Elizabeth Tabish with her actor husband Stan Mayer (Karine Armen photo)

‘Between Borders’ Opens in US Theaters

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GLENDALE — “Between Borders,” a new movie about an Armenian family who fled Baku after the pogroms of 1988, is being released in the US this week. It was screened at the  AMC Theater in Glendale on Sunday, January 26, hosted by the Armenian Film Society (AFS), and with the participation of actress Elizabeth Tabish, writer/director Mark Freiburger, and producer Ken Carpenter. The question-and-answer was moderated by Armen Karaoghlanian of the AFS.

The film is based on the story of the Petrosyan family, who were forced to flee Baku due to the pogroms, go to Volgograd, Russia, and eventually move to the U.S.

Ivan and Violetta Petrosyan lived in Baku with their two daughters, Olga and Julia. Their families had lived in Azerbaijan for generations. Once the Karabakh independence movement began, the Azerbaijani government instigated pogroms in the Azeri cities of Sumgait and Baku, forcing the entire sizable Armenian population of Azerbaijan to leave.

From left: Armenian Film Society’s president Armen Karaoghlanian, actor Florin Penisoara, producer Ken Carpenter, writer/director Mark Freiburger, Elizabeth Tabish, and film distributor Dave Mechem. (Karine Armen photo)

The film starts in a U.S. Immigration Court in Washington, DC, where the Petrosyans are applying for asylum. As Ivan and later Violetta are on the stand and explain their plight and why they can’t return to Russia, tension builds up.

Elizabeth Tabish, who plays the role of Violetta, has an impressive portfolio and is known for playing Mary Magdalene in the Biblical series, “The Chosen.” Her grandmother was Armenian, and her father is Lebanese. During an interview on the opening night, Tabish said, “It was touching to meet [the real] Violetta after shooting a difficult scene.”

The film was shot in Romania and the Petrosyans visited two weeks and watched the production. Tabish added, “Being Armenian and playing this character who was protective and warm reminded me of my grandmother and great-grandmother. I felt they were with me.”

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This is the first time Tabish has played an Armenian character. She said,  “We need to tell the Armenian stories. It has been an underrepresented group of people in movies and storytelling.” She continued, “We need to remind everyone what has happened and prevent it from happening again.”

Producer Ken Carpenter said, “Romania was an easy choice because we were creating Russia and Azerbaijan, and the buildings and streets were there.”

Isaac Norris is the producer and co-writer of the movie.  His father was the pastor of the church in Russia which the Petrosyans attended. Norris’ parents serve as the executive producers because they wanted to tell their story.  Isaac Noris said has known this family for 30 years and has seen the different stages of their journey.

Actress Elizabeth Tabish (Karine Armen photo)

Norris is friends with Julia Petrosyan-Eliasen, the youngest daughter, who is married and has two children. Ivan and Violetta live in West Virginia, and Olga, her husband, and their two children live in Indiana.

Mark Freiburger is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked in film for a long time. He loved the true story because it teaches history, compassion, understanding of the refugees’ plight, and acceptance.

The movie premiered at the Armenian Film Society’s Armenian Film Festival in September 2024.

To learn more about the movie, visit https://www.youtube.com/@BetweenBordersMovie/videos

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