Commemorating Genocide: Capturing Genocide on Film

A film that made a lot of noise in 2017 was “The Promise,” funded by the late Kirk Kerkorian. The film had been on his mind for years and before his death, he enlisted the help of Dr. Eric Esrailian, a friend of his who by day is co-chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, to make sure that his vision happened. Thus, bankrolled with $90 million, “The Promise” got a cast of Hollywood A-list stars, including Oscar Isaac and Academy Award winner Christian Bale, and was produced by Esrailian, Mike Medavoy and William Horberg. The film was written and directed by Terry George, who won an Academy Award for “Hotel Rwanda.” As it gained momentum on social media with Armenian viewers eager to see it, it suffered by it too. It was notable for an overwhelming number of negative reviews on IMDB database, before anyone outside of a small group at the Toronto International Film Festival had seen and was clearly the work of saboteurs.

There was good reason to make the film, Esrailian said, especially in terms of making history visually available. “We have volumes of detailed text books, and the facts are irrefutable. However, in this day and age, using visual media to educate and enlighten is extremely important. We hope we have contributed to the tools that will be used for this purpose.”

Carla Garapedian, a producer on the film, and a filmmaker, director, writer and broadcaster, agreed that movies and documentaries offer a different way to bring the issue to the masses. “Movies help audiences identify with the reality of genocide — which is, at its root, the systematic murder of individuals. We have to see this personal side of genocide, I think, for it to hit home. We need to see how it affects families, friends, lovers. In ‘The Promise,’ we also saw the perpetrators and their ideology. We saw the journalist’s attempts to cover the story, and even friendly Turks who tried to do the right thing. Movies can capture the detail and complexity of mass murder, which is hard to imagine. Movies can take you into that horrific world, and let you experience it for two hours.”

The movie did not make much money at the box office.

“From the beginning, Mr. Kerkorian‘s plan and that of our team was clear. Of course, it would be nice to have more box office sales that could ultimately result in philanthropy, but the mission was to build a visual museum through the film that would live forever and that could be used to educate and enlighten people for generations to come. We wanted to build a movement around the film that could be used by educators and human rights activists but would also be dedicated to the Armenian people and for others suffering in the world today. How much is it worth to finally pull back the curtain on atrocities against your people after over a century of orchestrated and systematic denial? Mr. Kerkorian thought it was priceless. Long after these people that live in an alternate universe are gone, the film will still be watched and the movement will continue,” said Esrailian.

He added, “Mr. Kerkorian knew for decades going into the project that there is an extremely limited appetite in the marketplace given the subject matter, the time period, the way that only certain films have life now in theaters, and the long-standing denial and political pressure. These factors were only reinforced during the entire process of trying to make the film, distribute it, and market it. However, given the quality of the film, the people involved, and the influencers and the Armenian nation promoting the film and its mission, we feel that awareness was increased, and we hope that more people will continue to learn about the Armenian Genocide.”

Esrailian gave Egoyan a lot of credit for his film. “Atom Egoyan is amazing, and he made a beautiful and memorable film with his team. It was also truly artistic. He outlined many challenges and predicted the difficulties that we would face both from the denialists and the lack of appetite, fear from studios and distributors, and potential apathy in the marketplace. Seeing his tears and hearing his words after he saw ‘The Promise’ in Toronto are two things that I will never forget.”

“The Promise” is about a love triangle set in the early stages of the Armenian Genocide. A French-Armenian girl is torn between an American and an Armenian and in the meantime, the clear sense of menace for the Armenians keeps building. Mindless throngs chase Armenians and loot homes and kill anyone in their paths. Still, the violence was not graphic. According to Garapedian, that was a decision George made.

Said Garapedian, “We spent a lot of time working to get the details accurate for Ottoman Turkey in that period. Generally, I’m a proponent for showing more violence — but I think Terry George’s belief that a PG-rating was important to get, was also valid. Had we shown more violence, a lot of people would have switched off. There’s a healthy debate about this, I think. I’ve heard both sides of the argument — and for the non-Armenians, less violence is better, it would seem.”

