From Emmy award-winning director Ron Small — “l Danced for the Angel of Death,” and “Circle Unbroken” — comes “They Call Me Zarko,” the story of Ghazaros Demirdjian, whose family escaped to Europe during the Armenian Genocide.
“They Call Me Zarko: The Ghazaros Demirdjian Story” is co-authored, narrated, and executive produced by Mimi Demirdjian. A former advertising sales director, Demirdjian has worked for iconic brands including People Magazine, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Sports Illustrated. This film project began as a gift to her father, but quickly transformed into a family affair, with the mission to share his story with the world.
Born in Bulgaria in 1927, Ghazaros Demirdjian is the son of displaced Armenian immigrants who were exiled from their native lands during the Armenian Genocide. Ghazaros loved watching John Wayne movies and dreamed of one day living in America, where he knew he could live a better life.
With a developed sixth sense — which he credits Romanian Gypsies for teaching him — he knew he could make it in America, and so he embarked on a journey fraught with such peril that only the most determined could have survived.
This is his story. From imprisonment in Iran and Iraq, the honor killing of a Turkish infidel, to a fight with the mafia, this is the true story of how an Armenian born into abject poverty made it to Hollywood and created a fortune in the American waste management business.
Ghazaros achieved his dream of a successful business, a full table, and a loving family who now bask in the glow of his love and legacy — the American dream. They couldn’t pronounce his name, so they called him Zarko.
“They Call Me Zarko” is now available wherever fine programming is sold, and can be purchased on Amazon.
