WASHINGTON — Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote a letter this week to Paula Kerger, the president and chief executive officer of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), urging the network to air the film “Aghet: A Genocide” on PBS stations nationwide.
“‘Aghet: A Genocide’ is a powerful, comprehensive documentary that explores in detail the murder of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire,” Schiff said. “This is the type of programming for which PBS was created. The network would be fulfilling a great educational and public service by showing this film and bringing the story of the Armenian Genocide to the American people; it is a film that every American should see.”
Schiff hosted the Capitol Hill premiere of the film on July 21. The film debuted on German public television (NDR) in April, depicting the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923 and the effects of the Turkish Government’s international campaign of genocide denial on international policy. Award-winning director Eric Friedler assembles an impeccable cast, who bring to life the original texts of German and US diplomatic dispatches and eyewitness accounts, interspersed with never-before-seen footage of the Genocide and its political aftermath. The film, applauded by Nobel Prize laureate Gunter Grass, has sparked debate throughout Europe.
For more information about the film, read an extensive review by Der Spiegel magazine at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,687449,00.html.