An interesting aspect to the film was that during the promotional tour, the leads, including Bale and Isaac as well as Terry George, would often speak about the Armenian Genocide in clear, concise terms to reach a mass audience.

“These are incredible people and they were attracted to the script, the subject matter, and the overall mission. It is an honor to be part of this close group,” Esrailian said.

Garapedian agreed. The actors were very committed to the cause of genocide recognition. Eric Esrailian was a key motivator, from the beginning; the director, Terry George, and the other producers were equally committed. The actors did not all know about the genocide. They asked a lot of questions. One of my jobs was to give them the answers — through books, documents, and photos. The actors also saw testimonies from survivors. I’ve been a part of the USC Shoah Foundation project to digitize J. Michael Hagopian’s testimonies. The actors saw some of these interviews. I was impressed with our cast, to say the least. They felt they were part of something important — and I think they were.

Added Garapedian, “We were in an unusual situation where our financier did not require making a return on his investment. Whatever profits that came from the film would later be put into charitable missions. That’s the greatness of Kirk Kerkorian — he made such a difference, not only for this movie, but for the whole Armenian diaspora. We owe him a lot. The real question is, did the movie have an impact? While I think it’s fair to look at the box office figures, it’s hard for the number-crunchers to measure the effect this movie has had on the nearly 12 million people who are estimated to have viewed it (so far). That’s not counting the life it will have on cable (which is just starting this month) and its educational life. So this is the biggest movie we’ve had on the genocide; it’s the one that has the highest production values — including stars and crew.”

Garapedian added that the movie was for a wider audience, not necessarily Armenians. “I was on a flight last year, and saw someone watching the movie. He was not Armenian — he was just a guy on a plane, avidly watching a historic movie. He was gripped. It was ‘The Promise.’ Would he have known about the genocide otherwise? I wonder. … We made a cultural impact, that is for sure.”

“The Promise” led to “Intent to Destroy,” a documentary co-produced by Garapedian, which showed the making the film, intertwined with the story of the Armenian Genocide.

“I was very glad to be a part of it. I’m a little biased, of course, because I was in it and worked on it. I do think, though, it does an excellent job of showing the history of denial. The historical issues in ‘The Promise’ are laid out, relating the real issues to the way they were dramatized in the movie. You see the challenges of trying to show these horrific events on film. It was my job to advise on the historical aspects — in the sets, props, script. So showing the railway carriage where 100 Armenians were transported to their deaths — that was in the documentary. ‘Intent to Destroy’ shows the historical context of ‘The Promise,’ while standing alone as a documentary about the history of genocide denial. The director, Joe Berlinger, deserves a lot of credit for working through the issues and asking tough questions,” Garapedian said.

Esrailian was thrilled with “Intent to Destroy.’” “We love the film, and we are very proud of the role it will play in the bigger mission. From the beginning, we planned to make both films together so that we could address specific details and the educational components that would be clumsy or inappropriate to work into a major Hollywood film. In addition, the documentary details the depths of the denial and the orchestrated attacks. Nevertheless, both films nearly scratch the surface. As difficult as it was to make the films and overcome obstacle after obstacle over these many years, it is nothing compared to what our ancestors went through,” he said.

“The Promise” was not just emotional for those in the diaspora. “Seeing the reaction of Armenians in our homeland was truly moving. Many people said that they felt like their ancestors finally had a voice. Witnessing the fruits of the time and energy put into the performances by such talented artists in Armenia was inspirational,” Esrailian said.

He and George went to Armenia, where they showed it and met with the country’s leadership.

Other than those in the film, one person who was very vocal about the need for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide was singer Chris Cornell, who penned an eponymous song for the film’s soundtrack. The song was nominated for a Grammy and was Cornell’s last release before his untimely death. His death left many devastated, including those involved with “The Promise.”

