through their partnership, has screened across California at universities such as USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Fresno State, and will screen at UC San Diego on April 21.

The partnership on “The Peace of All” will launch with an online conversation between director Gary Gananian and executive producer Armen Karaoghlanian with historian Dr. Heitor Loureiro for the Armenian Institute in London. The event, “The Peace of All: A Conversation on Living History” will be held online on Thursday, April 13 at 11:30 a.m. PST and will examine living history as it applies to Armenian resilience, tracing the threads of time through the film.

Armenian Film Society will announce screenings for the film in various cities in the near future.

Representatives Adam Schiff (left) and Frank Pallone

Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, on Monday sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young urging the inclusion of a Middle Eastern and North African checkbox, with an Armenian subcategory checkbox, on the 2030 United States Census questionnaire.

Armenian-Americans lack accurate representation through the U.S. Census, despite representing a sizable population within many communities throughout the country, and accurate representation on the U.S. Census will help right historical wrongs Armenian-Americans face. “Armenian-Americans currently do not see themselves accurately reflected in the U.S. Census, which shapes both federal and local categories, funding decisions, opportunity, and anti-discrimination efforts. Armenian-Americans have long histories of immigration, refugeehood, and racialization, as well as legal, educational, economic, workplace, and linguistic marginalization,” Schiff and Pallone wrote.

“The ANCA Western Region formed a HyeCount Census Task Force leading up to the 2020 Census in order to encourage Armenians to write in their ethnicity on the census forms. Now we have a unique opportunity to have an Armenian checkbox added to the 2030 Census to bring much-needed public resources to our community, which have been denied since we are not a designated minority,” said Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region board chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq.

“The ANCA-WR is leading this effort. To that end, we and partnered with the Armenian American Action Network and Pan Armenian Council of Western USA to secure and submit support letters from elected officials including U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, the Congressional Armenian Legislative Caucus, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and several local city councils and school boards, with many more still pending,” added Hovsepian.

“If we are successful in securing an Armenian checkbox on the 2030 Census, our communities nationwide will have access to millions of dollars in public grants to help us meet our collective needs. We must take advantage of this opportunity before April 27 to secure a successful outcome,” explained Hovsepian.

Schiff and Pallone have worked closely with the Armenian-American community for the recognition of their history, their contributions to our country, and for the protection of their future. Currently, the Armenian-American community lacks meaningful federal data as a group, despite being one of the largest and most impacted groups that would fall under the proposed MENA category, according to OMB data.

Schiff and Pallone encouraged OMB to solicit Armenian-American community input on classification within the MENA category, as Armenian-Americans are a transnational group in the MENA region whose ancestry spans and crosses current-day nation-states.

“We urge the Administration to include the Armenian checkbox on the next Census and stand ready to connect officials with members of the Armenian-American community in our districts,” wrote Schiff and Pallone. “We thank the Biden administration for working to address the needs of MENA communities and appreciate the Administration’s – and your – consideration of this important request.