LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian welcomed two actors from this year’s Best Picture winner, Anora, to this morning’s City Council meeting, where they joined him in a presentation recognizing the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide held on Friday at Van Nuys City Hall.
A Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Armenian Genocide is an annual observance in the City, but rather than focusing solely on the atrocities of the 1915 Genocide, when 1.5 million Armenians perished, and more were driven from their ancestral homes, Nazarian sought to focus on the manifold achievements of Armenians in the century since.
The actors Karren Karagulian and Vache Tovmasyan, who are Armenian, appeared in this year’s Oscar-winner as Armenian characters, speaking Armenian.
“Armenians have contributed to this industry from the very beginning, from the pioneering director Rouben Mamoulian to the Armenian actors whose identities were hidden behind other names and other characters,” said Councilmember Nazarian. “This year, for the first time, the Academy Award for Best Picture went to a movie where Armenian actors played Armenian characters, speaking in Armenian.”
Nazarian also tied the history of the Genocide to the events of the present, reading aloud the names of Armenian POWs and hostages now being held in Azarbaijan.
“These individuals have been in prison for nothing other than defending the land that they and their ancestors have lived and toiled on for the last 3,000 years,” said Nazarian. “Just two years ago, when the dictator of Azerbaijan drove the Armenian population of Artsakh from the land where they had lived for over 3,000 years, the world looked the other way,” Councilmember Nazarian said. “If you love humanity, if you have a moral compass, if the words ‘never again’ are going to mean anything, it’s up to people like us, to you, to me, to speak out. Not last time, not next time, this time.”
As a member of the State Assembly, Adrin Nazarian fought successfully for the recognition of the Day of Remembrance as a State holiday. Armenian American actor Karren Karagulian has appeared in every film by Anora director Sean Baker, films that typically highlight the immigrant experience in America. Armenian actor Vache Tovmasyan is a major film and TV star in Armenia. Anora is his second American film.