“It has been devastating on so many levels. Of course, the most pain has been felt by his family. Millions of fans around the world are also mourning him and will continue to do so. He is truly a hero for many Armenians because of his beautiful song, his dedication to helping others, and the awareness he brought to a subject that is so personal to so many of us. We will never forget him,” Esrailian said. e

The song as well as the film have been parlayed to help shed light on other injustices. In fact, the Los Angeles Committee of Human Rights Watch had their most successful fundraising dinner to date, raising more than every year prior at a program honoring the film and the song in November.

As for Egoyan, he is still charting his own original path. “I’ve made many other films after ‘Ararat,’ including films starring Oscar-winning stars like Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon and other stars like Ryan Reynolds, Rosario Dawson and Kevin Bacon. And the best news is that Christopher Plummer finally won HIS Oscar after he appeared in “Ararat” and I got to work with him again on my most recent film ‘Remember’ (also about the residual effects of historical trauma, this time the Holocaust). I’ll be hopefully shooting a new film in the fall, but I’m keeping very busy with opera these days”

Noted Garapedian, “In ‘Intent to Destroy,’ Atom Egoyan talks about the making of ‘Ararat’ and the Turkish government making their presence known during that production. While making ‘The Promise’ we had some pressure put on actors by the Turkish government, to not appear in the movie. But the real pressure was on the film reviewers in the United States, who were routinely sent letters denying the genocide. It’s hard to believe that still goes on, but it does. And if you know nothing about the issues, as a reviewer, you might be influenced by a long denier letter. Even I was surprised, although I shouldn’t have been. You may have also read about the “bots” which bombarded the internet hours after the first public screening. That says something for the new generation of denial that we are living in now.”

Garapedian is also known for another documentary on the Armenian Genocide, “Screamers” in 1995, which made a lot of noise. In the documentary, Garapedian followed System of a Down, one of the most successful American heavy metal bands all of whose members are Armenian. The band’s lead singer, Serj Tankian, is an outspoken proponent for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and at all their shows, the band has tables which have information about the Armenian Genocide as well as other atrocities ongoing around the world. The film was very well received.

Garapedian explained, “They speak to different audiences. Heavy metal music definitely falls into the young person’s camp. Documentaries also speak to a different audience than a big feature film like ‘The Promise.’ Screamers had a particular voice in the pre-2007 debate about genocide recognition. We can say, though, after ‘The Promise,’ that the issue of genocide recognition now has many more allies, many more advocates, many more believers. We’ve come a long way, although it has only been ten years since ‘Screamers.’ I was at the official commemoration ceremony in Armenia, in 2015. I was very proud to see a Rwandan genocide survivor have a prominent role in that ceremony. Her presence in such an important state ceremony, I believe, would not have happened ten years earlier. But it did happen in 2015 — why? I think it is because Armenians understood the necessity to see our genocide as one of a series of genocides. That year, 2015, the Pope and Kim Kardashian also raised awareness. That helped us reach what I would call ‘critical mass’ — where suddenly, it seemed as if the genocide issue exploded.”

Currently Garapedian said she is working on another film on the Armenian Genocide. “I’m working on one now — a crime drama based on a true story. Watch this space.”

Garapedian said that she hopes — and is sure — that the film will continue to be seen by future generation. “I think it will age well because it was well made, is based on a true story that many people did not know about before the movie — and has very moving performances. It is an epic story, and for that reason, I think it will age well. The younger generation, now, likes epic stories, too — but epics more in the style of Marvel comics and super-heroes. I suspect, with the changes we are seeing in the world now, there will be a pendulum swing back to movies like ‘The Promise.’”

Concluded Esrailian, “The release of ‘The Promise’ and ‘Intent To Destroy’ were time zero for the bigger mission — to never forget and to never allow these atrocities to be committed again. The news from around the world shows us that the work is just beginning. We have an incredible network of caring people like your readers, educators, human rights activists, philanthropists, and influencers Who want to get involved and give back in their own way. The work is just beginning.”